Sociology of Sport
No TL;DR found
Abstract
Sport is popularly considered as a sphere separate from 'important' aspects of social and political dynamics. Sociological and anthropological studies have proven the opposite: both active and passive involvements in competitive sports take part in shaping and undermining collective identities, as well as in political mobilization around these identities. This course takes a global and comparative perspective to follow the processes through which national, racial, ethnic, civic, religious, local and gender identities are constructed by sport. Special emphasis is given to: The significance of sport in deeply divided societies; sports as a political battleground for the production of meanings in ethno-national conflicts and colonial contexts; the implication of sport globalization on various collective identities. The theoretical themes are illustrated through various particular case studies around the globe, including North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, India, the Middle East, Brazil, and Papua-New Guinea.