Surfing and Social Theory

Drawing on popular surf culture, academic literature and the analytical tools of social theory, this is the first sustained commentary on the contemporary social and cultural meaning of surfing, exploring mind and body, emotions, and aesthetics.

Nick Ford is Senior Lecturer in geography at the University of Exeter, UK. He is a lifelong surfer. David Brown is Lecturer in the sociology of sport and physical culture in the School of Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Exeter, UK. His research focuses on qualitative socio-cultural understandings of the body, the self and society in sport and physical culture.

CONTENTS Illustrations Preface 1 INTRODUCTION 2 THE ENCHANTED SEA: THE EVOLVING PERCEPTIONS OF THE SEA, COASTSCAPE AND BEACH 3 THE NARRATIVE HISTORY AND GLOBALIZATION OF SURFING 4 SURFING AS SUBCULTURE AND LIFESTYLE 5 GENDERING THE WAVES: SURFING IN THE GENDER ORDER AND THE GENDER ORDER ON SURFING 6 SURFING AND SURFED BODIES: THE EMBODIMENT OF SURFING 7 THE EXPERIENCE OF SURFING 8 CONCLUSION AND RESEARCH DIRECTIONS Notes Bibliography Index