
The Secret World of Doing Nothing
University of California Press
1st Edition
Published on 1. May 2010
Book
Paperback/Softback
280 pages
978-0-520-26263-8 (ISBN)
Description
In this insightful and pathbreaking reflection on 'doing nothing', Billy Ehn and Orvar Lofgren take us on a fascinating tour of what is happening when, to all appearances, absolutely nothing is happening. Sifting through a wide range of examples drawn from literature, published ethnographies, and firsthand research, they probe the unobserved moments in our daily lives - waiting for a bus, daydreaming by the window, performing a routine task - and illuminate these 'empty' times as full of significance. Creative, insightful, and profound, "The Secret World of Doing Nothing" leads us to rethink the ordinary and find meaning in today's hypermodern reality.
Reviews / Votes
"[The authors] inspire readers to assess the potential mental value associated with commuting, daydreaming, completing routines, performing rituals, and more." Foreword This Week "The book provides us with timely material that may encourage us to continue to try to join up some of the dots in contemporary politics." -- Mary Evans Times Higher EducationMore details
Edition
First Edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Berkerley
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
363 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-520-26263-8 (9780520262638)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Orvar Löfgren | Billy Ehn
The Secret World of Doing Nothing
E-Book
05/2010
1st Edition
Naval Institute Press
€28.99
Available for download
Persons
Billy Ehn is a Professor in the Department of Culture and Media Studies at Umea University and Orvar Lofgren is Professor of Ethnology at the University of Lund, both in Sweden. Lofgren is the author of On Holiday: A History of Vacationing (UC Press).
Content
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1. Waiting
Chapter 2. Routines
Chapter 3. Daydreaming
Chapter 4. In the Backyards of Modernity?
Appendix: Doing an Ethnography of "Non-events"
Notes
References
Index
Introduction
Chapter 1. Waiting
Chapter 2. Routines
Chapter 3. Daydreaming
Chapter 4. In the Backyards of Modernity?
Appendix: Doing an Ethnography of "Non-events"
Notes
References
Index