Sports, Spectacles and Spectators in 20th century Britain
2nd call for papers: deadline 24th February 2012
Includes Open Stream on Leisure and Tourism in 20th century Britain
The Recording Leisure Lives conferences are presented by the Centre for Worktown Studies and are inspired by the Humphrey Spender ‘Worktown’ documentary photographic collection held by Bolton Museum. The images in this collection were produced by Spender in the late nineteen-thirties for Mass Observation’s ‘Worktown’ project which adopted Bolton as the locale for an in-depth investigation of everyday life in a northern industrial town. A large proportion of the photographs record everyday leisure activities such as drinking, watching and playing sports and games, visiting the theatre and using public parks.
The 2012 Recording Leisure Lives conference explores themes of consumption, active and passive practices, representation, identity and physical culture in leisure in inter-war Britain with a special though not exclusive emphasis on sport and entertainment. The conference also addresses themes of professionalism and amateurism in leisure and includes a more general thematic strand of hobbies, games and amusements. It will appeal to social and cultural historians of leisure, particularly those working in the fields of sport or entertainment, curators and archivists, documentary photographers and all with an interest in leisure in 20th century Britain.
We are delighted to have as keynote speakers Professor Matthew Taylor from the International Centre for Sports History and Culture and Jeffrey Richards, Professor of Cultural History at the University of Lancaster.
The conference fee remains the same as in previous years at £35 or £20 for students and unwaged. The fee includes coffee on arrival, a buffet lunch and afternoon refreshments.
The conference sub-themes are:
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Sporting mega-events
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Entertainments and spectacles
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Understanding active and passive leisure practices
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Physical cultures and spaces in leisure
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Consumption, professionalism and amateurism in sport and entertainment
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Representations of identity in sport and leisure
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Pastimes: hobbies, games and amusements
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Leisure and Tourism in 20th Century Britain
Papers (20 minutes) on leisure in the twentieth century which relate to any of these themes are invited. A volume of post-conference papers will be published by the Leisure Studies Association. Please submit proposals to R.Snape@bolton.ac.uk | AND to Matthew.Constantine@bolton.gov.uk | by 24th February 2012