ABSTRACT
As one of the first major social theorists to take sport as a serious scholarly issue, Bourdieu (1998) suggested that sociologists of sport are “doubly dominated,” being “scorned by sociologists” and “despised by sportspersons”(p.153).They are“scorned by sociologists”because sport is often not viewed as an important area of academic inquiry and “despised by sportspersons” because their research often highlights problems associated with the ways in which sports are organized. Although much of my attention in this chapter will be directed toward sport sociology, I believe that Bourdieu’s concerns are relevant to scholars across the fields of sport studies, particularly those who seek to communicate a critical perspective on sport through public and media engagement. Specifically, in this chapter I present Burawoy’s (2004a, 2004d, 2005) model of public sociology as a framework for sport scholars to utilize in conceptualizing how to pursue interaction with various sporting publics. First, I provide a general summary of the rationale for public sociology before going on to build a further case for the relevance of public sociology to sport scholars. Next, I provide an overview of Burawoy’s division of sociological labor and note some key issues highlighted in the debates surrounding the development of public sociology. Finally, I provide examples of and discuss complications involved in pursuing critical engagement and communication with sporting publics.
