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edgework  

Definition

  • The term edgework was coined by the celebrated gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson who, in his book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, describes moments of fulfillment or self-realization that emerge through the experience of pushing boundaries and negotiating “edges.” Thompson's own journalistic endeavors routinely found him navigating various edges, perhaps most notably including ingesting wide varieties of known and unknown illicit substances (often in quantities and/or combinations that led to brushes with unconsciousness, “insanity,” “chaos”—even death). The origins of edgework as a concept of social scientific significance are traced to Stephen Lyng's (1990) article “Edgework: A Social Psychological Analysis of Voluntary Risk-Taking.” In it, Lyng fleshes out and shapes in sociologically meaningful ways what Thompson described only journalistically. [Source: Encyclopedia of Social Deviance; Edgework]

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https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/edgework

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