Description
Book SynopsisThis is a succinct and comprehensive account of the contemporary sociology of sport. It starts by tracing the key âmomentsâ in the transition from pre-modern to modern sport, giving detailed accounts of the athletic competition in the ancient games at Olympia; the genesis of modern track-and-field athletics in nineteenth-century England; and the reconstruction by de Coubertin and unfolding of the Olympic movement through the twentieth century.
The second section analyses features of sport in detail:
- The links between exercise, sport and health, including a look at growing rates of obesity and of the role of drug use in society and sport
- The hyper-commodification of football in the 1990s
- Representations of sport in the media
- Sports iconography, with sociological portraits of Muhammad Ali and David Beckham
- The re-emergence of violence in sport
The third section critically analyses the various theoretical approaches adopted by sociologists, an
Table of ContentsSeries Editor’s Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Part One: History and Sport
Chapter 1: The Ancient Games
Chapter 2: The Genesis of Modern Sport
Chapter 3: The Modern Olympiads
Part Two: Features of Contemporary Sport
Chapter 4: Exercise, Sport and Health
Chapter 5: Sport and Violence: A “De-Civilizing Spurt”?
Chapter 6: The Colonialization and Mediation of Sport
Part Three: Social Theory and Sport
Chapter 7: Sociological Perspectives on Sport
Chapter 8: Towards a Critical Sociology of Sport
References
Index
