Empire in waves : a political history of surfing / Scott Laderman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Laderman, Scott, 1971-

Series:

Sport in World History

Sport in World History ; 1

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Surfing--History.

Surfing.

Surfing--Political aspects.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (251 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley, California : University of California Press, 2014.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Surfing today evokes many things: thundering waves, warm beaches, bikinis and lifeguards, and carefree pleasure. But is the story of surfing really as simple as popular culture suggests? In this first international political history of the sport, Scott Laderman shows that while wave riding is indeed capable of stimulating tremendous pleasure, its globalization went hand in hand with the blood and repression of the long twentieth century. Emerging as an imperial instrument in post-annexation Hawaii, spawning a form of tourism that conquered the littoral Third World, tracing the struggle against South African apartheid, and employed as a diplomatic weapon in America's Cold War arsenal, the saga of modern surfing is only partially captured by Gidget, the Beach Boys, and the film Blue Crush. From nineteenth-century American empire-building in the Pacific to the low-wage labor of the surf industry today, Laderman argues that surfing in fact closely mirrored American foreign relations. Yet despite its less-than-golden past, the sport continues to captivate people worldwide. Whether in El Salvador or Indonesia or points between, the modern history of this cherished pastime is hardly an uncomplicated story of beachside bliss. Sometimes messy, occasionally contentious, but never dull, surfing offers us a whole new way of viewing our globalized world.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: A Political History of Surfing

1. How Surfing Became American: The Imperial Roots of Modern Surf Culture

2. A World Made Safe for Discovery: Travel, Cultural Diplomacy, and the Politics of Surf Exploration

3. Paradise Found: The Discovery of Indonesia and the Surfing Imagination

4. When Surfing Discovered It Was Political: Confronting South African Apartheid

5. Industrial Surfing: The Commodification of Experience

Epilogue: A New Millennium

Notes

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780520279117

0520279115

9780520958043

0520958047

OCLC:

867818478