Applying an Organizational Approach to the Sociology of Leisure: A Study of Clog Dancers

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorHollandsworth, Danitaen
dc.contributor.committeechairBailey, Carol A.en
dc.contributor.committeememberKiecolt, K. Jillen
dc.contributor.committeememberBryant, Clifton D.en
dc.contributor.departmentSociologyen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-14T20:52:33Zen
dc.date.adate1998-10-23en
dc.date.available2014-03-14T20:52:33Zen
dc.date.issued1998-09-23en
dc.date.rdate1999-10-23en
dc.date.sdate1998-09-23en
dc.description.abstractThe purpose of this study was to enhance understanding of leisure experiences by applying an organizational approach to the sociology of leisure. This organizational approach, used mainly to study work and occupations, consists of a conceptual framework derived from social systems theory and structural functionalism. The sensitizing concepts used from this framework were recruitment, socialization, and identity. In this study, I focused on the leisure group of clog dancers. My research questions, derived from this approach, include (1) How do clogging groups recruit their members? (2) How are people socialized into their role as cloggers and group members? (3) Do cloggers form a special identity because of this activity? Twenty cloggers were interviewed for this study. All of the dancers were white, and all but one were female. Most of the dancers were married, and their ages ranged from 20 to 69 years. All of the dancers have clogged for at least four years, and half of the dancers have been clogging for 10 or more years. Their educational levels covered a wide spectrum, from less than high school to Master's degrees. Occupational status and income level also varied widely. Through concept-driven interviews, the dancers indicated what they believed were important aspects of their leisure experiences. A majority of the dancers stated that they were recruited through social networks or by media influence. They experienced both formal and informal socialization in learning dance steps and how to perform as a team player in front of an audience. Finally, the dancers believed that they held a special identity because of their talents as a clogger. While each dancer derived different meanings from his/her identity as clogger, this identity appeared to be salient and psychologically central for all of the dancers interviewed.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.identifier.otheretd-92398-151943en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-92398-151943/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/37037en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.relation.haspartDRHEND.PDFen
dc.relation.haspartDRHETD.PDFen
dc.relation.haspartDRHFRONT.PDFen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectIdentityen
dc.subjectSocializationen
dc.subjectRecruitmenten
dc.subjectSociology of Leisureen
dc.subjectCloggersen
dc.titleApplying an Organizational Approach to the Sociology of Leisure: A Study of Clog Dancersen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineSociologyen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
Thumbnail Image
Name:
DRHFRONT.PDF
Size:
8.18 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download
Thumbnail Image
Name:
DRHETD.PDF
Size:
112.65 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download
Thumbnail Image
Name:
DRHEND.PDF
Size:
37.94 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download

Collections

Masters Theses