Understanding Sport

In the decade or more since publication of the first edition of Understanding Sport, both sport and wider global society have undergone profound change. In this fully updated, revised and expanded edition of their classic textbook, John Horne, Alan Tomlinson, Garry Whannel and Kath Woodward offer a critical and reflective introduction to the relationship between sport and contemporary society and explain how sport remains an important agent and symptom of socio-cultural change.Fully integrating historical, sociological, political and cultural analysis, the book covers every key topic in the study of sport and society, including:debate, interpretation and theory sport and the media sport and the body sport and politics commercialization globalization.Retaining the accessibility and scholarly rigour for which Understanding Sport has always been renowned, this new edition includes entirely new chapters on global transformations, sports mega-events and sites, sporting bodies and governance, as well as a succinct guide to researching sport. With review and seminar questions included in every chapter, plus concise, helpful guides to further reading, Understanding Sport remains an essential textbook for all courses on sport and society, the sociology of sport, sport and social theory, or social issues in sport.

Introduction Chapter 1. Industrial Society, Social Change and Sports Culture Chapter 2. Case Studies in the Growth of Modern Sports Chapter 3. Debates, Interpretations, Theories Chapter 4. Social Stratification and Social Division in Sport Chapter 5. The Social Construction of Identity and Cultural Reproduction Chapter 6. Sport and Representation Chapter 7. Sporting Bodies: Disciplining and Defining Normality Chapter 8. Sport, The State, and the Politics Chapter 9. Governance and Sport Chapter 10. The Labour Market Chapter 11. Sport, Commercialisation and Commodification Chapter 12. Global Transformations Chapter 13. Sport Spaces, Sites and Events Afterword - Methods for Understanding Sport Culture