ABSTRACT

What can sport do to produce social change in our world today? It is impossible to fully understand contemporary society and culture without acknowledging the importance of sport. Sport is part of our social and cultural fabric, possessing a commercial power that makes it a potent force in the world, for good and for bad. It has helped to start wars and promote international reconciliation, and governments around the world commit public resources to sport.

Sport matters, but how should you make sense of what is going on in the world of sport today?

Now in a fully revised, updated and expanded third edition, this critical, challenging and comprehensive textbook introduces the study of sport, culture and society. International in scope, it challenges us to reactivate an audacious spirit of activism through sport. Full of contemporary examples, it places sport at the heart of the analysis and introduces the reader to every core topic and emerging area in the study of sport and society, including:

  • the history and politics of sport;
  • sport, gender and sexuality;
  • sport, disability and advocacy;
  • sport, race and racism;
  • sport, violence and crime;
  • sport and health;
  • sport, globalisation and democracy;
  • sport, media and cultural relations;
  • sport and the environment;
  • sporting cities and mega-events;
  • sport, poverty and development.

Each chapter includes a wealth of useful features, including Sport in Focus case studies, chapter summaries, guides to further reading, revision questions, practical projects, definitions of key concepts and weblinks. Additional teaching and learning resources – including a testbank, resource list and glossary – are available on a companion website.

Sport, Culture and Society is the most broad-ranging, in-depth and thoughtful introduction to the sociocultural analysis of sport currently available and sets a new agenda for the discipline. It is essential reading for all students with an interest in sport.

chapter |16 pages

Introduction

part 1|100 pages

The broader context

chapter 1|19 pages

Sport, theory and the problem of values

chapter 2|21 pages

Sport, history and social change

chapter 3|19 pages

Sport, economics and wealth

chapter 4|17 pages

Sport, development and peace

chapter 5|21 pages

Sport, politics and culture

part 2|126 pages

Global sport and community

chapter 6|21 pages

Global sport in a deglobalising world

chapter 7|20 pages

Sport, law and governance

chapter 8|18 pages

Sport and communities

chapter 10|14 pages

Sport, media and technology

chapter 11|15 pages

Sport, social capital and civil society

chapter 12|14 pages

Sport and education

part 3|186 pages

Sport and contemporary social issues

chapter 13|19 pages

Sport and the environment

chapter 14|18 pages

Sport, racisms and ethnicity

chapter 15|19 pages

Sport, violence and crime

chapter 16|16 pages

Sport and religion

chapter 17|17 pages

Sport, gender and sexuality

chapter 18|14 pages

Sport and health

chapter 19|14 pages

Sport and disability

chapter 21|15 pages

Sport, lifestyles and alternatives?

chapter 22|13 pages

Sport, gambling and corruption

chapter 23|17 pages

Sport, poverty and homelessness

part 4|93 pages

Sport as a resource of hope and the politics of the possible

chapter 24|17 pages

Sport, social movements and protest

chapter 25|15 pages

Sport, damned nations and cultural relations

chapter 26|13 pages

Sport, rights and public action

chapter 27|18 pages

Sport for social change

chapter 28|20 pages

Sport, advocacy and the public intellectual