An authoritative, one stop overview of the history of sports in Britain from the earliest times to the present. This remarkable volume should become the standard reference source for the history of British sport. It covers the sociology and psychology of sports, major events such as the cricket Test Matches and Wimbledon, key issues such as racism and drugs, and sport in drama, literature, and the media.

This text explores the place, meaning and content of Celtic sport: the place, passion and meaning of rugby in Wales; shinty in Scotland; and football in Brittany. It provides for an explanation of the links betweenn civic and ethnic nationalism in Irish sport, the role of the Gaelic Athletic Association in both Ireland and Scotland, and a critical evaluation of the part played by sport in political nationalism in France. The author seeks to explain why so many of the peripheral borderlands of Europe, struggling for elements of autonomy, tend to be pasionate about national and regional forms of sport.

This much needed book examines all of the major traditions of social thought to clearly show their influence in our understanding of sport and leisure.

This interdisciplinary collection explores the nexus of social justice and sport to consider how sport and physical education can serve as a unique point of commonality in an era of religious, political, economic, and cultural polarity. Originally published as a special issue of Quest, Sport, Physical Education, and Social Justice offers timely theoretical perspectives from the fields of theology, philosophy, psychology, and sociology. The volume demonstrates the multiple ways in which sport can be used to overcome inequalities and marginalization relating to gender, race, disability, religion, and sexuality, and posits sports education as a powerful mechanism for addressing school-based issues including bullying, racism, and citizenship education. Truly international in scope, the text includes contributions from scholars addressing issues in both formal and informal sports education settings, communities, and locales. Sport, Physical Education and Social Justice will be of interest to researchers, scholars, policy makers and advocates in the fields of education, psychology, sociology, and religious studies.

In recent years the interest in the patterns and policies of South African sport has grown. This book examines the increasingly complex issue of race, class and sport in the context of South African social relations. The author disputes evaluations made purely on the question of race, maintaining that it is important to examine the complex interaction between racial and class dynamics as a background for understanding the South African way of life. The book demonstrates that sport must be understood in the context of the ensemble of social relations characterizing the South African social formation.

The 2008 Olympic Games will be held in Beijing, but many human rights activists support a boycott. They liken the circumstances to previous governments that used the games to glorify their regimes--most notoriously the Nazis in 1936. What has led to this perception and is it fair? "Sport, Revolution and the Beijing Olympics" is a cultural history of sport in China that challenges many such ingrained Western assumptions. The authors unpick the relationship of sport to imperialism and revolution and examine its significance in both China and Taiwan at governmental and everyday levels. In the process they successfully debunk harmful myths, such as the prevalence of drugs in Chinese sport among women athletes, and present a balanced view that is a much-needed corrective to popular understanding.

This book is aimed largely at undergraduate and graduate students who require a single text that will introduce them not only to sociological theory but also to the sociology of sport and leisure. The book attempts to capture the breadth of sociological thinking about sport and leisure. It offers a discussion of the major sociological traditions and shows how sport and leisure have contributed to our understanding of contemporary sociological themes such as the body, globalization, social space, the environment, consumption, nationalism and social inequality.

The contributors to this volume consider not only the racism experienced by various ethnic minority athletes in Britain, but also the way in which various racisms have been articulated in South Africa, the Caribbean, Canada and the USA. They examine many of the voluntarist racist cherished beliefs surrounding sport. The topics discussed include the way in which cricket in the Caribbean has stimulated nationalist and racial self-consciousness, whether young Afro-Caribbean athletes are agents of racialized social control in Britain, the contribution of sport to popular struggles in South Africa, how young South Asian children experience sport in Britain and how far native American women are accommodated within sport in Canada.

In recent years the interest in the patterns and policies of South African sport has grown. This book examines the increasingly complex issue of race, class and sport in the context of South African social relations. The author disputes evaluations made purely on the question of race, maintaining that it is important to examine the complex interaction between racial and class dynamics as a background for understanding the South African way of life. The book demonstrates that sport must be understood in the context of the ensemble of social relations characterizing the South African social formation.

What can sport do to produce social change in our world today? It is impossible to fully understand contemporary society and culture without acknowledging the importance of sport. Sport is part of our social and cultural fabric, possessing a commercial power that makes it a potent force in the world, for good and for bad. It has helped to start wars and promote international reconciliation, and governments around the world commit public resources to sport.

Sport matters, but how should you make sense of what is going on in the world of sport today?

Now in a fully revised, updated and expanded third edition, this critical, challenging and comprehensive textbook introduces the study of sport, culture and society. International in scope, it challenges us to reactivate an audacious spirit of activism through sport. Full of contemporary examples, it places sport at the heart of the analysis and introduces the reader to every core topic and emerging area in the study of sport and society, including:

the history and politics of sport;

sport, gender and sexuality;

sport, disability and advocacy;

sport, race and racism;

sport, violence and crime;

sport and health;

sport, globalisation and democracy;

sport, media and cultural relations;

sport and the environment;

sporting cities and mega-events;

sport, poverty and development.

Each chapter includes a wealth of useful features, including Sport in Focus case studies, chapter summaries, guides to further reading, revision questions, practical projects, definitions of key concepts and weblinks. Additional teaching and learning resources – including a testbank, resource list and glossary – are available on a companion website.

Sport, Culture and Society is the most broad-ranging, in-depth and thoughtful introduction to the sociocultural analysis of sport currently available and sets a new agenda for the discipline. It is essential reading for all students with an interest in sport.

Table of Contents

Introduction

PART I: The Broader Context

1. Sport, Theory and the Problem of Values

2. Sport, History and Social Change

3. Sport, Economics and Wealth

4. Sport, Development and Peace

5. Sport, Politics and Culture

PART II: Global Sport and Community

6. Global Sport in a Deglobalising World?

7. Sport, Law and Governance

8. Sport and Community

9. Internationalism, Reconciliation and Sport in the Making of Nations

10. Sport, Media and Technology

11. Sport, Social Capital and Civil Society

12. Sport and Education

PART III: Sport and Contemporary Social Issues

13. Sport and the Environment

14. Sport and Racism

15. Sport, Violence and Crime

16. Sport, Religion and Spirituality

17. Sport, Gender and Sexuality

18. Sport and Health

19. Sport and Disability

20. Sport, Cities, the Olympics and Major Sporting Events

21. Sport, Lifestyles and Alternatives

22. Sport, Gambling and Corruption

23. Sport, Poverty and Homelessness

PART IV: Sport as a Resource of Hope and the Politics of the Possible

24. Sport, Social Movements and Protest

25. Sport, Cultural Relations and Damned Nations

26. Sport, Human Rights and Public Action

27. Sport for Social Change

28. Sport, Advocacy the Public Intellectuals

Conclusion: Theses on Sport, Culture and Society

Bibliography

What can sport do to produce social change in our world today? It is impossible to fully understand contemporary society and culture without acknowledging the importance of sport. Sport is part of our social and cultural fabric, possessing a commercial power that makes it a potent force in the world, for good and for bad. It has helped to start wars and promote international reconciliation, and governments around the world commit public resources to sport. Sport matters, but how should you make sense of what is going on in the world of sport today? Now in a fully revised, updated and expanded third edition, this critical, challenging and comprehensive textbook introduces the study of sport, culture and society. International in scope, it challenges us to reactivate an audacious spirit of activism through sport. Full of contemporary examples, it places sport at the heart of the analysis and introduces the reader to every core topic and emerging area in the study of sport and society, including: the history and politics of sport; sport, gender and sexuality; sport, disability and advocacy; sport, race and racism; sport, violence and crime; sport and health; sport, globalisation and democracy; sport, media and cultural relations; sport and the environment; sporting cities and mega-events; sport, poverty and development. Each chapter includes a wealth of useful features, including Sport in Focus case studies, chapter summaries, guides to further reading, revision questions, practical projects, definitions of key concepts and weblinks. Additional teaching and learning resources - including a testbank, resource list and glossary - are available on a companion website. Sport, Culture and Society is the most broad-ranging, in-depth and thoughtful introduction to the sociocultural analysis of sport currently available and sets a new agenda for the discipline. It is essential reading for all students with an interest in sport.

This interdisciplinary collection explores the nexus of social justice and sport to consider how sport and physical education can serve as a unique point of commonality in an era of religious, political, economic, and cultural polarity. Originally published as a special issue of Quest, Sport, Physical Education, and Social Justice offers timely theoretical perspectives from the fields of theology, philosophy, psychology, and sociology. The volume demonstrates the multiple ways in which sport can be used to overcome inequalities and marginalization relating to gender, race, disability, religion, and sexuality, and posits sports education as a powerful mechanism for addressing school-based issues including bullying, racism, and citizenship education. Truly international in scope, the text includes contributions from scholars addressing issues in both formal and informal sports education settings, communities, and locales. Sport, Physical Education and Social Justice will be of interest to researchers, scholars, policy makers and advocates in the fields of education, psychology, sociology, and religious studies.

The 2008 Olympic Games will be held in Beijing, but many human rights activists support a boycott. They liken the circumstances to previous governments that used the games to glorify their regimes--most notoriously the Nazis in 1936. What has led to this perception and is it fair? "Sport, Revolution and the Beijing Olympics" is a cultural history of sport in China that challenges many such ingrained Western assumptions. The authors unpick the relationship of sport to imperialism and revolution and examine its significance in both China and Taiwan at governmental and everyday levels. In the process they successfully debunk harmful myths, such as the prevalence of drugs in Chinese sport among women athletes, and present a balanced view that is a much-needed corrective to popular understanding.