Surfing and social theory: the significance of surfing and its social contexts

Title from first page of PDF file (viewed January 14, 2011)Includes bibliographical references (p. 112-114)Despite surfing's popularity, and the ubiquity of the image of surfing and the surfer on the modern landscape, the social phenomenon that surfing represents has been surprisingly under-analyzed. Though there are many excellent journal articles and even books that tackle the subject from various angles, they represent a piecemeal collection of studies and historical accounts. But surfing, like all social phenomena, does not occur in a vacuum. Understanding the context within which surfing, and surf culture, exists is as essential as any other element. A full examination of surfing requires dissection from all directions, and the larger social framework surrounding this social phenomenon has been largely ignored. This thesis seeks to analyze the meaning and significance of surfing within the context of the social, economic, and political environment of the past and present in order to take surfing away from the sui generis and particular mindset that has heretofore dominated its analysis. In this way I hope to provide a more comprehensive and holistic approach to understanding the social meaning of surfing, and the factors that draw people into the water to surf. Viewed through the lens of the seminal social theorists (Marx, Weber, Freud, etc.), and supplemented by more contemporary thinkers, surfing is examined alongside and contextualized within the social critique of these influential thinkers. Through these writings the deeper social significance of surfing begins to take shape, and the relationship between surfing and the larger social framework is scrutinized. Beyond simple enjoyment, which is still a central and essential component of the compulsion to surf, other motivating factors are discovered that link together the appeal of surfing and the possible shortcomings of modern social organization. In this way a more fundamental understanding of surfing is created while the social theory employed is enriched through the illustrative properties of this unique social phenomenon