1. Conceptualising Cultural Environments Lecture Two: the socio-historic development of cultural consumption

2. Pre Industrial Revolution  Prior to the industrial revolution most people were employed in agriculture  They lived in small settlements and towns  In 1700 London had a population of 600,000 compared to 7.5 million today  Recreation and play figured prominently in people’s lives  But work and play were intermingled

3. Work and Leisure  Many festivities were based around key agricultural events  Hard work counterbalanced by drinking and revelry  The Tavern  Comforts not present at home  Brothels, gambling and blood sports  Travelling Fairs  Animal sports  The carnivalesque  Wakes  Celebration of saints days  Holiday derives from holy day

4. The Industrial Revolution  The late 18 th – early 19 th century saw the change from an agrarian based society to an industrial based society  Significant social, economic and political impacts  The nature of work  The growth of the factory  Required large labour force  Development of towns and large settlements  This separated people from the countryside and many of their leisure pursuits  Poor conditions and environment  Monotonous jobs and tasks (McDonaldisation!)  Changes to work regimes caused the separation of work and leisure

5. Values and Social Change  The creation of the class system and growth of the middle class  Fear of the working class and need for people to be fit for work  Protestant work ethic – work was a virtue which provided rewards  Reduction in the number of saint’s days  Banning of rowdy leisure activities – fear of riotous behaviour and revolution

6. The Rational Recreation Movement  Was concerned with replacing uncivilised forms of leisure with more acceptable ones  But also a process of social control  Replacing working class values with middle class values  Replacing ephemeral pleasure and entertainment with knowledge, self improvement and health and fitness  Growth of formalised sport, outdoor pursuits and countryside recreation  Museums, libraries and parks

7. Changing Patterns of Work  The mid 19 th century saw the recognition of the importance of leisure time  Saturday afternoons as time free from work  Development of football and other sports  Formal holidays  Going ‘doon the watter’  Invention of the package trip

8. Consuming Culture  Rising disposable incomes  The commodification of culture  The tavern to the gin parlour  Music Halls  However, these were tightly controlled (introduction of licensing)

9. Consuming Culture  The late 1950s and early 1960s saw considerable growth in the consumer society  Growth in the economy saw a growth in disposable income  Rise in the number of consumer goods and products available  Conspicuous consumption  Changes in culture and values – development of ‘youth’

10. The Experience Economy  It is suggested by Pine and Gilmore (1999) that we now live in an experience economy  The symbolic value of what we do in our leisure time is increasingly important  Our leisure choices say a lot about who we are both to ourselves and other people  We consume symbolic meaning – this is more important than the actual good/product/service  But, are we really as free as we think we are to consume what we want in the way we want??