hat is fun? How is it distinct from happiness or pleasure? How do we know when we are having it? This book is the first to provide a comprehensive sociological account of this taken for granted social phenomenon. Fincham investigates areas such as our memories of fun in childhood, the fun we have as adults, our muted experiences of fun at work and our lived experiences of having fun. Using first-hand accounts and a new approach to interpreting fun, the paradox of fun as not serious or unimportant whilst at the same time essential for a happy life is exposed. Addressing questions of control, transgression and the primacy of social relationships in fun, The Sociology of Fun is intended to provoke discussion about how we want to have fun and who determines the fun we have.

Fills a gap in the social science literature on experiences of fun Explores how fun is vital in mediating social affiliation across cultures Presents fun as distinct from well-being and happiness due to the temporal impermanence of the phenomenal experience

Autorentext

Ben Fincham is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the University of Sussex, UK. He has previously published in areas of mental health, work and suicide.

Inhalt

1. Introduction.- 2. Theorising Fun.- 3. Fun in Childhood.- 4. Fun in Adulthood.- 5. Fun at Work.- 6. Phenomenal Fun.- 7. Fun and Recollections.- 8. Conclusion.