ABSTRACT

This chapter begins with a brief discussion of what we mean by the terms ‘multispecies’ and ‘more-than-human’ and some of the theoretical and methodological challenges that adopting posthumanist frameworks may pose for leisure researchers. It considers what such perspectives might add to the field of leisure studies, and discusses some of the existing research in this area. The chapter introduces the papers in this special issue, which show the diversity and richness of multispecies perspectives on leisure, and the possibilities for advancing understanding in this emerging field. It suggests some areas for further development in research on multispecies leisure. Nonhuman animals are integral to myriad human leisure experiences and help enhance many people’s physical, psychological and social well-being. The special issue begins with autoethnographic approaches to researching multispecies leisure. Multispecies perspectives on leisure thus have potential to advance understanding of both inter-species interactions and human-based systems of inequality in and through leisure.