What is Leisure? Cultivating Disciplinary Identity Through the Teaching of Leisure Philosophy

This reflexive commentary explores how graduate students’ understandings of Leisure evolved during a semester-long Philosophy of Leisure course. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative insights from two cohorts, the study traces students’ shift from viewing Leisure as free time and enjoyment toward a more nuanced, critically informed perspective that recognizes Leisure as socially constructed, ethically complex, and in culturally and politically dependent contexts. Through scaffolded readings, dialogic inquiry, and reflective exercises, students engaged with discussions (i.e., identity, equity, free will), developing a deeper, multidimensional understanding of Leisure. The paper argues that involving students in the co-construction of Leisure’s meaning not only enriches their scholarly development but also offers a pathway for strengthening the field’s collective identity and relevance. More than documenting a conceptual shift, the paper argues that such shifts are evidence that disciplinary identity can be deliberately cultivated through course design. Ultimately, it positions Leisure as a vital lens for interrogating societal dynamics and fostering individual and collective flourishing.