ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on leisure which is a complex phenomenon—or set of phenomena. It examines a sequence of theoretical approaches in order to build on the strengths of each and attempts to lay a comprehensive basis for the continuing work of science. The book constitutes the framework of the analysis of leisure theory and research as its core and takes the shape of double dialectic. Structure-functional explanations of leisure have stressed socioeconomic position variables and the functions of leisure in relation to participation in the economy and system maintenance. On one level of analysis, two basic approaches to explanation have been employed in leisure research. The first is a social model that begins with the assumption that social forces determine behavior. The second approach is existential in beginning with the individual actor who makes decisions.
