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Title Skiing into modernity : a cultural and environmental history / Andrew Denning.
Author Denning, Andrew, 1983- author.
Publisher Oakland, California : University of California Press, [2015]
Copyright ©2015


Status Loan Type Location Shelf-mark
 In Library  Standard  Library Level 6  Sociology Z400.S4 DENNI  

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Description xiv, 236 pages ; 24 cm.
ISBN 9780520284272 hardback
0520284275 hardback
9780520284289 paperback
0520284283 paperback
Bibliography Includes bibliographical (pages 215-230) and index references and index.
Contents Alpine vignettes -- Defining Alpine modernism -- The contexts of Alpine skiing -- Taking root -- An uphill climb -- The age of discovery -- The Alps before skiing -- Skiing before the Alps -- From Scandinavia to Central Europe -- A civilizing force -- Igniting ski fever -- Civilizing the Alps -- Skiing and the definition of the middle class -- Socializing the middle classes -- Establishing an institutional presence -- From unity to division -- A family feud -- Montagues and Capulets -- The "ski popes" -- A sport of the people -- Alpine skiing before World War I -- Revolutionizing perception -- Joy in movement -- Harmony and mastery -- The art of Alpine skiing -- The Alpine kinaesthetic -- Harmony through movement -- Ecstasy in speed -- Speed sells -- The cult of speed -- Mastering natural forces -- Skiing in interwar mass culture -- Synthetic landscapes and vernacular modernism -- Modernity in sport -- An archaic contest -- Gravity sport -- Speed and specialization -- From aesthetics to technics -- Seeing the Alps through sport -- Landscapes of leisure -- Consuming Alpine skiing -- Elite sport and mass culture -- From amateurism to professionalism -- Advertising skiing -- Planning a vacation -- Attracting tourists -- The pursuit of white gold -- Manufacturing miracles -- Lift infrastructure -- Landscape modification -- Snow management -- Retrofitting the Alps -- Epilogue -- Debating Alpine modernity -- Mountains and meaning.
Summary "Examines the relationship between skiers and the Alpine environment since the late nineteenth century. It argues that skiing and winter tourism modernized the Alps in both material and perceptual terms while the Alpine landscape itself challenged skiers to alter their practices and philosophies of sport, leisure and nature, harmonizing Alpine skiing with modern cultural values and social practices in the twentieth century"--Provided by publisher.
Series Sport in world history ; 3.
Library Class Sociology Z400.S4
Subject Skis and skiing -- Alps -- History.
Skis and skiing -- Social aspects -- Alps.
Tourism -- Alps -- History.

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