MODULE K: Taboo recreation
Welcome! In this module, we explore the “dark side” of leisure and recreation. Taboo recreation is stuff that’s fun, but also wrong in some way, going against social norms or even breaking laws. Leisure is not always wholesome and creative; sometimes leisure activities hurt the person, or hurt other people; for example, gambling, addiction, buying sexual pleasure, and vandalism. What fun things do you like to do that go against social norms or even laws? We’ll also look at why people engage in taboo recreation—it can be the thrill of breaking rules, a rejection of mainstream society, or simple boredom. If your leisure activities hurt you or hurt other people, would you consider some alternatives?
Reading
Pastimes Ch. 10 Taboo Recreation (pp 173-188 ). Focus on “Deviance in Leisure” (ignore “ideational vs sensate mentality”), especially “formal vs informal deviance” and “playful deviance;” also “Examples of Taboo Recreation,” including “Vandalism,” “Gambling,” and “Risky Health Behaviors.” Read “Explanations of Taboo Recreation.”
https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/lib/asulib-ebooks/reader.action?docID=6313385&ppg=186
ASSIGNMENT :
REFLECTION K: Taboo Recreation
Part I:
What defines deviant leisure/taboo recreation? Use the reading from the module to give a full background of this to someone who has never heard of it.
Part II:
Think of an example of deviant leisure you’ve heard about. Give us a video or a web link or just a text explanation.
In a new paragraph, explain: What makes it “deviant” or taboo? (What rules or social norms does it break/defy?) Explain why you think people do it. Anomie? differential association? retreatism? the thrill of breaking rules? Addiction? Something else? Make sure to refer intelligently and thoroughly to the lecture and chapter material.
When you are picking your examples, remember that this assignment is about DEVIANT LEISURE, not just deviance. The activity has to be fun on some level, or it’s not recreation. Your example does not have to include illegal behavior or kinky stuff (though it certainly can)–it could be an example of something else fun and forbidden, such as smoking when you are a Mormon or breaking rules/norms for fun in other ways.
As always, follow the guidelines here for a good post: How to Write a Reflection Paper
How To Write A Good Reflection
LABEL YOUR PAPER PROPERLY: Put “Reflection B: Modern vs Ancient Happiness” or “Reflection G: Wilderness.” You MUST include the LETTER of your topic (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, etc.) or the grading is slowed down.
NO GENERATIVE AI USE PERMITTED. In this course, all assignments must be completed by the student. Artificial Intelligence (AI), including ChatGPT and other related tools used for creating of text, images, computer code, audio, or other media, are not permitted for use in any work in this class. Use of these generative AI tools will be considered a violation of the ASU Academic Integrity Policy, and students may be sanctioned for confirmed, non-allowable use in this course.
INTRODUCTION. Start your paper with a brief introduction that includes the purpose of the assignment. For example, “I am going to describe an adventure I had in the wilderness with a bear, which illustrates an ‘encounter with wild beasts’ in this assignment.” If there are “parts” to the assignment, like Part 1, Part 2, use those headings!
PARAGRAPHS. You MUST use paragraphs. Don’t make us parse a huge block of undifferentiated text. LEARN TO LOVE THE LINE BREAK. Make ONE CLAIM / IDEA per paragraph, and then be sure to develop each claim/idea/paragraph fully. If you make a claim, don’t stop there. Treat your claim as either a topic sentence or thesis statement, then go on to fully develop and defend it. Don’t make multiple propositions in the same paragraph. One paragraph, one idea.
REFER TO CLASS MATERIAL. As you develop your topic sentences, be sure to “link or refer to class material” by including material from the module and previous course content (if relevant). The more links and references you can make to more pieces of class material, the better (i.e. lectures, videos, readings). Be direct with your incorporation with specific content from the module. Including page numbers is good but not required. For example:
“In Chapter 1, Nash refers to wilderness being the opposite of paradise. I actually think that paradise and wilderness can be the same thing…”
“Competitive sports can improve adolescents’ self-confidence (Russell, p. 59).”
“I’m scared to go into the woods. A lot of scary things live in the woods, as we saw in the video about Pan in Module 1.”
“As the ‘Hoods in the Woods’ lecture says…”
You are welcome to bring in outside sources to enrich your paper, but you MUST refer explicitly and directly to course material.
WHEN TO USE FULL, FORMAL CITATIONS. If you COPY or DIRECTLY QUOTE any source (lecture, book, article), you should do a proper in-text APA citation. For example:
Sports are good for kids. ‘Competitive sports…improve self-confidence’ (Russell, p. 59) … then you need an APA-format reference at the bottom of the paper:
Russell, R.V. (2017). Pastimes: The context of contemporary leisure (6th ed.). Sagamore Publishing.
PERSONAL EXAMPLES. Also, make sure to use personal examples (I like them a lot). It’s great to tell personal stories. Personal examples are not good for defending propositions or claims, but are great for adding richness and color to your descriptions.
BACK IT UP. Good writing includes proof, information, and examples. Back up your statements, claims and arguments. Here are some things to ask yourself once you’ve made a claim statement:
How so?
What is an example?
Is the claim true; what’s the evidence?
Who says so?
WORD COUNTS. Word requirements are an imperfect means of assessing quality in assignments. It is certainly possible to write a beautiful post in very few words; and conversely, many people write a lot of words without saying very much at all.
However, we do have word counts for the reflections. First, many students ask “how long should it be?” Second, there is a (very!) rough correspondence between length and quality–or at least between length and depth. Or at the very least between length and the possibility of a good idea. Sorry it’s such a blunt instrument. Good writers can write well at any word count.
Generally, reflections of 1 to 2 pages or less are superficial and underdeveloped. You should write 2-3 PAGES / 500-750 WORDS or more.
SAY MORE VS LESS. Finally, if in doubt about whether to say more or say less, say more.
WRITING MECHANICS. Papers must be well written and free of grammar, spelling, and capitalization errors. (You MUST capitalize “I,” for example.) Even though you are submitting this paper online, this is not instant messaging or texting. This is a written assignment for a college class.
Ideally, you should write your paper in a separate document, let it sit for a while, and then re-read and edit it before submitting it. Submissions that are typed in quickly and then submitted without being read over are unlikely to earn full points. At the very least, you should run spell and grammar check on your contribution before you submit it.
