Keynote, Forum & Plenary

Joseph J. Bannon Lecture Keynote: Walt Dabney

With over 40 years of leadership in public land management, Walt Dabney brings expertise and a compelling national perspective. He is actively engaged in speaking across the country about proposals to transfer or sell U.S. public lands to state governments or private entities which are closely tied to public access and shared resources.

The Bannon Lecture keynote presentation will feature a discussion on the following -

Governments around the world, especially in the US and Europe, have taken steps to significantly reduce funding for public goods that make leisure possible for people who otherwise would not be able to afford it:

  • Public libraries closing or reducing hours

  • Municipal swimming pools and recreation centers shutting down or being privatized

  • Arts councils cutting funding  

  • Park maintenance deferment

  • Community sports facilities transferred to private operators or closed

  • Youth services and after-school programs defunded

The result is that leisure becomes tiered in that those who can afford private space, subscription services, paid experiences, and travel get more and higher "quality" leisure. Those who relied on public supports and spaces get less. This is a measurable shift in how leisure is distributed across society.

Fellows Forum: Drs. Bob Barcelona and Ellen Rodgers

The Fellows Forum is designed to foster meaningful connections between TALS Fellows and conference attendees through thoughtful, scholarly dialogue. Open to all TALS attendees and guests, the forum provides an opportunity for one or more Fellows to introduce a topic of significance to the leisure field and engage participants in an in-depth discussion.  This year's forum will begin with perspectives from a pair of TALS Fellows whose research and professional experiences address shared community resources, municipal parks and recreation, public funding, and equitable access to leisure opportunities. Drs. Bob Barcelona and Ellen Rodgers will provide a foundation for an interactive discussion exploring the role of leisure and recreation in quality of life, community well-being, and social justice, particularly as changing patterns of public investment and service delivery reshape access to leisure opportunities.

Plenary Talk: An Unusual Conversation on Teaching Social Justice 

How do we teach social justice when the subject itself has become politically charged and come under intense scrutiny? In this TALS talk, Drs. Kathryn Bond Stockton (Distinguished Professor of English) and KangJae “Jerry” Lee (Associate Professor of Parks, Recreation & Tourism), both at the University of Utah, interview each other about their decades of teaching race, gender, class, and sexuality. They talk about what has worked, what has failed, and what has changed during their teaching career. The conversation draws on two fields that have rarely met: queer theory and the study of public parks. Attendees will not only hear about the speakers' teaching philosophy but also leave with concrete classroom practices they can adapt for their own courses.