This volume traces the rise and transformation of organized sport and its impact on social patterns and gender roles. Stressing the essential continuity of the sporting experience, the author shows the changing tempo of sport through the ages and explores the broader effects of the time element on the nature and style of sporting activities. The book covers current issues such as soccer hooliganism , government intervention in sport, and the influence of television on sport.

When this book was first published the study of sport had been largely neglected by sociologists. The contributions to this volume bring the sports field, the leisure centre and everyday leisure activities to a more central position within the sociological enterprise. Whether amateur or professional, sport contributes to wider relations of power, privilege and domination and this debate represents an important phase in the sociology of sport and leisure.

Sport celebrates basic human values of freedom, justice and courage. This collection of essays probes beneath those assumptions in order to illuminate how sport is intimately related to power and domination. Topics include the media treatment of sport, drug-taking in sport and the controversial and problematic relationship between sport and politics in Russia and South Africa.

Using a topics-based approach organized around provocative questions about the interaction of sports, culture and society, Sports in Society presents an accessible introduction to research and theory in the sociology of sport. This new edition continues the legacy of the previous editions while introducing new material and examples that bring theory to life. Current debates in sports, such as how youth participation can be increased or sport funding allocated, have been integrated throughout the text to provide a holistic view of society. An Online Learning Centre accompanies this book offering a range of lecturer support materials as well as resources and tests for students.

This volume examines modern sport in its social context and concludes that it is beset with over-commercialised motives, damaged by dangerous political alignments and marred by wrongheaded social values. The book provides a thought-provoking analysis and offers new insights into why and how modern sport has evolved into its present dominant position. It calls for radical reforms in the structure of, and attitudes towards, sport.

This accessible introduction to the field of Sports Studies is the most comprehensive guide yet to the relationships between sport, culture and society. Taking an international perspective. Sport, Culture and Society provides students with the insight they need to think critically about the nature of sport: clearly structured in four parts; unrivalled coverage of the history, sociology, politics and anthropology sport; includes core topics and emerging areas; draws on extensive original research and new case study material; and provide a full range of textbook support materials including revision questions research project ideas web links and further reading. Sport, Culture and Society represents a fundamental text for students of sport and sets a new agenda for the field as a whole.

This state-of-the-art Research Handbook provides a challenging and critical examination of the complex issues surrounding sports in contemporary societies. Featuring contributions from world-leading scholars, it focuses upon the impact of their research, together with significant social issues and controversies in sport.