From the mid-eighteenth century to the twentieth, tourism became established as a leisure industry and travel writing as a popular genre. In this collection of essays, leading international historians and travel writing experts examine the role of home tourism in the UK and Ireland in the development of national identities and commercial culture.

Books about sports, even those written by scholars, are frequently little more than hagiography. They extol the virtue of athletics for participant and spectator alike. Of greater rarity are those that look critically at the political, social, economic, and psychological underpinnings of contemporary sports. Violence in sports is among the relatively neglected issues of serious study. Sports Violence is perhaps the first collection of scholarly theory and research to examine in detail aggression within and surrounding sports. As such, it seeks to present the broadest possible range of interpretations and perspectives. The book is, therefore, both interdisciplinary and international in scope. Two chapters, by Guttmann and Vamplew, are concerned with historical analyses of sports violence. Definitions and perspectives on aggression in general, and sports-related aggression in particular, are the topics of Chapters 4 through 7 by Smith, Bredemeier, Mark, Bryant, and Lehman, and Mummendey and Mummendey. Here, a wide variety of social and psychological theories are brought to bear on the conceptualization of aggression on the playing field and in the stands. Dunning and Liischen, both sociologists of sport, examine the origins, structure, and functions of violence, of sports, and of their interconnections. Psychological interpreta tions and research are presented in chapters by Russell and Keefer, Goldstein, and Kasiarz, while Bryant and Zillmann examine the portrayal and effects of aggression in televised sports."

This interdisciplinary text examines the sports-Christianity interface from Protestant and Catholic perspectives. In addition to a "systematic review of literature," field-pioneering contributors such as Michael Novak, Shirl Hoffman, Joseph Price and Robert Higgs address a wide range of topics from the sporting world, including biblical athletic metaphors, disability, evangelism, professionalism and celebrity, humility and pride, genetic enhancement technologies, stereotypes, sport as art and British and American historical analyses of sport and Christianity. Insightful chapters from Scott Kretchmar, one of the world's leading philosophers of sport, and Father Kevin Lixey, the head of the Vatican's 'Church and Sport' office (2004-), add further depth and breadth to this book, making it accessible and interesting to academic and practitioner audiences alike. Within the context of this relatively new and rapidly expanding area of inquiry, this collection provides a unique and important addition to the current literature for both undergraduate and postgraduate students, and serves as a point of reference for scholars of theology and religious studies, psychology, health studies, ethics and sports studies. The book may also be of interest to physical educators and sports coaches who wish to adopt a more "holistic" and ethical approach to their work. As modern sport is often intertwined with commercial and political agendas, this book offers an important corrective to the "win-at-all-costs" culture of modern sport, which cannot be fully understood through secular ethical inquiry.

The influence of professional, adult sport on youth sport is now a global concern. Children are involved in high-stakes competitive sport at national and international levels at an increasingly young age. In addition, the use of sport as a medium for positive youth development by governments and within the community has fuelled ambitious targets for young people s participation in sport at all levels. In this important study of ethical issues in and around youth sport, leading international experts argue for the development of strong ethical codes for the conduct of youth sport and for effective policy and pedagogical applications to ensure that the positive benefits of sport are optimized and the negative aspects diminished.

At the heart of the discussion are the prevailing standards and expectations of youth sport in developed societies, typically consisting of the development of motor competence, the development of a safe and healthy lifestyle and competitive style, and the development of a positive self-image and good relationship skills. The book examines the recommendations emerging from the Panathlon Declaration and the debates that have followed, and covers a wide range of key ethical issues, including:

Ethics in Youth Sport is focused on the application of ethical policy and pedagogies and is grounded in practice. It assumes no prior ethical training on the part of the reader and is essential reading for all students, researchers, policy makers and professionals working with children and young people in sport across school, community and professional settings.

In the decade or more since publication of the first edition of Understanding Sport, both sport and wider global society have undergone profound change. In this fully updated, revised and expanded edition of their classic textbook, John Horne, Alan Tomlinson, Garry Whannel and Kath Woodward offer a critical and reflective introduction to the relationship between sport and contemporary society and explain how sport remains an important agent and symptom of socio-cultural change.

Fully integrating historical, sociological, political and cultural analysis, the book covers every key topic in the study of sport and society, including:

• debate, interpretation and theory
• sport and the media
• sport and the body
• sport and politics
• commercialization
• globalization.

Retaining the accessibility and scholarly rigour for which Understanding Sport has always been renowned, this new edition includes entirely new chapters on global transformations, sports mega-events and sites, sporting bodies and governance, as well as a succinct guide to researching sport. With review and seminar questions included in every chapter, plus concise, helpful guides to further reading, Understanding Sport remains an essential textbook for all courses on sport and society, the sociology of sport, sport and social theory, or social issues in sport.

The call for sport organizations and organizers to take up social responsibilities is reflected in a wide variety of sport-related practices. This book critically examines sport-related social interventions in different cultural settings, such as promoting local community-building by sport. Social constructions of peace, integration and managing diversity are studied from the perspective of sport and play, and the power position of global sport organizations with corporate features is discussed from the perspectives of good governance, legal issues and fair trade. Referring to Foucault's concept of biopolitics, this book contributes to the discussion on the rising power position and the social responsibilities of sports and sport organizations. It is a valuable contribution to the understanding of interconnections between sport and society for students in sociology, policy and politics of sport, for sport leaders, and for policy and decision-makers in sport.

The Gay Games is an important piece of new social history, examining one of the largest sporting, cultural and human rights events in the world. Since their inception in 1980, the Gay Games have developed into a multi-million dollar mega-event, engaging people from all continents, while the international Gay Games movement has become one of the largest and most significant international institutions for gay and lesbian people. Drawing on detailed archival research, oral history and participant observation techniques, and informed by critical feminist theory and queer theory, this book offers the first comprehensive history of the Gay Games from 1980 through to the Chicago games of 2006. It explores the significance of the Games in the context of broader currents of gay and lesbian history, and addresses a wide range of key contemporary themes within sports studies, including the cultural politics of sport, the politics of difference and identity, and the rise of sporting mega-events. This book is important reading for any serious student of international sport or gender and sexuality studies.

This book provides the first in-depth analysis of the global phenomenon of snowboarding culture. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, it offers key insights into the sport, lifestyle, industry, media, gender relations, travel, and physical experience of snowboarding, in both historical and contemporary contexts.

While the relationship between sport and religion is deeply rooted in history, it continues to play a profound role in shaping modern-day societies. This edited collection provides an inter-disciplinary exploration of this relationship from a global perspective, making a major contribution to the religious, social scientific and theological study of sport. It discusses the dialectical interplay between sport and Christianity across diverse cultures, extending beyond a Western perspective to include studies from Africa, South America and Asia, as well as Europe, the UK and the US. Containing contributions from leading experts within the field, it reflects on key topics including race, gender, spirituality, morality, interfaith sport clubs, and the significance of sport in public rituals of celebration and mourning. Its chapters also examine violent sports such as boxing and mixed martial arts, as well as reflecting on the cult of sporting celebrity and the theology of disability sport. Truly international in scope, Global Perspectives on Sports and Christianity is fascinating reading for all those interested in the study of sport, sociology and religion.

With an international line-up of contributors, this book examines challenges to racism in and through sport. It addresses the different agents of change in the context of wider socio-political shifts and explores issues of policy formation, practices in sport and anti-racism in sport, and the challenge to sport today.

This book provides a guide to qualitative research methods in the multidisciplinary field of physical culture. Developing an approach based on the '7 Ps' of research, this text navigates a pathway through the research process that will be invaluable as a teaching tool and to experienced and inexperienced researchers alike.

How has our understanding of sport been shaped by sociological ideas? How can the study of sport help sociologists to understand wider society? The sociology of sport is a sub-discipline approaching maturity. This is the first book to stand back and reflect upon the subject's growth, to trace its developmental phases and to take stock of the current fund of knowledge. It offers a 'state of the art' review of the sociology of sport and investigates those areas where sport has come to influence the sociological mainstream. The book also examines how the sociology of sport has attempted to engage with a popular readership, and what the consequences of such engagement have been. Focusing on touchstone issues and concepts within sociological discourse such as race, gender, celebrity, the body and social theory, the book assesses the successes and failures of the sociology of sport in influencing the parent discipline, related sub-disciplines and the wider public. It also asks to what extent the sociology of sport can be said to be autonomous, distinctive and distinguished, and challenges students of sport to extend their work out of the narrow confines of the subdiscipline and across disciplinary divides. As the first book to provide a history of the sociology of sport and to clearly locate the contemporary discipline in the wider currents of sociological discourse, this is important reading for all students and scholars interested in the relationship between sport and society, whether they are working in sport studies or in the sociological mainstream.

How has our understanding of sport been shaped by sociological ideas? How can the study of sport help sociologists to understand wider society? The sociology of sport is a sub-discipline approaching maturity. This is the first book to stand back and reflect upon the subject's growth, to trace its developmental phases and to take stock of the current fund of knowledge. It offers a 'state of the art' review of the sociology of sport and investigates those areas where sport has come to influence the sociological mainstream. The book also examines how the sociology of sport has attempted to engage with a popular readership, and what the consequences of such engagement have been. Focusing on touchstone issues and concepts within sociological discourse such as race, gender, celebrity, the body and social theory, the book assesses the successes and failures of the sociology of sport in influencing the parent discipline, related sub-disciplines and the wider public. It also asks to what extent the sociology of sport can be said to be autonomous, distinctive and distinguished, and challenges students of sport to extend their work out of the narrow confines of the subdiscipline and across disciplinary divides. As the first book to provide a history of the sociology of sport and to clearly locate the contemporary discipline in the wider currents of sociological discourse, this is important reading for all students and scholars interested in the relationship between sport and society, whether they are working in sport studies or in the sociological mainstream.

This book is the outcome of an Australian Research Council (ARC)-funded project titled Assessing the Australian Football League's Racial and Religious Vilification Laws to Promote Community Harmony, Multiculturalism and Reconciliation, which investigated the impact of the Australian Football League's anti-vilification policy since its introduction in 1995. With key stakeholders the Australian Football League, the AFL Players' Association and the Office of Multicultural Affairs (previously the Victorian Multicultural Commission), the book gauges the attitudes and perspectives of players and coaches in the AFL regarding Rule 35, the code's anti-vilification rule. The overarching themes of multiculturalism, reconciliation and social harmony in the AFL workplace have been the guiding ideals that we examined and analysed. The outcomes from the research vectors look at and engage with key issues about race, diversity and difference as it pertains to the elite AFL code, but also looks at the ongoing international conversation as it pertains to these themes in sport. This book was previously published as a special issue of Sport in Society.

This book explores the new politics of leisure and pleasure in relation to a range of popular activities. Current generations in Western societies are essentially recipients of the changes that the Sixties - fabled decade of sex, drugs and rock n' roll - left behind. In their leisure lives - whether drinking, reading, surfing the net, taking drugs, going to a comedy gig, watching TV, taking a holiday, downloading music, supporting a football club, having a bet, having sex or simply roaming the countryside - people seem to enjoy unprecedented freedoms. But what are these freedoms? How are they exercised? And to what extent have traditional controls been relinquished?

Football Managers have to deal with a number of unique pressures, yet the challenges of the football manager are similar to those of managers in other sectors. This book examines the management of football and looks at ways that managers and leaders in other industries can use tools and techniques from the sporting world within their own sector.

Body Problems addresses the relationship between the body and society in a fast-food culture. Agger focuses on issues of food, exercise, work, dieting and eating disorders, fashion, bariatric and cosmetic surgery, and health. He addresses a growing, fundamental dilemma that we have ample access to abundant calories yet lead lifestyles and have jobs that for the most part do not enable us to expend those calories. He proposes solutions, both individual and structural, that involve re-orienting ourselves to exercise as play. This second edition has been updated to include a new chapter on food capitalism and a concluding passage arguing Cartesian dualism can be resolved by exercising vegans in ways that would thwart this food capitalism and give people immense control over their bodies, health, and well-being. The book is ideal for courses in introductory sociology, social problems, work, sociology of sport and leisure, gender, and health and illness.

In Implementing Student-Athlete Programming, scholar-practitioners provide an approachable and comprehensive overview of how to design, implement, and sustain best practices in the growing area of student-athlete development. Exploring research approaches and critical frames for thinking about student-athlete programming while covering topics such as the current context, challenges, programmatic approaches to support, and trends for the future, this resource also highlights programs that are effective in supporting students to success. This book provides higher education practitioners with the tools they need to effectively work with student-athletes to not only transition to college, but to develop meaningful personal, social, career, and leadership development experiences as they prepare for the transition to life after sport.

This book examines how women athletes were represented in international media coverage during the 2004 Olympic Games. Through feminist theorizing and qualitative textual analysis, the contributors discuss sexualization, nationalism, success, failure and the [in]visibility of women athletes in newspaper reporting in Asia, Europe and the USA.

This comprehensive collection examines the culture of sport and its relationship with various social institutions. The editors first provide a broad overview of the field and describe the ways in which the concept of sport as a meritocratic contest is undermined by the powerful social structures within which it is embedded. Sections focus on political economy, violence, the media, education, politics, fans and community, and the body. Primary readings from noted scholars in each section address current issues such as the presence of big-time sports in educational institutions; the effects of corporate media; race and class relations; professional athletes' ties to politics; and how sports alter perceptions and practices regarding beauty and health. In addition, entertaining and provocative essays from journalists supplement academic readings and spotlight key issues. Section introductions from the editors connect the readings to a theoretical framework that explores the perspectives of new institutionalism, cultural hegemony, social capital, and symbolic interaction and cultural construction. Providing a cohesive foundation for a wide range of readings, "Sport, Power, and Society" is a must-have resource for understanding the current issues and debates surrounding the interactions of sport and society.

No single introductory book has until now captured the range of thought appropriate for scrutinizing the idea of leisure. Beginning with a discussion of expressions in classical thought, etymological definitions and key leisure studies concepts, Blackshaw suggests that the idea abounds with ambivalence, which is unlikely ever to be resolved. After analyzing the rise and fall of modern leisure patterns, the emphasis shifts from the historical to the sociological and the author identifies and critically discusses the key modernist and postmodernist perspectives. Drawing on the idea that leisure studies is a 'language game', Tony Blackshaw subsequently offers his own original theory of liquid leisure which asks some key questions about the present and the future of leisure in people's lives, as well as what implications it has for individuals' abilities to embrace the opportunity for an authentic existence that is both magical and moral. Leisure is an essential purchase for undergraduate and postgraduate students, researchers and academics in the fields of Sociology of Leisure, Sports and Leisure Studies, and Popular Culture.

The Cultures of Alternative Mobilities presents a series of ethnographic studies, focusing on the local cultures of mobilities and immobilities, emphasizing the everyday sense of contingency and heterogeneity that accompanies them. Compensating for the excess of theory and criticism based on the notion of 'hypermobilities', this book sheds light on the nuanced differences and idiosyncrasies of mobility, with a view to rediscovering meanings and lifestyles marked by movement and immobility. Original, empirical and global case studies are presented by an international team of scholars, exploring the complex, negotiated and contingent nature of the social worlds of movement. By avoiding sweeping generalizations on the deeply connected and readily mobile nature of society as a whole, this volume sheds light on the diversity of mobility modes in an accessible and interdisciplinary form that will be of key interest, to sociologists, geographers and scholars of human mobility, communication and culture.

The evolution of the human species has always been closely tied to the relationship between biology and culture, and the human condition is rooted in this fascinating intersection. Sport, games, and competition serve as a nexus for humanity's innate fixation on movement and social activity, and these activities have served throughout history to encourage the proliferation of human culture for any number of exclusive or inclusive motivations: money, fame, health, spirituality, or social and cultural solidarity. The study of anthropology, as presented in Anthropology of Sport and Human Movement, provides a scope that offers a critical and discerning perspective on the complex calculus involving human biological and cultural variation that produces human movement and performance. Each chapter of this compelling collection resonates with the theme of a tightly woven relationship of biology and culture, of evolutionary implications and contemporary biological and cultural expression.

The book explores the relationship between embodiment and the production of the key structures which frame agency to map out potential for social change. It uses modalities of ageing embodiment in the context of sport participation in later life, specifically Master athletics, including barriers, opportunities and physiological dimensions.

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aAt a time when childrenas play seems under siege, Howard Chudacoffas history--the first of its kind--arrives to tell us what we are letting slip away. . . . His history demonstrates that the topic of play is anything but trivial. And by showing us where weave been, he can help us decide where, as a culture, we want to go.a
--"Wilson Quarterly"

aA fascinating and provocative survey. . . . Chudacoff builds up a scathing critique of modern parentsa intrusion in childrenas play.a
--"New York Times Book Review"

aIn this wonderfully polished, scholarly treatment of children and play from Colonial times to the present, Chudacoff uses excellent historical methodology and perceptive psychological insights, putting primary sources to good use, as he presents an illustrated, chronological history of children at play from ages six to 12.a
--"Library Journal" (starred review)

aIn tracing the history of play over the American centuries, Chudacoff makes the mid-seventeenth century sound like our own time, only better.a
--"Slate.com"

a[Chudacoffas] history demonstrates that the topic of play is anything but trivial. And by showing us where weave been, he can help us decide where, as a culture, we want to go.a
--"The Wilson Quarterly"

aThe tension between how children spend their free time and how adults want them to spend it runs through Chudacoffas book like a yellow line smack down the middle of a highway. His critique is increasingly echoed today by parents, educators and childrenas advocates who warn that organized activities, overscheduling and excessiveamounts of homework are crowding out free time and constricting childrenas imaginations and social skills.a
--"The New York Times"

aChildren at Play is a strong addition to the growing literature on childhood, but itas also good reading for adults seeking a fresh perspective on their own kids.a
--"American Heritage"

aChudacoffas work gives historical depth to debates that continue to rage over what constitutes appropriate childas play.a
--"Publishers Weekly"

"Shrewd, balanced, witty, and important. Chudacoff has written a sweeping history that encompasses boys and girls, black children and white, rich and poor, children on farms and in cities. He shows how children play alone and with each other, and how they use their imaginations to create a world apart from their parents. This is historical synthesis at its finest, and instantly becomes an essential text in this new and dynamic area of inquiry."
--Paula S. Fass, author of "Children of a New World: Society, Culture, and Globalization"

a"Children at Play" is a brilliant, richly researched study that foregrounds childrenas voices, offering a message that could not be more timely or profound: That the history of childrenas play consists of an ongoing struggle between adults who seek to improve and safeguard the young, and kids themselves, who have sought to create worlds of play that are truly their own.a --Steven Mintz, author of "Huckas Raft: A History of American Childhood"

"In this beautifully written book, Howard Chudacoff lets us peer into the diverse playworlds of America's children across time and place. Informed by deep historical research and balanced with the best sociological and psychological theory, Chudacoff shows us how children (often in spite of adults) used play to express their freedom and themselves."
--Gary Cross, author of "The Cute and the Cool: Wondrous Innocence and Modern American Children's Culture"

If you believe the experts, "child's play" is serious business. From sociologists to psychologists and from anthropologists to social critics, writers have produced mountains of books about the meaning and importance of play. But what do we know about how children "actually" play, especially American children of the last two centuries? In this fascinating and enlightening book, Howard Chudacoff presents a history of children's play in the United States and ponders what it tells us about ourselves.

Through expert investigation in primary sources-including dozens of children's diaries, hundreds of autobiographical recollections of adults, and a wealth of child-rearing manuals-along with wide-ranging reading of the work of educators, journalists, market researchers, and scholars-Chudacoff digs into the "underground" of play. He contrasts the activities that genuinely occupied children's time with what adults thought children should be doing.

Filled with intriguing stories and revelatory insights, Children at Play provides a chronological history of play in the U.S. from the point of view of children themselves. Focusing on youngsters between the ages of about six and twelve, this is history "from the bottom up." It highlights the transformations of play that have occurred over the last 200 years, paying attention not only to the activities of the cultural elite but to those of working-class men and women, to slaves, and to Native Americans. In addition, the authorconsiders the findings, observations, and theories of numerous social scientists along with those of fellow historians.

Chudacoff concludes that children's ability to play independently has attenuated over time and that in our modern era this diminution has frequently had unfortunate consequences. By examining the activities of young people whom marketers today call "tweens," he provides fresh historical depth to current discussions about topics like childhood obesity, delinquency, learning disability, and the many ways that children spend their time when adults aren't looking.