ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the reader to the key concepts of figurational sociology and how these are applied throughout Figurational Research in Sport, Leisure and Health. After presenting a brief biography of Elias, we then locate Elias’s key concepts in relation to five sociological dualisms: macro-micro sociology; objectivity-subjectivity; structure and agency; past and present; and nature and nurture. We discuss how these concepts are applied to the study of sport and how the chapters in this text are located in relation to Elias broader sociological analysis. In doing so we illuminate Elias’s unique sociological approach. We contend that although many individual aspects of Elias’s work have parallels with other theoretical approaches, the challenge for the reader is to understand what may sometimes appear as discrete and separate aspects of theory, are actually highly interdependent and ultimately form a distinct whole. Finally, we discuss some of the criticisms of figurational sociology and reflect on the current and future applications of figurational sociology in the broader context of the discipline of the sociology of sport.
