Profile for Brian Kumm-Schaley

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Brian Kumm‑Schaley

Associate Professor
Rec Mgmt & Therapeutic Rec University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

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Specialty area(s)

*     Community Recreation and Social Belonging

*     Leisure and Culture

*     Theories of Affect

*     Qualitative and Postqualitative Inquiry

*     Deleuze & Deleuzian approaches to research and leisure

Brief biography

Dr. Brian E Kumm-Schaley is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Recreation Management and Therapeutic Recreation at the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse.  His scholarship concerns the affective and emotive dimensions of leisure in the contexts of popular culture and media, specifically in relation to music, television/film, and other creative, expressive arts.  The impetus of his scholarship is to generate critical yet affirmative interrogations of contemporary social conditions, or ways of living, that give rise to common leisure behaviors and practices. Ultimately, his scholarship attempts to emphasize potentials for thinking, feeling, and living differently in relation to these social conditions to engender more hopeful, humane, and joyful futures.

Current courses at UWL

REC 306:  Environmental Ethics, Outdoor Recreation, & Natural Resources (fall)      

REC 711:  Management in Leisure Services (spring)                                                  

REC 215:  Introduction to Community Recreation (spring)                                 

REC 301:  Leadership & Programming in Recreation                               

REC 402/502:  Risk Management in Leisure Services                                         

REC 449: Internship & Professional Preparation                       

Education

Ph.D. The University of Georgia, Athens, GA, May 2015

Recreation and Leisure Studies | Department of Counseling and Human Development Services

Dissertation: Modest Experiments in Living: Intensities of Life

*Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Qualitative Methodologies

 

M.A. The University of Georgia, Athens, GA, December 2011                                                       

Recreation and Leisure Studies | Department of Counseling and Human Development Services

Thesis: A Shaman, A Sherpa, and A Healer: A Post-Intentional Phenomenology of Songwriting

 

 B.S. The University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA, May 1999                                                                                                     

Recreation and Park Management

Career

Research and publishing

Kumm, B. E., Schultz, C. E., & Pate, J. A. (2021). The future is unwritten: Listening to the rhythms of COVID-19. Leisure Sciences, 43(1/2), pp. 85-89.

Pate, J. A., & Kumm, B. E. (2021). On Methods: "The situation's in control." Leisure Sciences, 43(3/4), pp. 375-388.

Kumm, B. E., Harmon, L. K., Evans, K., Plunkett, D., & Wduch, D. (2019). The benefits of collaboration: From curriculum mapping to a community of practice. Schole: A Journal of Leisure Studies and Recreation Education, 34(2), 71-83.

Kumm, B. E., & Berbary, L. A. (2019).  Questions for Post-Qualitative Inquiry: Conversations-to-Come.  Leisure Sciences, 40(1/2), 71-84.

Kumm, B. E., Johnson, C. W. (2018). In the garden of domestic dystopia: Racial delirium and playful interference. Leisure Studies.

Kumm, B. E., & Pate, J. A. (2018). Joyful Digressions: Going Gonzo. Qualitative Inquiry.

Kumm, B., E., & Johnson, C. W. (2017). Subversive imagination: Smoothing space for leisure, identity, and politics. In, K. Spracklen, B. Lashua, E. Sharpe, & M. B. Swain (Eds.), Palgrave Handbook of Leisure Theory (pp. 891-910). London, UK: Palgrave.

Kudos

presented

Brian Kumm-Schaley and W. Thomas Means, both Recreation Management & Therapeutic Recreation, presented "Mindfulness, Leisure, and Higher Education: Negotiating Pitfalls, Navigating Benefits" at The Academy of Leisure Sciences Annual Conference on Feb. 8 in New Orleans. The goal of the presentation was to elevate awareness of, and open dialogue related to, the pitfalls of cultural misappropriation as it pertains to mindfulness and contemplative practices while also leveraging those concerns to better design courses that actualize the benefits of such practices.

Submitted on: Feb. 12

 

published

Brian Kumm-Schaley, Recreation Management & Therapeutic Recreation, authored the article "Parting Thoughts XI: Be Idle, That is All" in Leisure Sciences published on Sept. 12 by Taylor & Francis. This invited publication re-evaluates the term "idleness" and suggests that its stakes are fundamentally the creation of different ways of relating (e.g., to oneself; to one's community; to the larger world) that are not defined by the narrow and "dogmatic formularies of the ruling class" (Stevenson, 1877/2018, p. 1). Productivity is re-aligned with the philosophical purview of some historically great idlers (e.g., Robert Lewis Stevenson; Bertrand Russell; Josef Pieper; Sebastian de Grazia) to challenge the contemporary ethos of too much, too fast, too often that reduces productivity to mere busyness. As educators, we beg the question of how we may be complicit in the business of busyness and how this may impede student flourishing and well-being.

Submitted on: Sept. 13, 2022

 

published

Brian Kumm-Schaley, Recreation Management & Therapeutic Recreation, authored the chapter "Just Give it Up: Embracing the Immanence of Post Qualitative Inquiry " in "Fostering Social Justice through Qualitative Inquiry: A Methodological Guide," published June 30 by Routledge Publishing. The chapter provides an overview of contemporary thinking around the critique and coming-after of qualitative inquiry. It challenges us to think about justice differently in relation to research that looks toward an immanence of daily life rather than to a transcendent form of life that purports a model of justice that we must arise to. While the chapter offers this overview, it also attempts to guide novice researchers through a critical process of questioning assumptions and intentionally challenging the status quo of social science inquiry.

Submitted on: Aug. 3, 2022

 

awarded

Lee Baines and Markus Mika, both Biology; Linda Dickmeyer, Communication Studies; Darci Thoune, English; Naghmeh Gheidi, Exercise & Sport Science; Daniel Bretl, Microbiology; Kamilo Lara, Military Science, ROTC; Seth King, Physics; Brian Kumm-Schaley, Recreation Management & Therapeutic Recreation; and Jane Brannan, Veteran Services; received a UWL Challenge Coin at the Stole & Recognition Ceremony on Friday, May 6 in La Crosse, WI. Students presented a challenge coin to the staff or faculty member of their choosing in recognition of the impact the staff/faculty had on their academic career. Challenge Coins are an enduring military tradition. Military Commanders often give a coin to service members as a mark of camaraderie or to recognize hard work and excellence. They are intended to instill unit pride, improve esprit-de-corps, and serve as a reward for a job well done. A challenge coin signifies the person went above and beyond in their duties.

Submitted on: May 6, 2022

 

published

Brian Kumm-Schaley, Recreation Management & Therapeutic Recreation, co-authored the article "Emotional Pedagogies: Strategies for Engaging Social Justice in the Classroom" in SCHOLE: A Journal of Leisure Studies and Recreation Education published on July 23 by Routledge.

Submitted on: July 27, 2020

 

published

Brian Kumm-Schaley, Recreation Management & Therapeutic Recreation, co-authored the article "The Future is Unwritten: Listening to the Rhythms of COVID-19" in Leisure Sciences published on Friday, June 26 by Routledge.

Submitted on: June 26, 2020

 

published

Brian Kumm-Schaley, Recreation Management & Therapeutic Recreation, co-authored the article "The Time Machine: Leisure Science (Fiction) and Futurology " in "Leisure Sciences" published on Feb. 21, 2018 by Taylor & Francis. One of the premier academic journals in leisure research, this is a 40th Anniversary Special Issue "Looking Back, Looking Forward: 40 Years of Leisure Sciences"

Submitted on: Feb. 22, 2018