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Key Concepts in Sports Studies
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Key Concepts in Sports Studies

First Edition


October 2009 | 264 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd
'A refreshingly critical contribution to the major debates in sports studies, this volume will nicely complement the conventional texts. The entries are well structured, introducing and explaining the arguments, and then applying them to current sports policies and controversies. I admire the material and will recommend it to my students' - Professor Dave Harris, University College Plymouth, Marjon

Written by experienced academics use to teaching the subject, this book will help students and researchers find their way within the diverse field of sport studies. Clear, well researched entries explain the key concepts in the debates surrounding the social significance and social dynamics of sport. Each entry provides:

  • Clear Definitions
  • Relevant Examples
  • Up-to-date Suggestions for Further Reading
  • Informative Cross-Referencing

Valuable in its parts and indispensable as a whole, this book will provide a stimulating, practical guide to the relationship between sport and society.


 
Alienation
 
Amateurism
 
Capitalism
 
Commodification
 
Consumption
 
Culture
 
Discourse & Post-Structuralism
 
Doping, Drugs
 
Ethics
 
Ethnography
 
Extreme
 
Fandom
 
Feminism
 
Gender
 
Globalisation
 
Habitus
 
Hegemony
 
History
 
Identity & Difference
 
Ideology
 
Imperialism
 
Marxism
 
Methods
 
Olympism
 
Politics, Policy & Power
 
Postmodernism / Postmodernity
 
Race & Ethnicity
 
Rationalism
 
Semiotics
 
Sexuality
 
Social Class
 
State, Nation & Nationalism
 
The Body
 
The Civilizing Process
 
The Environment
 
The Sociological Imagination

 

The book takes the reader on a journey of discovery though issues such as amateurism, commodification, consumption, culture, globalisation and the 'Olympism' philosophy of life, as well as the politics, policy, power and social dynamics that underpin the sporting world. With an excellent choice of examples to illustrate the concepts, backed up by informed writing, this book will make an invaluable resource and reference for students of sport studies. But it will be an equal good read for everyone who has an interest in sports-related issues, competition, health, fitness and wellbeing.

Garry McGurk
Freelance journalist

A very good "dip in" text for students who need to understand a specific concept in more depth. The dictionary-style format helps with this. There is scope to use this in my course especially where knowledge of social concepts is relevant. Explanations are useful and would also suit upper level students who require refreshing their knowledge.

Dr Joanne Hill
Faculty of Education and Sport, University of Bedfordshire
May 12, 2015

The book does not quite cover the topics I expected.

Dr Robert Goedegebuure
econometrics, statmind
December 8, 2014

some good key concepts for AQA A-level PE Contemporary and hisatorical issues

Miss Hanna Storey
Sport and Public Services, NEW College Pontefract
September 23, 2014

A key text for Level 4 and Level 5 undergraduate sports students.

Miss Lisa Binney
Faculty of Sport Business & Enterprise, Southampton Solent University
March 25, 2013

Key Concepts in Sports Studies is an excellent addition to students' reading. It places sport in a range of broader contexts and helps undergraduates to make the links between sport and society at large.

Mr Brian Delaney
Health and Physical Education, Stranmillis University College
January 31, 2013

Very useful text - Key Concepts series are proving to be excellent resources for students and have recommended this particular book to students enrolled on undergraduate sociology of sport courses.

Dr Alexander Channon
Department of Secondary Education, Greenwich University
January 25, 2012

Slightly too basic with a selection of areas, some useful but lacking range appropriate for level of study

Miss Leoni Baker
Sport coaching and physical education, Oxford Brookes University
December 18, 2011

Excellent discussion of the inter-relationship between sport and society. Well referenced and presented, written in a style that will enable comprehension by students and stimulate debate.

Mr Shane Thurlow
HE Sport, Bishop Burton College
May 10, 2011

This is a good text for studuents to dip in and out of. It give them basic knowledge and a guide as to where to start establishing a more comprehensive understanding

Dr P. David Howe
School of Sport & Exercise Sciences, Loughborough University
May 9, 2011

Sample Materials & Chapters

Introduction

Chapter One

Chapter Two


For instructors

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Rent or Buy eBook
ISBN: 9781473903678

Hardcover
ISBN: 9780761949640
$186.00

Paperback
ISBN: 9780761949657
$60.00

This title is also available on SAGE Knowledge, the ultimate social sciences online library. If your library doesn’t have access, ask your librarian to start a trial.