Lynching as Leisure

Abstract

Within a critical theory focus, the documented history of lynching in photographic images and textual accounts provides a discussion of the sense of place when considering lynchings as leisure activities. The visual analysis of 433 lynching photographs and 327 accounts undergoing critical discourse analysis provided the process of researching the historical phenomenon in the context of leisure. This article seeks to summarize that research and presents case study examples to discuss the leisure implications in lynchings. The racial violence that is demonstrated in these spectacles is a discursive intersection of cultural critique, power relationships, and a reflection of their impact on place meanings and social interaction. To “read” lynchings as violent acts of leisure in various settings creates a vehicle for leisure research to contribute to dialogues on meaning(s) of place and the significance of race.