The Serious Leisure Perspective (SLP)
  • Welcome
  • Concepts
  • History/Stebbins Bio
    • Biography of Robert A. Stebbins
  • SLP Diagrams
  • Measurement Scales
  • Bibliography
    • Table of Contents
    • New Works
    • Aging/Retirement
    • Amateurs
    • Arts & Science Administration
    • Casual Leisure
    • Deviance
    • Ethnicity
    • Gender
    • Hobbyists
    • Leisure Education
    • Library & Information Science
    • Nonprofit Sector/Social Capital
    • Positive Psychology/Sociology
    • Project-Based Leisure
    • Serious Leisure General
    • Serious Leisure Perspective
    • Sports & Games
    • Therapeutic Recreations/Disabilities
    • Tourism & Event Analysis
    • Volunteering
    • Work
  • Digital Library
  • Resources
    • Associations
    • Bibliography
    • Conferences >
      • iConference Workshop
    • Journals
    • Leisure Education
    • News
    • Researchers
    • The Perspective Illustrated
    • Other Resources
  • Contact

The serious leisure perspective (SLP) is a way of looking at leisure activities and how people experience them. This website contains a page describing the basic concepts and propositions of the Perspective.  It also contains a biographical page on Robert A. Stebbins, who coined the term "serious leisure" and pioneered, through exploratory research, this form of leisure as well as two other forms: casual and project-based leisure. The serious leisure perspective bridges and synthesizes these three. Other features of the website include:

■ Bibliography (list of publications bearing on the Perspective from 1976) 
■ Biography of Robert A. Stebbins (originator of the serious leisure perspective) 
■ Conferences (notices and programs of relevant conferences)
■ Contacts (how to reach the developers of this site)
■ Digital Library (collection of full-text publications)
■ History of the Perspective (a chronological sketch since 1973) 
■ Illustrations of the Perspective (shows the perspective in action) 
■ Leisure Education (bridging the gap between theory and research and leisure provision) 
■ New Works (list of publications over past 2-3 years in the area) 
■ Researchers (names, addresses, interests of people studying the Perspective) 
 
Homo Otiosus (leisure man) is a fascinating creature and an increasingly important figure in our time. These pages - the serious leisure perspective - show why this is so.
 
This site, launched in April, 2006, was built by Robert A.Stebbins (University of Calgary) and Jenna Hartel  (University of Toronto), and was significantly revised in October, 2011. In this regard, both of us welcome comments, suggested additions, and recommended changes to it. This invitation signals our intention to make this a community site for researchers, practitioners, and the interested lay public, a site where all who are interested in serious, casual, and project-based leisure can find stimulation in their approach to leisure.
 
Thanks for taking time to visit The Serious Leisure Perspective.


Recent Awards

Karl Spracklen FAcSS Professor of Music, Leisure and Culture at Leeds Beckett University, has been elected Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in the UK, November 2017.

​Maddie Breeze is the joint winner of the 2016 Philips Abrams Prize given by the British Sociology Association. The prize honors her book Seriousness and women's roller derby: Gender, organization, and ambivalence. Houndmills, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.

ANZALS 2013 "Best Publication Award for an Early Career Researcher" was given to Dr. Millicent Kennelly of Griffith University for “Constraint negotiation in serious leisure – A study of amateur triathletes.” Journal of Leisure Research, 45, 466-484 (2013) (with Moyle, B., & Lamont, M.).  She received the award in December 2013 at the 11th biennial ANZALS conference.

What's New


See the New Video on the SLP in action at the Mayo Clinic (Rochester) presented by Prof. Rod Dieser

See our new bibliography on Positive Psychology/Sociology.


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Destined for greatness: Passions, dreams, and aspirations in a college music town. (Rutgers, 2018) by Michael Ramirez.
Publisher's description.

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Serious leisure: Culture and consumption in modern society. (Resling, 2018) by Tali Hayosh. Lengthy abstract available in English.

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Social worlds and the leisure experience. (Emerald Group, 2018) by Robert A. Stebbins. Publisher's description.

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Leisure's legacy: Challenging the common sense view of free time. (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017) by Robert A. Stebbins. Publisher's description.

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From humility to hubris among scholars and politicians. (Emerald Group, 2017) by Robert A. Stebbins. Publisher's description.

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Leisure activities in context: A micro-macro/agency-structure interpretation of leisure. (Transaction, 2017) by Robert A. Stebbins. Publisher's description.

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Seriousness and Women's Roller Derby: Gender, Organization, and Ambivalence. (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016) by Maddie Breeze. Publisher's description.

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The Interrelationship Between Play and Leisure: Play as Leisure, Leisure as Play (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015) by Robert A. Stebbins. Publisher's description.

Just published!
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Leisure and Positive Psychology: Activities Linked with Positiveness (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015) by Robert A. Stebbins.
Publisher's description.


New: An article on “Leisure” is now available in the Encyclopedia Britannica (online edition).

New: the  SLP Involvement Scale    (see SLP Diagrams).

Other New Material:
■ Just published books on the SLP...
■ New works on the SLP...
■ Active SLP researchers...
■ Measurement techniques...