United States, 1960 to Present

Theodore W. Eversole

The study of American play post-1960 provides a useful means to explore modern American history. The way a nation pursues its recreation unlocks critical aspects of a society's values. From the vantage point of sport and games, one can investigate, in what is supposedly a postindustrial age, how the different forms of recreation function in a modern advanced capitalist country. Since 1960, the nature of what made up play was critically linked to the rising tide of urbanization and suburbanization in America. An additional offshoot from the study of games and play involved investigating how a society accommodated fun. This process overlapped with other important social areas concerning an era's politics, racial divides, and approaches to gender. These individual aspects of social development also provided cultural insights into national characteristics and the growth and influence of technology and communications. Most importantly, sport and games gave us answers as to how ...

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