'Whannel is a foundational figure in the study of sports and the media. ...For 20 years his writing has set a high standard ...and it remains an inspiration to many' - Toby Miller, Professor of Cultural Studies, New York University, USA Garry Whannel's text Blowing the Whistle: The Politics of Sport broke new ground when it was first published in 1983. Its polemical discussion brought sports as cultural politics into the academic arena and set the agenda for a new wave of researchers. Since the 1980s sport studies has matured both as an academic discipline and as a focus for mainstream political and public policy debate. In Culture, Politics and Sport: Blowing the Whistle, Revisited, Garry Whannel revisits the themes that led his first edition, assessing their 1980s context from our new millennium perspective, and exploring their continued relevance for contemporary sports academics. This revisited volume will appeal to undergraduate students and researchers in sports and cultural studies. Garry Whannel is Professor of Media Cultures and Director of the Centre for International Media Analysis at the University of Bedfordshire. His previous books include Media Sports Stars: Masculinities and Moralities, Fields in Vision: Television Sport and Cultural Transformation, Understanding Sport (co-authored with John Horne and Alan Tomlinson) and Understanding Television (co-edited with Andrew Goodwin), all published by Routledge.

During the past decade, there has been an outpouring of books on 'the body' in society, but none has focused as specifically on physical culture - that is, cultural practices such as sport and dance within which the moving physical body is central. Questions are raised about the character of the body, specifically the relation between the 'natural' body, the 'constructed' body and the 'alien' or 'virtual' body. The themes of the book are wide in scope, including: physical culture and the fascist body sport and the racialised body sport medicine, health and the culture of risk the female Muslim sporting body, power, and politics experiencing the disabled sporting body embodied exhibitions of striptease and sport the social logic of sparring sport, girls and the neoliberal body. Physical Culture, Power, and the Body aims to break down disciplinary boundaries in its theoretical approaches and its readership. The author's muli-disciplinary backgrounds, demonstrate the widespread topicality of physical culture and the body.

The Routledge Handbook of Sport, Gender and Sexuality brings together important new work from 68 leading international scholars that, collectively, demonstrates the intrinsic interconnectedness of sport, gender and sexuality. It introduces what is, in essence, a sophisticated sub-area of sport sociology, covering the field comprehensively, as well as signalling ideas for future research and analysis. Wide-ranging across different historical periods, different sports, and different local and global contexts, the book incorporates personal, ideological and political narratives; varied conceptual, methodological and theoretical approaches; and examples of complexities and nuanced ways of understanding the gendered and sexualized dynamics of sport. It examines structural and cultural forms of gender segregation, homophobia, heteronormativity and transphobia, as well as the ideological struggles and changes that have led to nuanced ways of thinking about the sport, gender and sexuality nexus. This is a landmark work of reference that will be a key resource for students and researchers working in sport studies, gender studies, sexuality studies or sociology.

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.

What can the history of a nation's football reveal about that nation's wider political and socio-cultural identity? How can the study of local football culture help us to understand the powerful international forces at play within the modern game?

Based on long-term and detailed ethnographic research, this book uses Malta as a critical case study to explore the dynamics of contemporary football. Situated on the fringes of the EU, and with an appalling record in international competition, the Maltese are nevertheless fanatical about the game. This book examines Maltese football in the context of the island's unique politics, culture and national identity, shedding light upon both Maltese society and on broader processes, both local and global, within the international game. The book explores a range of key issues in contemporary football, such as:

the dynamics of international player migration

football corruption and ethics

the politics of sponsorship and TV deals

the global appeal of footballing "brands" such as Manchester United, Juventus and Bayern Munich.

This book is essential reading for students and researchers working in Sports Studies, Sociology of Sport, Football, Globalisation, Politics and Ethnic Studies.

The cultural ubiquity, political prominence and economic significance of contemporary sport present fertile terrain for its critical socio-cultural analysis. From corporate and media dominated mega-events like the Olympic Games, to state programmes for nation-building and health promotion, to the cultural politics of "race", gender, sexuality, age and disability, sport is so profoundly marked by relations of power that it lends itself to critique and deconstruction. Marxism, Cultural Studies and Sport brings together leading experts on sport to address these issues and to reflect on the continued appeal of sport to people across the globe, as well as on the forms of inequality that sport both produces and highlights. Including a Foreword by Harry Cleaver and Afterword by Michael Berube, this book assesses the impact of this work on the fields of 'mainstream' Marxism and cultural studies. Marxism, Cultural Studies and Sport is centred on three vital questions: Is Marxism still relevant for understanding sport in the twenty-first century? Has Marxism been preserved or transcended by cultural studies? What is the relationship between theory and intervention in the politics of sport? The result is a unique and diverse examination of modern sports culture. The first book published on the relationship between sport and Marxism for over twenty years, Marxism, Cultural Studies and Sport is an invaluable resource for students of sport sociology, Marxism, and cultural studies at all levels.

What can the history of a nation's football reveal about that nation's wider political and socio-cultural identity? How can the study of local football culture help us to understand the powerful international forces at play within the modern game? Based on long-term and detailed ethnographic research, this book uses Malta as a critical case study to explore the dynamics of contemporary football. Situated on the fringes of the EU, and with an appalling record in international competition, the Maltese are nevertheless fanatical about the game. This book examines Maltese football in the context of the island's unique politics, culture and national identity, shedding light upon both Maltese society and on broader processes, both local and global, within the international game. The book explores a range of key issues in contemporary football, such as: the dynamics of international player migration; football corruption and ethics; the politics of sponsorship and TV deals; and the global appeal of footballing brands such as Manchester United, Juventus and Bayern Munich. This book is essential reading for students and researchers working in Sports Studies, Sociology of Sport, Football, Globalisation, Politics and Ethnic Studies.

Expansion of the Paralympic Games has to some extent mirrored expansion of the mainstream Olympics and the event now constitutes an internationally significant sporting festival. This book examines the development of the Paralympics and asks whether we are justified in describing the Games as a vehicle for the empowerment of the disabled community.

A highly successful paralympian athlete in his own right, David Howe uses ethnographic research methods to investigate the economic, social, cultural and political processes shaping the Paralympic movement on a local and global scale, and develops a new theory of the relationship between sport, the body and the culture of disability.

By critiquing contemporary attitudes to disability within sport and within society more generally, and by challenging the orthodox view of the Paralympics as a vehicle for empowerment, this book raises important questions and debates crucial to the study of sociology and sports studies.

In spite of a great passion in the game and significant involvement at amateur level, British Asians are under-represented in professional football. This book asks how and why this situation has developed, using extensive interviews with British Asian football players to offer an insider's assessment of the difficulties and conflicting demands faced every day. In addition, the book also critically examines the work of the anti-racist football movement, questioning the strategies and policies designed to eradicate racism and asking whether other approaches might be more effective or reflective of the views of the players themselves.

Ideal for academics and students of the sociology of ethnicity, sport, youth studies or cultural studies, this innovative book will also be of interest to professionals in the field of equal opportunities.

Located in the United States, NBC (National Broadcasting Company) is the biggest and most powerful Olympic network in the world, having won the rights to televise both the Summer and the Winter Olympic Games. By way of attracting more viewers of both sexes and all ages and ethnicities than any other sporting event, and through the production of breathtaking spectacles and absorbing stories, NBC's Olympic telecasts have huge power and potential to shape viewer perceptions. Billings's unique text examines the production, content, and potential effects of NBC's Olympic telecasts. Interviews with key NBC Olympic producers and sportscasters (including NBC Universal Sports and Olympics President Dick Ebersol and primetime anchor Bob Costas) outline the inner workings of the NBC Olympic machine; content analyses from ten years of Olympic telecasts (1996-2006) examine the portrayal of nationality, gender, and ethnicity within NBC's telecast; and survey analyses interrogate the extent to which NBC's storytelling process affects viewer beliefs about identity issues. This mixed-method approach offers valuable insights into what Billings portrays as "the biggest show on television".

During the past decade, there has been an outpouring of books on 'the body' in society, but none has focused as specifically on physical culture - that is, cultural practices such as sport and dance within which the moving physical body is central. Questions are raised about the character of the body, specifically the relation between the 'natural' body, the 'constructed' body and the 'alien' or 'virtual' body. The themes of the book are wide in scope, including: physical culture and the fascist body sport and the racialised body sport medicine, health and the culture of risk the female Muslim sporting body, power, and politics experiencing the disabled sporting body embodied exhibitions of striptease and sport the social logic of sparring sport, girls and the neoliberal body. Physical Culture, Power, and the Body aims to break down disciplinary boundaries in its theoretical approaches and its readership. The author's muli-disciplinary backgrounds, demonstrate the widespread topicality of physical culture and the body.

The first book focusing exclusively on this subject, Sport, Sexualities and Queer/Theory captures the newest and best writing on an emerging focus of study that brings in perspectives from a number of disciplines including sports studies, gender studies, sociology, cultural studies, lesbian and gay studies, and queer studies. An accessible introduction to this dynamic field, this is an explorative analysis of lesbian, gay, transgender, transsexual and intersex peoplea (TM)s experiences of sport as well as a rigorous theoretical consideration of sociological and political issues.

Bringing together in a single source an exciting array of contributions, this is an ideal source of inspiration for anyone involved in this rapidly growing field, and fills a need for an excellent introduction to the main themes and issues.

The first book focusing exclusively on this subject, Sport, Sexualities and Queer/Theory captures the newest and best writing on an emerging focus of study that brings in perspectives from a number of disciplines including sports studies, gender studies, sociology, cultural studies, lesbian and gay studies, and queer studies. An accessible introduction to this dynamic field, this is an explorative analysis of lesbian, gay, transgender, transsexual and intersex peoplea (TM)s experiences of sport as well as a rigorous theoretical consideration of sociological and political issues.

Bringing together in a single source an exciting array of contributions, this is an ideal source of inspiration for anyone involved in this rapidly growing field, and fills a need for an excellent introduction to the main themes and issues.

In spite of a great passion in the game and significant involvement at amateur level, British Asians are under-represented in professional football. This book asks how and why this situation has developed, using extensive interviews with British Asian football players to offer an insider's assessment of the difficulties and conflicting demands faced every day. In addition, the book also critically examines the work of the anti-racist football movement, questioning the strategies and policies designed to eradicate racism and asking whether other approaches might be more effective or reflective of the views of the players themselves.

Ideal for academics and students of the sociology of ethnicity, sport, youth studies or cultural studies, this innovative book will also be of interest to professionals in the field of equal opportunities.

"Fastest, Highest, Strongest" presents a comprehensive challenge to the dominant orthodoxy concerning the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport.
Examining the political and economic transformation of the Olympic Movement during the twentieth century, the authors argue that the realities of modern sport require a serious reassessment of current policies, in particular the ban on the use of certain substances and practices. The book includes detailed discussion of:
- The historical importance of World War II and the Cold War in the development of a high-performance culture in sport.
- The changing Olympic project: from amateurism to a fully professionalized approach.
- The changing meaning of "sport."
- The role of sport science, technology and drugs in pursuing ever-better performance.
- The major ethical and philosophical arguments used to support the ban on performance-enhancing substances in sport.
"Fastest, Highest, Strongest "is a profound, critical examination of modern sport, of interest to both students and scholars in the field of sport studies, as well as sociologists, political scientists, policymakers, sports administrators, and athletes themselves

"Fastest, Highest, Strongest" presents a comprehensive challenge to the dominant orthodoxy concerning the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport.
Examining the political and economic transformation of the Olympic Movement during the twentieth century, the authors argue that the realities of modern sport require a serious reassessment of current policies, in particular the ban on the use of certain substances and practices. The book includes detailed discussion of:
- The historical importance of World War II and the Cold War in the development of a high-performance culture in sport.
- The changing Olympic project: from amateurism to a fully professionalized approach.
- The changing meaning of "sport."
- The role of sport science, technology and drugs in pursuing ever-better performance.
- The major ethical and philosophical arguments used to support the ban on performance-enhancing substances in sport.
"Fastest, Highest, Strongest "is a profound, critical examination of modern sport, of interest to both students and scholars in the field of sport studies, as well as sociologists, political scientists, policymakers, sports administrators, and athletes themselves

When we accept that advertisers and sponsors dictate athletic schedules, that success in sport is measured by revenue, that athletes' loyalties lie with their commercial agents instead of teams and that game rules exist to be tested and broken in the pursuit of a win, what does our regard for sport say about the moral and political well-being of our society? Why Sports Morally Matter is a deeply critical examination of pressing ethical issues in sports - and in society as a whole. Exploring the broad historical context of modern America, William J. Morgan argues that the current state of sports is a powerful indictment of our wealth-driven society and hyper-individualistic way of life. Taking on critics from all sides of the political debate, Morgan makes the case that, despite the negating effect of free market values, sport still possesses important features that encourage social, moral and political values crucial to the flourishing of a democratic polity. It is this potential to transform society and the individual that makes sport a key battleground in the struggle for the moral soul of twenty-first century America.

Heroines of Sport looks closely at different groups of women whose stories have been excluded from previous accounts of women's sports and female heroism. It focuses on five specific groups of women from different places in the world South African women; Muslim women from the Middle East; Aboriginal women from Australia and Canada; and lesbian and disabled women from different countries worldwide. It also asks searching questions about colonialism and neo-colonialism in the women's international sport movement.
The particular groups of women featured in the book reflect the need to look at specific categories of difference relating to class, culture, disability, ethnicity, race, religion and sexual orientation. In her account, Jennifer Hargreaves reveals how the participation of women in sport across the world is tied to their sense of difference and identity. Based on original research each chapter includes material which relates to significant political and cultural developments.
Heroines of Sport will be invaluable reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students of sport sociology, and will also be relevant for students working in women's studies and other specialized fields, such as developments development studies or the politics of Aboriginality, disability, Islam, race and sexuality.

Heroines of Sport looks closely at different groups of women whose stories have been excluded from previous accounts of women's sports and female heroism. It focuses on five specific groups of women from different places in the world South African women; Muslim women from the Middle East; Aboriginal women from Australia and Canada; and lesbian and disabled women from different countries worldwide. It also asks searching questions about colonialism and neo-colonialism in the women's international sport movement.
The particular groups of women featured in the book reflect the need to look at specific categories of difference relating to class, culture, disability, ethnicity, race, religion and sexual orientation. In her account, Jennifer Hargreaves reveals how the participation of women in sport across the world is tied to their sense of difference and identity. Based on original research each chapter includes material which relates to significant political and cultural developments.
Heroines of Sport will be invaluable reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students of sport sociology, and will also be relevant for students working in women's studies and other specialized fields, such as developments development studies or the politics of Aboriginality, disability, Islam, race and sexuality.

1994 North American Society for the Sociology of Sport Annual Book AwardAn outstanding contribution to feminist analysis of sport from the nineteenth century to the present day. Jennifer Hargreaves views sport as a battle for control of the physical body and an important area for feminist intervention. Placing women at the centre of discussion, no other book is as comprehensive.

An outstanding contribution to feminist analysis of sport from the nineteenth century to the present day. Jennifer Hargreaves views sport as a battle for control of the physical body and an important area for feminist intervention. Placing women at the centre of discussion, no other book is as comprehensive.

eBook available with sample pages: 020322194X

The Routledge Handbook of Sport, Gender and Sexuality brings together important new work from 68 leading international scholars that, collectively, demonstrates the intrinsic interconnectedness of sport, gender and sexuality. It introduces what is, in essence, a sophisticated sub-area of sport sociology, covering the field comprehensively, as well as signalling ideas for future research and analysis. Wide-ranging across different historical periods, different sports, and different local and global contexts, the book incorporates personal, ideological and political narratives; varied conceptual, methodological and theoretical approaches; and examples of complexities and nuanced ways of understanding the gendered and sexualized dynamics of sport. It examines structural and cultural forms of gender segregation, homophobia, heteronormativity and transphobia, as well as the ideological struggles and changes that have led to nuanced ways of thinking about the sport, gender and sexuality nexus. This is a landmark work of reference that will be a key resource for students and researchers working in sport studies, gender studies, sexuality studies or sociology.

Expansion of the Paralympic Games has to some extent mirrored expansion of the mainstream Olympics and the event now constitutes an internationally significant sporting festival. This book examines the development of the Paralympics and asks whether we are justified in describing the Games as a vehicle for the empowerment of the disabled community.

A highly successful paralympian athlete in his own right, David Howe uses ethnographic research methods to investigate the economic, social, cultural and political processes shaping the Paralympic movement on a local and global scale, and develops a new theory of the relationship between sport, the body and the culture of disability.

By critiquing contemporary attitudes to disability within sport and within society more generally, and by challenging the orthodox view of the Paralympics as a vehicle for empowerment, this book raises important questions and debates crucial to the study of sociology and sports studies.

'Whannel is a foundational figure in the study of sports and the media. ...For 20 years his writing has set a high standard ...and it remains an inspiration to many' - Toby Miller, Professor of Cultural Studies, New York University, USA Garry Whannel's text Blowing the Whistle: The Politics of Sport broke new ground when it was first published in 1983. Its polemical discussion brought sports as cultural politics into the academic arena and set the agenda for a new wave of researchers. Since the 1980s sport studies has matured both as an academic discipline and as a focus for mainstream political and public policy debate. In Culture, Politics and Sport: Blowing the Whistle, Revisited, Garry Whannel revisits the themes that led his first edition, assessing their 1980s context from our new millennium perspective, and exploring their continued relevance for contemporary sports academics. This revisited volume will appeal to undergraduate students and researchers in sports and cultural studies. Garry Whannel is Professor of Media Cultures and Director of the Centre for International Media Analysis at the University of Bedfordshire. His previous books include Media Sports Stars: Masculinities and Moralities, Fields in Vision: Television Sport and Cultural Transformation, Understanding Sport (co-authored with John Horne and Alan Tomlinson) and Understanding Television (co-edited with Andrew Goodwin), all published by Routledge.

When we accept that advertisers and sponsors dictate athletic schedules, that success in sport is measured by revenue, that athletes' loyalties lie with their commercial agents instead of teams and that game rules exist to be tested and broken in the pursuit of a win, what does our regard for sport say about the moral and political well-being of our society? Why Sports Morally Matter is a deeply critical examination of pressing ethical issues in sports - and in society as a whole. Exploring the broad historical context of modern America, William J. Morgan argues that the current state of sports is a powerful indictment of our wealth-driven society and hyper-individualistic way of life. Taking on critics from all sides of the political debate, Morgan makes the case that, despite the negating effect of free market values, sport still possesses important features that encourage social, moral and political values crucial to the flourishing of a democratic polity. It is this potential to transform society and the individual that makes sport a key battleground in the struggle for the moral soul of twenty-first century America.