Leftist Theories of Sport

Leftist Theories of Sport
Author: William J. Morgan
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2022-08-15
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 0252053931

The degradation of modern sport--its commercialization, trivialization, widespread cheating, cult of athletic stars and celebrities, and manipulation by the media--has led to calls for its transformation. William J. Morgan constructs a critical theory of sport that shores up the weak arguments of past attempts and points a way forward to making sport more humane, compelling, and substantive. Drawing on the work of social theorists, Morgan challenges scholars and fans alike to explore new spaces in sport culture and imagine the rich cultural and political possibilities to be found in the pastimes we follow with such passion.

Routledge Handbook of Sport and Politics

Routledge Handbook of Sport and Politics
Author: Alan Bairner
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 575
Release: 2016-10-04
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1317646673

Sport is frequently considered to be an aspect of popular culture that is, or should be, untainted by the political. However, there is a broad consensus among academics that sport is often at the heart of the political and the political is often central to sport. From the 1936 Olympic Games in Nazi Germany to the civil unrest that preceded the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, sport and politics have remained symbiotic bedfellows. The Routledge Handbook of Sport and Politics goes further than any other book in surveying the complex, embedded relationships between sport and politics. With sections addressing ideologies, nation and statehood, corporate politics, political activism, social justice, and the politics of sports events, it introduces the conceptual foundations that underpin our understanding of the sport-politics nexus and examines emergent issues in this field of study. Including in-depth case studies from North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, this is an essential reference for anybody with an interest in the social scientific study of sport.

Introduction to the Philosophy of Sport

Introduction to the Philosophy of Sport
Author: Heather Lynne Reid
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2012
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0742570614

Introduction to the Philosophy of Sport begins with the history of sport, delves into both the metaphysics and ethics of sport, and also addresses dimensions of the social and political elements of sport. This book is a comprehensive introduction to the philosophy of sport wi...

Sports

Sports
Author: Donald L. Deardorff
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 376
Release: 2000-09-30
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 0313095469

This guide to the available literature on sports in American culture during the last two decades of the 20th century is a companion to Jack Higg's Sports: A Reference Guide (Greenwood, 1982). The types of individual or team sports included in this volume include those that are viewed as physical contests engaged in for physical, emotional, spiritual, or psychological fulfillment. With a focus on books alone, chapters review the available literature regarding sports and each concludes with a bibliography. Academic journals likely to contain articles on the topics discussed are listed at the end of each chapter. Twelve chapters discuss sports and American history, business and law, education, ethnicity and race, gender, literature, philosophy and religion, popular culture, psychology, science and technology, sociology and world history. This reference and guide to further research will appeal to scholars of popular culture and sports. An index and two appendixes are included, one listing important dates in American sports from 1980 through 2000 and one listing sports halls of fame, museums, periodicals, and websites.

The Bloomsbury Companion to the Philosophy of Sport

The Bloomsbury Companion to the Philosophy of Sport
Author: Cesar R. Torres
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 481
Release: 2014-05-16
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1408182580

The Bloomsbury Companion to the Philosophy of Sport features specially commissioned essays from a team of leading international scholars. The book, by providing an overview of the advances in the philosophical understanding of sport (and related practices), serves as a measure of the development of the philosophy of sport but it also constitutes an expression of the discipline's state of the art. The book includes a critical analysis of the historical development of philosophic ideas about sport, three essays on the research methods typically used by sport philosophers, twelve essays that address vital issues at the forefront of key research areas, as well as four essays on topics of future disciplinary concern. The book also includes a glossary of key terms and concepts, an essay on resources available to researchers and practitioners, an essay on careers opportunities in the discipline, and an extensive annotated bibliography of key literature.

Football in Neo-Liberal Times

Football in Neo-Liberal Times
Author: Peter Kennedy
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 174
Release: 2016-02-05
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1317576268

This book offers an original Marxist critique of the European football business. It argues that the Marxist account of the difference between profits and surplus value is crucial to an understanding of the fluid and contradictory nature of the commodification of football. Section one analyses the nature of modern professional football and section two highlights attempts, via government agency and football clubs, to corral fans into ever greater identification with business logic aimed at breaking traditional social relations. Section three draws on a number of cases studies across Europe, to analyse how some fans are attempting to mount a counter ideological response to the assault of neo-liberalism on the game.

Fan Culture in European Football and the Influence of Left Wing Ideology

Fan Culture in European Football and the Influence of Left Wing Ideology
Author: Peter Kennedy
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 319
Release: 2017-02-03
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 135166834X

This book explores the tradition of left wing political thinking in the culture of fans of professional football in Europe. It sets out to chronicle and celebrate the fraternal, communal and radical tradition of football - seen to best effect in demands for democratic fan ownership and control of clubs, in fan campaigns against racist and fascist mobilisation of football supporters, and in a firm commitment to anti-corporatism. Drawing on the rich and varied traditions of fan cultures across Europe, the book examines how football, as a cultural form, carries with it the possibility of promoting the voices of the disenfranchised and the marginalised, and so the basis for nurturing solidarity against oppression, alienation and exploitation current in modern capitalist society. This book was published as a special issue of Soccer and Society.

Religion and Sport in North America

Religion and Sport in North America
Author: Jeffrey Scholes
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 271
Release: 2022-09-13
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1000636178

From athletes praising God to pastors using sport metaphors in the pulpit, the association between sport and religion in North America is often considered incidental. Yet religion and sport have been tightly intertwined for millennia and continue to inform, shape, and critique one another. Moreover, sport, rather than being a solely secular activity, is one of the most important sites for debates over gender, race, capitalism, the media, and civil religion. Traditionally, scholarly writings on religion and sport have focused on the question of whether sport is a religion, using historical, philosophical, theological, and sociological insights to argue this matter. While these efforts sought to answer an important question, contemporary issues related to sports were neglected, such as globalization, commercialization, feminism, masculinity, critical race theory, and the ethics of doping. This volume contains lively, up-to-date essays from leading figures in the field to fill this scholarly gap. It treats religion as an indispensable prism through which to view sports, and vice versa. This book is ideal for students approaching the topic of religion and sport. It will also be of interest to scholars studying sociology of religion, sociology of sport, religion and race, religion and gender, religion and politics, and sport in general.

Sport and Modern Social Theorists

Sport and Modern Social Theorists
Author: Richard Giulianotti
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2004-08-03
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 0230523188

Sport and Modern Social Theorists is an innovative and exciting new collection. The chapters are written by leading social analysts of sport from across the world, and examine the contributions of major social theorists towards our critical understanding of modern sport. Social theorists under critical examination include Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Adorno, Gramsci, Habermas, Merton, C.Wright Mills, Goffman, Giddens, Elias, Bourdieu and Foucault. This book will appeal to students and scholars of sport studies, cultural studies, modern social theory, and to social scientists generally.

Sport, Exercise and Social Theory

Sport, Exercise and Social Theory
Author: Gyozo Molnar
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2013-05-07
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1136476407

Why are sport and exercise important? What can the study of sport and exercise tell us about wider society? Who holds the power in creating contemporary sport and exercise discourses? It is impossible to properly understand the role that sport and exercise play in contemporary society without knowing a little social theory. It is social theory that provides the vocabulary for our study of society, that helps us ask the right critical questions and that encourages us to look for the (real) story behind sport and exercise. Sport, Exercise and Social Theory is a concise and engaging introduction to the key theories that underpin the study of sport, exercise and society, including feminism, post-modernism, (Neo-)Marxism and the sociological imagination. Using vivid examples and descriptions of sport-related events and exercise practices, the book explains why social theories are important as well as how to use them, giving students the tools to navigate with confidence through any course in the sociology of sport and exercise. This book shows how theory can be used to debunk many of our traditional assumptions about sport and exercise and how they can be a useful window through which to observe wider society. Designed to be used by students who have never studied sociology before, and including a whole chapter on the practical application of social theory to their own study, it provides training in critical thinking and helps students to develop intellectual skills which will serve them throughout their professional and personal lives.