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This is the first book to focus on indigenous, traditional and folk
sports and sporting cultures. It examines the significance of
sporting cultures that have survived the emergence and diffusion of
western sports and have carved out a unique position not only in
spite of, but also in response to, modernity. Presenting case
studies from around the world, including from Europe, Asia, Africa,
the Americas and Oceania, the book draws on multi-disciplinary work
from sociology, anthropology, history, cultural studies and
political science, exploring key themes in the social sciences
including nationalism, identity, decolonisation and gender. From
Turkish oil wrestling, Kabbadi in South Asia and Iroquois lacrosse,
to wushu and sumo in East Asia, these sporting practices continue
to capture the indigenous imagination on the margins of the western
hegemonic sport complex. Situated in the fissures between the local
and the global, the archaic and the modern, and between ritual and
record, they inhabit a liminal space of transformation as they
assume new cultural and political meanings, offering important
perspectives on the complexities, challenges and contradictions of
modernity. This is fascinating reading for anybody with an interest
in sport, indigenous studies, anthropology, social and cultural
history, or globalisation.
Sport and Secessionism examines how sporting cultures reflect,
inform and sometimes frustrate secessionist movements around the
world. Investigating a wide range of cases, the book explores key
themes including nationalism, nation building, state-region
antagonisms, independence movements, identity and ethnic politics,
sovereignty and autonomy processes, all through the lens of sport.
Sports are uniquely positioned to shed light on secessionist
politics due to their pervasiveness in society, and their ability
to absorb, reflect and produce political projections. The book
presents analyses of a wide range of geographical, cultural and
political contexts in which sports are deployed to pursue regional
independence, or greater sovereignty and autonomy, and explores the
dual processes of sub-national identity construction and state
sovereignty deconstruction. The book includes fourteen cases from
such diverse parts of the world as Ireland, Taiwan, Turkey,
Catalonia, Biafra, Canada and the UK, among others. Offering a
unique perspective on an important geopolitical issue, this book is
fascinating reading for anybody with an interest in sport and
politics, the sociology of sport, political science, political
geography, nationalism studies or international history.
Grounded in ethnographic research, this edited collection examines
the intersections between grassroots culture, local identities, and
the politics of catalanisme and independentisme from the end of the
Francoist period to the present day. Through studies of various
cultural manifestations including festivals, human tower-building,
gastronomy, and bull-runs, chapters explore how civil mobilisation,
women's increasing participation in the public sphere, and issues
of gentrification and heritagisation have intertwined with identity
politics and nationalist trends. An important consideration is how
a popular culture centred on sociability responded to the lockdowns
and restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic. More generally, the book
reflects on the politicisation of culture and its role in
nation-building, problematising such concepts as 'inclusion',
'integration', 'authenticity', 'belonging', and 'identity'.
Contributors: Lluís Bellas, Camila del Mármol, Manuel Delgado,
Mireia Guil, Venetia Johannes, Sarai Martín López, Romina
Martínez Algueró, Dorothy Noyes, Xavier Roigé, Alessandro Testa,
Mariann Vaczi
Sport and Secessionism examines how sporting cultures reflect,
inform and sometimes frustrate secessionist movements around the
world. Investigating a wide range of cases, the book explores key
themes including nationalism, nation building, state-region
antagonisms, independence movements, identity and ethnic politics,
sovereignty and autonomy processes, all through the lens of sport.
Sports are uniquely positioned to shed light on secessionist
politics due to their pervasiveness in society, and their ability
to absorb, reflect and produce political projections. The book
presents analyses of a wide range of geographical, cultural and
political contexts in which sports are deployed to pursue regional
independence, or greater sovereignty and autonomy, and explores the
dual processes of sub-national identity construction and state
sovereignty deconstruction. The book includes fourteen cases from
such diverse parts of the world as Ireland, Taiwan, Turkey,
Catalonia, Biafra, Canada and the UK, among others. Offering a
unique perspective on an important geopolitical issue, this book is
fascinating reading for anybody with an interest in sport and
politics, the sociology of sport, political science, political
geography, nationalism studies or international history.
The building of human towers (castells) is a centuries-old
competitive practice where hundreds of men, women, and children
gather in Catalan squares to create breathtaking edifices through a
feat of collective athleticism. The result is a great spectacle of
suffering and overcoming, tension and release. Catalonia's Human
Towers is an ethnographic look at the thriving castells
practice—a symbol of Catalan cultural heritage and identity amid
debates around autonomy versus subsummation by the Spanish state.
While the main function of building castells is to grow community
through a low-cost, intergenerational, and inclusive leisure
activity, Mariann Vaczi reveals that this unique sport also
provides a social base, image, and vocabulary for the
pro-independence movement. Highlighting the intersection of
folklore, performance, and self-determination, Catalonia's Human
Towers captures the subtle and unconscious processes by which the
body becomes politicized and ideology becomes embodied, with all
the risks and precarities of collective constructions.
Spanish soccer is on top of the world, at international and club
level, with the best teams and a seemingly endless supply of
exciting and stylish players. While the Spanish economy struggles,
its soccer flourishes, deeply embedded throughout Spanish social
and cultural life. But the relationship between soccer, culture and
national identity in Spain is complex. This fascinating, in-depth
study shines new light on Spanish soccer by examining the role this
sport plays in Basque identity, consolidated in Athletic Club of
Bilbao, the century-old soccer club located in the birthplace of
Basque nationalism. Athletic Bilbao has a unique player recruitment
policy, allowing only Basque-born players or those developed at the
youth academies of Basque clubs to play for the team, a policy that
rejects the internationalism of contemporary globalised soccer.
Despite this, the club has never been relegated from the top
division of Spanish football. A particularly tight bond exists
between fans, their club and the players, with Athletic
representing a beacon of Basque national identity. This book is an
ethnography of a soccer culture where origins, nationalism, gender
relations, power and passion, lifecycle events and death rituals
gain new meanings as they become, below and beyond the playing
field, a matter of creative contention and communal affirmation.
Based on unique, in-depth ethnographic research, this book
investigates how a soccer club and soccer fandom affect the life of
a community, interweaving empirical research material with key
contemporary themes in the social sciences, and placing the study
in the wider context of Spanish political and sporting cultures.
Filling a key gap in the literature on contemporary Spain, and on
wider soccer cultures, this book is fascinating reading for anybody
with an interest in sport, anthropology, sociology, political
science, or cultural and gender studies.
Spanish soccer is on top of the world, at international and club
level, with the best teams and a seemingly endless supply of
exciting and stylish players. While the Spanish economy struggles,
its soccer flourishes, deeply embedded throughout Spanish social
and cultural life. But the relationship between soccer, culture and
national identity in Spain is complex. This fascinating, in-depth
study shines new light on Spanish soccer by examining the role this
sport plays in Basque identity, consolidated in Athletic Club of
Bilbao, the century-old soccer club located in the birthplace of
Basque nationalism. Athletic Bilbao has a unique player recruitment
policy, allowing only Basque-born players or those developed at the
youth academies of Basque clubs to play for the team, a policy that
rejects the internationalism of contemporary globalised soccer.
Despite this, the club has never been relegated from the top
division of Spanish football. A particularly tight bond exists
between fans, their club and the players, with Athletic
representing a beacon of Basque national identity. This book is an
ethnography of a soccer culture where origins, nationalism, gender
relations, power and passion, lifecycle events and death rituals
gain new meanings as they become, below and beyond the playing
field, a matter of creative contention and communal affirmation.
Based on unique, in-depth ethnographic research, this book
investigates how a soccer club and soccer fandom affect the life of
a community, interweaving empirical research material with key
contemporary themes in the social sciences, and placing the study
in the wider context of Spanish political and sporting cultures.
Filling a key gap in the literature on contemporary Spain, and on
wider soccer cultures, this book is fascinating reading for anybody
with an interest in sport, anthropology, sociology, political
science, or cultural and gender studies.
The building of human towers (castells) is a centuries-old
competitive practice where hundreds of men, women, and children
gather in Catalan squares to create breathtaking edifices through a
feat of collective athleticism. The result is a great spectacle of
suffering and overcoming, tension and release. Catalonia's Human
Towers is an ethnographic look at the thriving castells
practice—a symbol of Catalan cultural heritage and identity amid
debates around autonomy versus subsummation by the Spanish state.
While the main function of building castells is to grow community
through a low-cost, intergenerational, and inclusive leisure
activity, Mariann Vaczi reveals that this unique sport also
provides a social base, image, and vocabulary for the
pro-independence movement. Highlighting the intersection of
folklore, performance, and self-determination, Catalonia's Human
Towers captures the subtle and unconscious processes by which the
body becomes politicized and ideology becomes embodied, with all
the risks and precarities of collective constructions.
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