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Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity
by Katherine M. Jamieson and Maureen M. Smith
Series: Fundamentals of Sport/Exer Sci
176 Pages
Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity presents information on sociology of sport to prepare readers for advanced study or practice in the field. A quick professional reference and an excellent resource for students, this text offers insights into this exciting field, explores the impact of sport in society, and examines careers in sport and physical activity that can benefit from sociological insights.
Written by a team with experience in both academia and community-based sport leadership, Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity introduces readers to some of the common and ongoing sociocultural questions in this field, including those of equity in gender and race, participation across areas, prominent cultural values and messages as portrayed by mass media, youth development, and sport for peace and development. The book demonstrates how those questions and ideas can be applied and used by a variety of professionals, explains some of the essential components of professional preparation, and suggests some potential paths to employment.
The text includes several learning features to keep readers engaged and focused:
• Success Story segments profile researchers and professionals using sociological insight in beneficial ways, showing readers content applications and career opportunities.
• Using Your Sociological Imagination sidebars illuminate how a sociological lens can transform the way a reader looks at sport in society
• Time Capsule sidebars present historical information and interesting facts about events and sport movements that have made lasting impacts on society.
The text is divided into two parts and begins with a discussion of the origin of the social and cultural analysis of physical activity. Part I details the development of the field and its professional organizations, lists important publications, and explores opportunities for professional practice. Part II looks at common social spaces for physical activity—sport, exercise, and school—and examines them from a sociological viewpoint. By presenting an overview of the areas involved in the sociology of sport, the text allows readers to focus their efforts to prepare for further study, research, and career opportunities. Appendixes include a list of online and print resources for further study as well as tips on applying the principles of sociology to various positions in the sport industry. These features and resources will help build enthusiasm among readers and open their eyes to the opportunities in the field.
Concise, informative, and practical, Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity addresses the academic foundations of the field for a broad audience while providing real-world examples of sociology of sport and physical activity. From global events like the Olympic Games to community events like playground games, the text highlights the many ways in which sport affects daily life and emphasizes the importance of a loving critique of those effects.
This text is part of Human Kinetics’ Fundamentals of Sport and Exercise Science series. The series helps students and professionals understand the basic topics, goals, and applications of the many subdisciplines in kinesiology. This and other books in the series provide a solid grounding that readers can use as a jumping-off point for further study.
Part I. Introduction to the Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity
Chapter 1. What Is Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity?
Sport and Physical Activity as Cultural Context
Origins and Key Movements
Functions of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity
Goals of the Field
The Short of It
Chapter 2. What Can I Do With Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity?
Advocates for Ethical and Humane Sports and Physical Activity
Allied Professionals in the Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity
Academic Professionals in the Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity
Building New Sociological Knowledge in Sport and Physical Activity
Techniques for Sociological Knowledge Construction
Thinking Beyond Sport
The Short of It
Part II. Building Blocks of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity
Chapter 3. Sport, Physical Activity, and the Major Spheres of Life
Seeing Social Life as Harmonious or Conflictual
Learning to See the Interdependence of Sport and Major Spheres of Life
The Short of It
Chapter 4. Body Projects in Sport and Physical Activity
The Physical Body as Cultural Artifact
Sociologists See Governing Structures for Embodiment and Body Projects
The Short of It
Chapter 5. Diversity, Difference, and Power in Sport and Physical Activity
Sport, Physical Activity, and Social Stratification
Systems of Power Are Not Individual Identities
Social Conditions Versus Individual Identities
The Short of It
Chapter 6. Sport and Physical Activity in National and International Unity
Linking Sport to the Nation
Sport and Nationalism
Sport and Globalization
Corporate Nationalism
The Short of It
Chapter 7. Sport and Physical Activity in Societal Change
Types of Social Change in Sport and Physical Activity
Sport Development and Sport for Development
The Process of Social Change
Four Stages of Social Movements
Sport and Physical Activity Advance Social Change
The Short of It
Epilogue: The Future of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity
Katherine M. Jamieson, PhD, is a professor in the department of kinesiology and health science at California State University at Sacramento. Dr. Jamieson’s research interests include various issues related to sport, power, and social stratification. Her most current research involves transnational feminist and postcolonial analyses of physical culture. Dr. Jamieson is a regular reviewer for the Journal of Sport and Social Issues, Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal, and Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. Courses regularly taught by Dr. Jamieson are Sport in Society: Race, Class, and Gender; Sport in Society: Global and Ethnic Relations; Qualitative Inquiry in Health and Human Performance; and Sport and Feminisms. Her research has been published in Sociology of Sport Journal; Journal of Sport and Social Issues; Avante; Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal; Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance; Reading Sport: Critical Essays on Power and Representation; and Contemporary Issues in the Sociology of Sport.
Maureen M. Smith, PhD, is a professor in the department of kinesiology and health science at California State University at Sacramento. Dr. Smith’s present research interests are examining racial issues in sport and material culture related to sport, specifically sport statues and monuments. She is the coauthor (with Rita Liberti) of (Re) PresentingWilma Rudolph (Syracuse University Press, 2015). Dr. Smith is a regular reviewer for the International Journal of the History of Sport. Courses regularly taught by Dr. Smith are Sociology of Sport, History and Philosophy of Sport and Physical Education, and Sport in Society. Her research has been published in the Journal of Sport and Social Issues, Journal of Sport History, Sport and Society, and International Journal of the History of Sport. Dr. Smith is a past president of the North American Society for Sport History.
People assign arbitrary value to social differences
Directly related to social stratification is social hierarchy, or, as many scholars have called it, the difference that difference makes. This concept is both simple and complex for social scientists, and it takes on unique complications in sport and physical activity.
Directly related to social stratification is social hierarchy, or, as many scholars have called it, the difference that difference makes. This concept is both simple and complex for social scientists, and it takes on unique complications in sport and physical activity. In its most simple form, the concept recognizes that members of society have arbitrarily assigned value to social difference. This has created a social hierarchy that would otherwise not naturally be present. A sport-specific example is the belief that biologically male bodies are more suited to elite athleticism than are biologically female bodies. Rules, guidelines, and the organizational structure of most physical activity programs are organized around this concept of naturalized gender difference. Beliefs about natural racial superiority in certain sports are another example, such as the widespread belief that Kenyan runners are naturally gifted, which fails to recognize training techniques that may account for their long-distance running success.
In another example, Dr. Mary Louise Adams (2011) highlighted the role of sport in reflecting and informing current beliefs about difference as she described the historical shift of men's involvement in the sport of figure skating. At one time, figure skating was seen as a gentleman's sport. Over time the image of the sport was of primarily effeminate male involvement, which was highlighted in the 1990s when a group of skaters put new effort into performing a more preferred masculinized version of figure skating. Studying men's figure skating throughout the 20th century raises many questions about the naturalness of categories of difference and the ways that major social spheres, including sport and physical activity, play crucial roles in reflecting and even creating such ideas about difference.
Learn more about Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity.
Advocating for ethical and humane sports and physical activity
Some of the most powerful people in everyday aspects of sport and physical activity are parents in youth program settings, volunteer coaches, and community members who use their social roles to advance preferred forms of sport for participants, teams, and neighborhoods (e.g., national movement for open streets).
Some of the most powerful people in everyday aspects of sport and physical activity are parents in youth program settings, volunteer coaches, and community members who use their social roles to advance preferred forms of sport for participants, teams, and neighborhoods (e.g., national movement for open streets). The required skills in this category of applied practice are not formally sanctioned, but any ethical advocacy for sport and physical activity that advances a preferred society would include at least the following:
- Study of local policy, access, and leadership issues
- Voluntary study of social movements and social science perspectives
- Willingness to ask difficult questions about valued spaces for sport and physical activity
- Willingness to partner with others in advancing sport and physical activity
- Completion of specific program or organization training such as increasingly required training for parents of participants in community youth sport programs
Regardless of one's relation to the allied professionals or academic professionals, the duties of advocates apply to all who care to fully engage their role as active members of their communities. Duties for this group are not sanctioned or governed by any overarching agency, but actually exist in more of a social contract, or a collective civil and civic engagement in one's school, neighborhood, club, hometown, team, state, or country. We can consider the ongoing duty from three angles:
- Application of a sociological lens to identify meaningful social issues and projects in relation to sport and physical activity
- Willingness to organize a project for addressing social issues through sport and physical activity
- Ability to support and promote projects that increase the capacity of communities to have accessible daily physical activity outlets for all members of society
As one example, a local bike shop owner organizes beginner rides and partners with a community group that develops bike lanes and aims to decrease the town's reliance on automobiles. Yes, the bike shop owner wants to sell bicycles, but she also sees bicycles as part of a larger issue regarding community health and a national reliance on gasoline-fueled transportation. This citizen is going beyond selling bikes as she engages in creating a community where daily bicycling can be an easy, safe, and accessible choice for all members.
In contrast, consider the agitative politically focused bicycle activism of Critical Mass bike rides. Rather than bringing people together solely for a leisurely physical activity, Critical Mass bike rides intentionally take over major auto thoroughfares and draw attention to global reliance on oil and automobiles. In a Critical Mass bike ride, the bicycle and its riders become social activists, or community change agents. These divergent examples of bicycling show that everyday physical activity can have a significant effect on community members and social structures.
Learn more about Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity.
Gain perspective on nationalism in the context of sport and physical activity
Do you remember cheering for your favorite team or athlete during the Olympic Games? Do you have relatives or friends from outside your country who took great pride when their home country did well in the Olympics or other international sporting event?
Do you remember cheering for your favorite team or athlete during the Olympic Games? Do you have relatives or friends from outside your country who took great pride when their home country did well in the Olympics or other international sporting event? When someone mentions the nations of the United States, Canada, Brazil, or Romania, which sports come to mind? You have probably learned to associate baseball, hockey, soccer, and gymnastics with these countries, respectively. And what ideas do you hold about countries that boycott the Olympic Games or that do not allow women to compete on their teams? Each of these questions offers you a chance to aim your sociological imagination at sport and physical activity in national and global contexts.
The relevance of sporting traditions to national identities and the use of sport in support of nationalist propaganda are of keen interest to sociologically informed kinesiologists. In fact, some might say that the sociology of sport began as a field motivated to understand and articulate the importance of sport to a nation's development, especially in creating a consensus association among a nation's citizens. Consider the Olympic Games and the pride certain countries have in dominating particular sports or in competing among the top nations in the medal count. Remember your own childhood and which sports were most relevant in your school, community, and leisure experiences - perhaps involvement in these activities created a sense of belonging, purpose, and unity?
While much of the current research on physical culture and nationalism focuses on sport, the field of study we know today as kinesiology emerged in part out of concerns for the health and wellness of the nation. At times this concern for the nation was centered on the effects of major societal change like that of a shift from farm living to city living brought about by industrialization. In other times, the concern for the nation was more directly about national security and a perceived ability to protect one's nation should it encounter conflict with other nations. In times of war, such concerns may have informed a national curriculum for K-12 physical education. In other times, concerns may have informed educational planning without developing a firm national curriculum. In any case, despite a more current focus on sport in relation to the nation, other physical activity settings, including physical education and leisure, have also been deeply linked to nation building.
Learn more about Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity.
People assign arbitrary value to social differences
Directly related to social stratification is social hierarchy, or, as many scholars have called it, the difference that difference makes. This concept is both simple and complex for social scientists, and it takes on unique complications in sport and physical activity.
Directly related to social stratification is social hierarchy, or, as many scholars have called it, the difference that difference makes. This concept is both simple and complex for social scientists, and it takes on unique complications in sport and physical activity. In its most simple form, the concept recognizes that members of society have arbitrarily assigned value to social difference. This has created a social hierarchy that would otherwise not naturally be present. A sport-specific example is the belief that biologically male bodies are more suited to elite athleticism than are biologically female bodies. Rules, guidelines, and the organizational structure of most physical activity programs are organized around this concept of naturalized gender difference. Beliefs about natural racial superiority in certain sports are another example, such as the widespread belief that Kenyan runners are naturally gifted, which fails to recognize training techniques that may account for their long-distance running success.
In another example, Dr. Mary Louise Adams (2011) highlighted the role of sport in reflecting and informing current beliefs about difference as she described the historical shift of men's involvement in the sport of figure skating. At one time, figure skating was seen as a gentleman's sport. Over time the image of the sport was of primarily effeminate male involvement, which was highlighted in the 1990s when a group of skaters put new effort into performing a more preferred masculinized version of figure skating. Studying men's figure skating throughout the 20th century raises many questions about the naturalness of categories of difference and the ways that major social spheres, including sport and physical activity, play crucial roles in reflecting and even creating such ideas about difference.
Learn more about Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity.
Advocating for ethical and humane sports and physical activity
Some of the most powerful people in everyday aspects of sport and physical activity are parents in youth program settings, volunteer coaches, and community members who use their social roles to advance preferred forms of sport for participants, teams, and neighborhoods (e.g., national movement for open streets).
Some of the most powerful people in everyday aspects of sport and physical activity are parents in youth program settings, volunteer coaches, and community members who use their social roles to advance preferred forms of sport for participants, teams, and neighborhoods (e.g., national movement for open streets). The required skills in this category of applied practice are not formally sanctioned, but any ethical advocacy for sport and physical activity that advances a preferred society would include at least the following:
- Study of local policy, access, and leadership issues
- Voluntary study of social movements and social science perspectives
- Willingness to ask difficult questions about valued spaces for sport and physical activity
- Willingness to partner with others in advancing sport and physical activity
- Completion of specific program or organization training such as increasingly required training for parents of participants in community youth sport programs
Regardless of one's relation to the allied professionals or academic professionals, the duties of advocates apply to all who care to fully engage their role as active members of their communities. Duties for this group are not sanctioned or governed by any overarching agency, but actually exist in more of a social contract, or a collective civil and civic engagement in one's school, neighborhood, club, hometown, team, state, or country. We can consider the ongoing duty from three angles:
- Application of a sociological lens to identify meaningful social issues and projects in relation to sport and physical activity
- Willingness to organize a project for addressing social issues through sport and physical activity
- Ability to support and promote projects that increase the capacity of communities to have accessible daily physical activity outlets for all members of society
As one example, a local bike shop owner organizes beginner rides and partners with a community group that develops bike lanes and aims to decrease the town's reliance on automobiles. Yes, the bike shop owner wants to sell bicycles, but she also sees bicycles as part of a larger issue regarding community health and a national reliance on gasoline-fueled transportation. This citizen is going beyond selling bikes as she engages in creating a community where daily bicycling can be an easy, safe, and accessible choice for all members.
In contrast, consider the agitative politically focused bicycle activism of Critical Mass bike rides. Rather than bringing people together solely for a leisurely physical activity, Critical Mass bike rides intentionally take over major auto thoroughfares and draw attention to global reliance on oil and automobiles. In a Critical Mass bike ride, the bicycle and its riders become social activists, or community change agents. These divergent examples of bicycling show that everyday physical activity can have a significant effect on community members and social structures.
Learn more about Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity.
Gain perspective on nationalism in the context of sport and physical activity
Do you remember cheering for your favorite team or athlete during the Olympic Games? Do you have relatives or friends from outside your country who took great pride when their home country did well in the Olympics or other international sporting event?
Do you remember cheering for your favorite team or athlete during the Olympic Games? Do you have relatives or friends from outside your country who took great pride when their home country did well in the Olympics or other international sporting event? When someone mentions the nations of the United States, Canada, Brazil, or Romania, which sports come to mind? You have probably learned to associate baseball, hockey, soccer, and gymnastics with these countries, respectively. And what ideas do you hold about countries that boycott the Olympic Games or that do not allow women to compete on their teams? Each of these questions offers you a chance to aim your sociological imagination at sport and physical activity in national and global contexts.
The relevance of sporting traditions to national identities and the use of sport in support of nationalist propaganda are of keen interest to sociologically informed kinesiologists. In fact, some might say that the sociology of sport began as a field motivated to understand and articulate the importance of sport to a nation's development, especially in creating a consensus association among a nation's citizens. Consider the Olympic Games and the pride certain countries have in dominating particular sports or in competing among the top nations in the medal count. Remember your own childhood and which sports were most relevant in your school, community, and leisure experiences - perhaps involvement in these activities created a sense of belonging, purpose, and unity?
While much of the current research on physical culture and nationalism focuses on sport, the field of study we know today as kinesiology emerged in part out of concerns for the health and wellness of the nation. At times this concern for the nation was centered on the effects of major societal change like that of a shift from farm living to city living brought about by industrialization. In other times, the concern for the nation was more directly about national security and a perceived ability to protect one's nation should it encounter conflict with other nations. In times of war, such concerns may have informed a national curriculum for K-12 physical education. In other times, concerns may have informed educational planning without developing a firm national curriculum. In any case, despite a more current focus on sport in relation to the nation, other physical activity settings, including physical education and leisure, have also been deeply linked to nation building.
Learn more about Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity.
People assign arbitrary value to social differences
Directly related to social stratification is social hierarchy, or, as many scholars have called it, the difference that difference makes. This concept is both simple and complex for social scientists, and it takes on unique complications in sport and physical activity.
Directly related to social stratification is social hierarchy, or, as many scholars have called it, the difference that difference makes. This concept is both simple and complex for social scientists, and it takes on unique complications in sport and physical activity. In its most simple form, the concept recognizes that members of society have arbitrarily assigned value to social difference. This has created a social hierarchy that would otherwise not naturally be present. A sport-specific example is the belief that biologically male bodies are more suited to elite athleticism than are biologically female bodies. Rules, guidelines, and the organizational structure of most physical activity programs are organized around this concept of naturalized gender difference. Beliefs about natural racial superiority in certain sports are another example, such as the widespread belief that Kenyan runners are naturally gifted, which fails to recognize training techniques that may account for their long-distance running success.
In another example, Dr. Mary Louise Adams (2011) highlighted the role of sport in reflecting and informing current beliefs about difference as she described the historical shift of men's involvement in the sport of figure skating. At one time, figure skating was seen as a gentleman's sport. Over time the image of the sport was of primarily effeminate male involvement, which was highlighted in the 1990s when a group of skaters put new effort into performing a more preferred masculinized version of figure skating. Studying men's figure skating throughout the 20th century raises many questions about the naturalness of categories of difference and the ways that major social spheres, including sport and physical activity, play crucial roles in reflecting and even creating such ideas about difference.
Learn more about Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity.
Advocating for ethical and humane sports and physical activity
Some of the most powerful people in everyday aspects of sport and physical activity are parents in youth program settings, volunteer coaches, and community members who use their social roles to advance preferred forms of sport for participants, teams, and neighborhoods (e.g., national movement for open streets).
Some of the most powerful people in everyday aspects of sport and physical activity are parents in youth program settings, volunteer coaches, and community members who use their social roles to advance preferred forms of sport for participants, teams, and neighborhoods (e.g., national movement for open streets). The required skills in this category of applied practice are not formally sanctioned, but any ethical advocacy for sport and physical activity that advances a preferred society would include at least the following:
- Study of local policy, access, and leadership issues
- Voluntary study of social movements and social science perspectives
- Willingness to ask difficult questions about valued spaces for sport and physical activity
- Willingness to partner with others in advancing sport and physical activity
- Completion of specific program or organization training such as increasingly required training for parents of participants in community youth sport programs
Regardless of one's relation to the allied professionals or academic professionals, the duties of advocates apply to all who care to fully engage their role as active members of their communities. Duties for this group are not sanctioned or governed by any overarching agency, but actually exist in more of a social contract, or a collective civil and civic engagement in one's school, neighborhood, club, hometown, team, state, or country. We can consider the ongoing duty from three angles:
- Application of a sociological lens to identify meaningful social issues and projects in relation to sport and physical activity
- Willingness to organize a project for addressing social issues through sport and physical activity
- Ability to support and promote projects that increase the capacity of communities to have accessible daily physical activity outlets for all members of society
As one example, a local bike shop owner organizes beginner rides and partners with a community group that develops bike lanes and aims to decrease the town's reliance on automobiles. Yes, the bike shop owner wants to sell bicycles, but she also sees bicycles as part of a larger issue regarding community health and a national reliance on gasoline-fueled transportation. This citizen is going beyond selling bikes as she engages in creating a community where daily bicycling can be an easy, safe, and accessible choice for all members.
In contrast, consider the agitative politically focused bicycle activism of Critical Mass bike rides. Rather than bringing people together solely for a leisurely physical activity, Critical Mass bike rides intentionally take over major auto thoroughfares and draw attention to global reliance on oil and automobiles. In a Critical Mass bike ride, the bicycle and its riders become social activists, or community change agents. These divergent examples of bicycling show that everyday physical activity can have a significant effect on community members and social structures.
Learn more about Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity.
Gain perspective on nationalism in the context of sport and physical activity
Do you remember cheering for your favorite team or athlete during the Olympic Games? Do you have relatives or friends from outside your country who took great pride when their home country did well in the Olympics or other international sporting event?
Do you remember cheering for your favorite team or athlete during the Olympic Games? Do you have relatives or friends from outside your country who took great pride when their home country did well in the Olympics or other international sporting event? When someone mentions the nations of the United States, Canada, Brazil, or Romania, which sports come to mind? You have probably learned to associate baseball, hockey, soccer, and gymnastics with these countries, respectively. And what ideas do you hold about countries that boycott the Olympic Games or that do not allow women to compete on their teams? Each of these questions offers you a chance to aim your sociological imagination at sport and physical activity in national and global contexts.
The relevance of sporting traditions to national identities and the use of sport in support of nationalist propaganda are of keen interest to sociologically informed kinesiologists. In fact, some might say that the sociology of sport began as a field motivated to understand and articulate the importance of sport to a nation's development, especially in creating a consensus association among a nation's citizens. Consider the Olympic Games and the pride certain countries have in dominating particular sports or in competing among the top nations in the medal count. Remember your own childhood and which sports were most relevant in your school, community, and leisure experiences - perhaps involvement in these activities created a sense of belonging, purpose, and unity?
While much of the current research on physical culture and nationalism focuses on sport, the field of study we know today as kinesiology emerged in part out of concerns for the health and wellness of the nation. At times this concern for the nation was centered on the effects of major societal change like that of a shift from farm living to city living brought about by industrialization. In other times, the concern for the nation was more directly about national security and a perceived ability to protect one's nation should it encounter conflict with other nations. In times of war, such concerns may have informed a national curriculum for K-12 physical education. In other times, concerns may have informed educational planning without developing a firm national curriculum. In any case, despite a more current focus on sport in relation to the nation, other physical activity settings, including physical education and leisure, have also been deeply linked to nation building.
Learn more about Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity.
People assign arbitrary value to social differences
Directly related to social stratification is social hierarchy, or, as many scholars have called it, the difference that difference makes. This concept is both simple and complex for social scientists, and it takes on unique complications in sport and physical activity.
Directly related to social stratification is social hierarchy, or, as many scholars have called it, the difference that difference makes. This concept is both simple and complex for social scientists, and it takes on unique complications in sport and physical activity. In its most simple form, the concept recognizes that members of society have arbitrarily assigned value to social difference. This has created a social hierarchy that would otherwise not naturally be present. A sport-specific example is the belief that biologically male bodies are more suited to elite athleticism than are biologically female bodies. Rules, guidelines, and the organizational structure of most physical activity programs are organized around this concept of naturalized gender difference. Beliefs about natural racial superiority in certain sports are another example, such as the widespread belief that Kenyan runners are naturally gifted, which fails to recognize training techniques that may account for their long-distance running success.
In another example, Dr. Mary Louise Adams (2011) highlighted the role of sport in reflecting and informing current beliefs about difference as she described the historical shift of men's involvement in the sport of figure skating. At one time, figure skating was seen as a gentleman's sport. Over time the image of the sport was of primarily effeminate male involvement, which was highlighted in the 1990s when a group of skaters put new effort into performing a more preferred masculinized version of figure skating. Studying men's figure skating throughout the 20th century raises many questions about the naturalness of categories of difference and the ways that major social spheres, including sport and physical activity, play crucial roles in reflecting and even creating such ideas about difference.
Learn more about Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity.
Advocating for ethical and humane sports and physical activity
Some of the most powerful people in everyday aspects of sport and physical activity are parents in youth program settings, volunteer coaches, and community members who use their social roles to advance preferred forms of sport for participants, teams, and neighborhoods (e.g., national movement for open streets).
Some of the most powerful people in everyday aspects of sport and physical activity are parents in youth program settings, volunteer coaches, and community members who use their social roles to advance preferred forms of sport for participants, teams, and neighborhoods (e.g., national movement for open streets). The required skills in this category of applied practice are not formally sanctioned, but any ethical advocacy for sport and physical activity that advances a preferred society would include at least the following:
- Study of local policy, access, and leadership issues
- Voluntary study of social movements and social science perspectives
- Willingness to ask difficult questions about valued spaces for sport and physical activity
- Willingness to partner with others in advancing sport and physical activity
- Completion of specific program or organization training such as increasingly required training for parents of participants in community youth sport programs
Regardless of one's relation to the allied professionals or academic professionals, the duties of advocates apply to all who care to fully engage their role as active members of their communities. Duties for this group are not sanctioned or governed by any overarching agency, but actually exist in more of a social contract, or a collective civil and civic engagement in one's school, neighborhood, club, hometown, team, state, or country. We can consider the ongoing duty from three angles:
- Application of a sociological lens to identify meaningful social issues and projects in relation to sport and physical activity
- Willingness to organize a project for addressing social issues through sport and physical activity
- Ability to support and promote projects that increase the capacity of communities to have accessible daily physical activity outlets for all members of society
As one example, a local bike shop owner organizes beginner rides and partners with a community group that develops bike lanes and aims to decrease the town's reliance on automobiles. Yes, the bike shop owner wants to sell bicycles, but she also sees bicycles as part of a larger issue regarding community health and a national reliance on gasoline-fueled transportation. This citizen is going beyond selling bikes as she engages in creating a community where daily bicycling can be an easy, safe, and accessible choice for all members.
In contrast, consider the agitative politically focused bicycle activism of Critical Mass bike rides. Rather than bringing people together solely for a leisurely physical activity, Critical Mass bike rides intentionally take over major auto thoroughfares and draw attention to global reliance on oil and automobiles. In a Critical Mass bike ride, the bicycle and its riders become social activists, or community change agents. These divergent examples of bicycling show that everyday physical activity can have a significant effect on community members and social structures.
Learn more about Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity.
Gain perspective on nationalism in the context of sport and physical activity
Do you remember cheering for your favorite team or athlete during the Olympic Games? Do you have relatives or friends from outside your country who took great pride when their home country did well in the Olympics or other international sporting event?
Do you remember cheering for your favorite team or athlete during the Olympic Games? Do you have relatives or friends from outside your country who took great pride when their home country did well in the Olympics or other international sporting event? When someone mentions the nations of the United States, Canada, Brazil, or Romania, which sports come to mind? You have probably learned to associate baseball, hockey, soccer, and gymnastics with these countries, respectively. And what ideas do you hold about countries that boycott the Olympic Games or that do not allow women to compete on their teams? Each of these questions offers you a chance to aim your sociological imagination at sport and physical activity in national and global contexts.
The relevance of sporting traditions to national identities and the use of sport in support of nationalist propaganda are of keen interest to sociologically informed kinesiologists. In fact, some might say that the sociology of sport began as a field motivated to understand and articulate the importance of sport to a nation's development, especially in creating a consensus association among a nation's citizens. Consider the Olympic Games and the pride certain countries have in dominating particular sports or in competing among the top nations in the medal count. Remember your own childhood and which sports were most relevant in your school, community, and leisure experiences - perhaps involvement in these activities created a sense of belonging, purpose, and unity?
While much of the current research on physical culture and nationalism focuses on sport, the field of study we know today as kinesiology emerged in part out of concerns for the health and wellness of the nation. At times this concern for the nation was centered on the effects of major societal change like that of a shift from farm living to city living brought about by industrialization. In other times, the concern for the nation was more directly about national security and a perceived ability to protect one's nation should it encounter conflict with other nations. In times of war, such concerns may have informed a national curriculum for K-12 physical education. In other times, concerns may have informed educational planning without developing a firm national curriculum. In any case, despite a more current focus on sport in relation to the nation, other physical activity settings, including physical education and leisure, have also been deeply linked to nation building.
Learn more about Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity.
People assign arbitrary value to social differences
Directly related to social stratification is social hierarchy, or, as many scholars have called it, the difference that difference makes. This concept is both simple and complex for social scientists, and it takes on unique complications in sport and physical activity.
Directly related to social stratification is social hierarchy, or, as many scholars have called it, the difference that difference makes. This concept is both simple and complex for social scientists, and it takes on unique complications in sport and physical activity. In its most simple form, the concept recognizes that members of society have arbitrarily assigned value to social difference. This has created a social hierarchy that would otherwise not naturally be present. A sport-specific example is the belief that biologically male bodies are more suited to elite athleticism than are biologically female bodies. Rules, guidelines, and the organizational structure of most physical activity programs are organized around this concept of naturalized gender difference. Beliefs about natural racial superiority in certain sports are another example, such as the widespread belief that Kenyan runners are naturally gifted, which fails to recognize training techniques that may account for their long-distance running success.
In another example, Dr. Mary Louise Adams (2011) highlighted the role of sport in reflecting and informing current beliefs about difference as she described the historical shift of men's involvement in the sport of figure skating. At one time, figure skating was seen as a gentleman's sport. Over time the image of the sport was of primarily effeminate male involvement, which was highlighted in the 1990s when a group of skaters put new effort into performing a more preferred masculinized version of figure skating. Studying men's figure skating throughout the 20th century raises many questions about the naturalness of categories of difference and the ways that major social spheres, including sport and physical activity, play crucial roles in reflecting and even creating such ideas about difference.
Learn more about Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity.
Advocating for ethical and humane sports and physical activity
Some of the most powerful people in everyday aspects of sport and physical activity are parents in youth program settings, volunteer coaches, and community members who use their social roles to advance preferred forms of sport for participants, teams, and neighborhoods (e.g., national movement for open streets).
Some of the most powerful people in everyday aspects of sport and physical activity are parents in youth program settings, volunteer coaches, and community members who use their social roles to advance preferred forms of sport for participants, teams, and neighborhoods (e.g., national movement for open streets). The required skills in this category of applied practice are not formally sanctioned, but any ethical advocacy for sport and physical activity that advances a preferred society would include at least the following:
- Study of local policy, access, and leadership issues
- Voluntary study of social movements and social science perspectives
- Willingness to ask difficult questions about valued spaces for sport and physical activity
- Willingness to partner with others in advancing sport and physical activity
- Completion of specific program or organization training such as increasingly required training for parents of participants in community youth sport programs
Regardless of one's relation to the allied professionals or academic professionals, the duties of advocates apply to all who care to fully engage their role as active members of their communities. Duties for this group are not sanctioned or governed by any overarching agency, but actually exist in more of a social contract, or a collective civil and civic engagement in one's school, neighborhood, club, hometown, team, state, or country. We can consider the ongoing duty from three angles:
- Application of a sociological lens to identify meaningful social issues and projects in relation to sport and physical activity
- Willingness to organize a project for addressing social issues through sport and physical activity
- Ability to support and promote projects that increase the capacity of communities to have accessible daily physical activity outlets for all members of society
As one example, a local bike shop owner organizes beginner rides and partners with a community group that develops bike lanes and aims to decrease the town's reliance on automobiles. Yes, the bike shop owner wants to sell bicycles, but she also sees bicycles as part of a larger issue regarding community health and a national reliance on gasoline-fueled transportation. This citizen is going beyond selling bikes as she engages in creating a community where daily bicycling can be an easy, safe, and accessible choice for all members.
In contrast, consider the agitative politically focused bicycle activism of Critical Mass bike rides. Rather than bringing people together solely for a leisurely physical activity, Critical Mass bike rides intentionally take over major auto thoroughfares and draw attention to global reliance on oil and automobiles. In a Critical Mass bike ride, the bicycle and its riders become social activists, or community change agents. These divergent examples of bicycling show that everyday physical activity can have a significant effect on community members and social structures.
Learn more about Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity.
Gain perspective on nationalism in the context of sport and physical activity
Do you remember cheering for your favorite team or athlete during the Olympic Games? Do you have relatives or friends from outside your country who took great pride when their home country did well in the Olympics or other international sporting event?
Do you remember cheering for your favorite team or athlete during the Olympic Games? Do you have relatives or friends from outside your country who took great pride when their home country did well in the Olympics or other international sporting event? When someone mentions the nations of the United States, Canada, Brazil, or Romania, which sports come to mind? You have probably learned to associate baseball, hockey, soccer, and gymnastics with these countries, respectively. And what ideas do you hold about countries that boycott the Olympic Games or that do not allow women to compete on their teams? Each of these questions offers you a chance to aim your sociological imagination at sport and physical activity in national and global contexts.
The relevance of sporting traditions to national identities and the use of sport in support of nationalist propaganda are of keen interest to sociologically informed kinesiologists. In fact, some might say that the sociology of sport began as a field motivated to understand and articulate the importance of sport to a nation's development, especially in creating a consensus association among a nation's citizens. Consider the Olympic Games and the pride certain countries have in dominating particular sports or in competing among the top nations in the medal count. Remember your own childhood and which sports were most relevant in your school, community, and leisure experiences - perhaps involvement in these activities created a sense of belonging, purpose, and unity?
While much of the current research on physical culture and nationalism focuses on sport, the field of study we know today as kinesiology emerged in part out of concerns for the health and wellness of the nation. At times this concern for the nation was centered on the effects of major societal change like that of a shift from farm living to city living brought about by industrialization. In other times, the concern for the nation was more directly about national security and a perceived ability to protect one's nation should it encounter conflict with other nations. In times of war, such concerns may have informed a national curriculum for K-12 physical education. In other times, concerns may have informed educational planning without developing a firm national curriculum. In any case, despite a more current focus on sport in relation to the nation, other physical activity settings, including physical education and leisure, have also been deeply linked to nation building.
Learn more about Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity.
People assign arbitrary value to social differences
Directly related to social stratification is social hierarchy, or, as many scholars have called it, the difference that difference makes. This concept is both simple and complex for social scientists, and it takes on unique complications in sport and physical activity.
Directly related to social stratification is social hierarchy, or, as many scholars have called it, the difference that difference makes. This concept is both simple and complex for social scientists, and it takes on unique complications in sport and physical activity. In its most simple form, the concept recognizes that members of society have arbitrarily assigned value to social difference. This has created a social hierarchy that would otherwise not naturally be present. A sport-specific example is the belief that biologically male bodies are more suited to elite athleticism than are biologically female bodies. Rules, guidelines, and the organizational structure of most physical activity programs are organized around this concept of naturalized gender difference. Beliefs about natural racial superiority in certain sports are another example, such as the widespread belief that Kenyan runners are naturally gifted, which fails to recognize training techniques that may account for their long-distance running success.
In another example, Dr. Mary Louise Adams (2011) highlighted the role of sport in reflecting and informing current beliefs about difference as she described the historical shift of men's involvement in the sport of figure skating. At one time, figure skating was seen as a gentleman's sport. Over time the image of the sport was of primarily effeminate male involvement, which was highlighted in the 1990s when a group of skaters put new effort into performing a more preferred masculinized version of figure skating. Studying men's figure skating throughout the 20th century raises many questions about the naturalness of categories of difference and the ways that major social spheres, including sport and physical activity, play crucial roles in reflecting and even creating such ideas about difference.
Learn more about Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity.
Advocating for ethical and humane sports and physical activity
Some of the most powerful people in everyday aspects of sport and physical activity are parents in youth program settings, volunteer coaches, and community members who use their social roles to advance preferred forms of sport for participants, teams, and neighborhoods (e.g., national movement for open streets).
Some of the most powerful people in everyday aspects of sport and physical activity are parents in youth program settings, volunteer coaches, and community members who use their social roles to advance preferred forms of sport for participants, teams, and neighborhoods (e.g., national movement for open streets). The required skills in this category of applied practice are not formally sanctioned, but any ethical advocacy for sport and physical activity that advances a preferred society would include at least the following:
- Study of local policy, access, and leadership issues
- Voluntary study of social movements and social science perspectives
- Willingness to ask difficult questions about valued spaces for sport and physical activity
- Willingness to partner with others in advancing sport and physical activity
- Completion of specific program or organization training such as increasingly required training for parents of participants in community youth sport programs
Regardless of one's relation to the allied professionals or academic professionals, the duties of advocates apply to all who care to fully engage their role as active members of their communities. Duties for this group are not sanctioned or governed by any overarching agency, but actually exist in more of a social contract, or a collective civil and civic engagement in one's school, neighborhood, club, hometown, team, state, or country. We can consider the ongoing duty from three angles:
- Application of a sociological lens to identify meaningful social issues and projects in relation to sport and physical activity
- Willingness to organize a project for addressing social issues through sport and physical activity
- Ability to support and promote projects that increase the capacity of communities to have accessible daily physical activity outlets for all members of society
As one example, a local bike shop owner organizes beginner rides and partners with a community group that develops bike lanes and aims to decrease the town's reliance on automobiles. Yes, the bike shop owner wants to sell bicycles, but she also sees bicycles as part of a larger issue regarding community health and a national reliance on gasoline-fueled transportation. This citizen is going beyond selling bikes as she engages in creating a community where daily bicycling can be an easy, safe, and accessible choice for all members.
In contrast, consider the agitative politically focused bicycle activism of Critical Mass bike rides. Rather than bringing people together solely for a leisurely physical activity, Critical Mass bike rides intentionally take over major auto thoroughfares and draw attention to global reliance on oil and automobiles. In a Critical Mass bike ride, the bicycle and its riders become social activists, or community change agents. These divergent examples of bicycling show that everyday physical activity can have a significant effect on community members and social structures.
Learn more about Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity.
Gain perspective on nationalism in the context of sport and physical activity
Do you remember cheering for your favorite team or athlete during the Olympic Games? Do you have relatives or friends from outside your country who took great pride when their home country did well in the Olympics or other international sporting event?
Do you remember cheering for your favorite team or athlete during the Olympic Games? Do you have relatives or friends from outside your country who took great pride when their home country did well in the Olympics or other international sporting event? When someone mentions the nations of the United States, Canada, Brazil, or Romania, which sports come to mind? You have probably learned to associate baseball, hockey, soccer, and gymnastics with these countries, respectively. And what ideas do you hold about countries that boycott the Olympic Games or that do not allow women to compete on their teams? Each of these questions offers you a chance to aim your sociological imagination at sport and physical activity in national and global contexts.
The relevance of sporting traditions to national identities and the use of sport in support of nationalist propaganda are of keen interest to sociologically informed kinesiologists. In fact, some might say that the sociology of sport began as a field motivated to understand and articulate the importance of sport to a nation's development, especially in creating a consensus association among a nation's citizens. Consider the Olympic Games and the pride certain countries have in dominating particular sports or in competing among the top nations in the medal count. Remember your own childhood and which sports were most relevant in your school, community, and leisure experiences - perhaps involvement in these activities created a sense of belonging, purpose, and unity?
While much of the current research on physical culture and nationalism focuses on sport, the field of study we know today as kinesiology emerged in part out of concerns for the health and wellness of the nation. At times this concern for the nation was centered on the effects of major societal change like that of a shift from farm living to city living brought about by industrialization. In other times, the concern for the nation was more directly about national security and a perceived ability to protect one's nation should it encounter conflict with other nations. In times of war, such concerns may have informed a national curriculum for K-12 physical education. In other times, concerns may have informed educational planning without developing a firm national curriculum. In any case, despite a more current focus on sport in relation to the nation, other physical activity settings, including physical education and leisure, have also been deeply linked to nation building.
Learn more about Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity.
People assign arbitrary value to social differences
Directly related to social stratification is social hierarchy, or, as many scholars have called it, the difference that difference makes. This concept is both simple and complex for social scientists, and it takes on unique complications in sport and physical activity.
Directly related to social stratification is social hierarchy, or, as many scholars have called it, the difference that difference makes. This concept is both simple and complex for social scientists, and it takes on unique complications in sport and physical activity. In its most simple form, the concept recognizes that members of society have arbitrarily assigned value to social difference. This has created a social hierarchy that would otherwise not naturally be present. A sport-specific example is the belief that biologically male bodies are more suited to elite athleticism than are biologically female bodies. Rules, guidelines, and the organizational structure of most physical activity programs are organized around this concept of naturalized gender difference. Beliefs about natural racial superiority in certain sports are another example, such as the widespread belief that Kenyan runners are naturally gifted, which fails to recognize training techniques that may account for their long-distance running success.
In another example, Dr. Mary Louise Adams (2011) highlighted the role of sport in reflecting and informing current beliefs about difference as she described the historical shift of men's involvement in the sport of figure skating. At one time, figure skating was seen as a gentleman's sport. Over time the image of the sport was of primarily effeminate male involvement, which was highlighted in the 1990s when a group of skaters put new effort into performing a more preferred masculinized version of figure skating. Studying men's figure skating throughout the 20th century raises many questions about the naturalness of categories of difference and the ways that major social spheres, including sport and physical activity, play crucial roles in reflecting and even creating such ideas about difference.
Learn more about Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity.
Advocating for ethical and humane sports and physical activity
Some of the most powerful people in everyday aspects of sport and physical activity are parents in youth program settings, volunteer coaches, and community members who use their social roles to advance preferred forms of sport for participants, teams, and neighborhoods (e.g., national movement for open streets).
Some of the most powerful people in everyday aspects of sport and physical activity are parents in youth program settings, volunteer coaches, and community members who use their social roles to advance preferred forms of sport for participants, teams, and neighborhoods (e.g., national movement for open streets). The required skills in this category of applied practice are not formally sanctioned, but any ethical advocacy for sport and physical activity that advances a preferred society would include at least the following:
- Study of local policy, access, and leadership issues
- Voluntary study of social movements and social science perspectives
- Willingness to ask difficult questions about valued spaces for sport and physical activity
- Willingness to partner with others in advancing sport and physical activity
- Completion of specific program or organization training such as increasingly required training for parents of participants in community youth sport programs
Regardless of one's relation to the allied professionals or academic professionals, the duties of advocates apply to all who care to fully engage their role as active members of their communities. Duties for this group are not sanctioned or governed by any overarching agency, but actually exist in more of a social contract, or a collective civil and civic engagement in one's school, neighborhood, club, hometown, team, state, or country. We can consider the ongoing duty from three angles:
- Application of a sociological lens to identify meaningful social issues and projects in relation to sport and physical activity
- Willingness to organize a project for addressing social issues through sport and physical activity
- Ability to support and promote projects that increase the capacity of communities to have accessible daily physical activity outlets for all members of society
As one example, a local bike shop owner organizes beginner rides and partners with a community group that develops bike lanes and aims to decrease the town's reliance on automobiles. Yes, the bike shop owner wants to sell bicycles, but she also sees bicycles as part of a larger issue regarding community health and a national reliance on gasoline-fueled transportation. This citizen is going beyond selling bikes as she engages in creating a community where daily bicycling can be an easy, safe, and accessible choice for all members.
In contrast, consider the agitative politically focused bicycle activism of Critical Mass bike rides. Rather than bringing people together solely for a leisurely physical activity, Critical Mass bike rides intentionally take over major auto thoroughfares and draw attention to global reliance on oil and automobiles. In a Critical Mass bike ride, the bicycle and its riders become social activists, or community change agents. These divergent examples of bicycling show that everyday physical activity can have a significant effect on community members and social structures.
Learn more about Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity.
Gain perspective on nationalism in the context of sport and physical activity
Do you remember cheering for your favorite team or athlete during the Olympic Games? Do you have relatives or friends from outside your country who took great pride when their home country did well in the Olympics or other international sporting event?
Do you remember cheering for your favorite team or athlete during the Olympic Games? Do you have relatives or friends from outside your country who took great pride when their home country did well in the Olympics or other international sporting event? When someone mentions the nations of the United States, Canada, Brazil, or Romania, which sports come to mind? You have probably learned to associate baseball, hockey, soccer, and gymnastics with these countries, respectively. And what ideas do you hold about countries that boycott the Olympic Games or that do not allow women to compete on their teams? Each of these questions offers you a chance to aim your sociological imagination at sport and physical activity in national and global contexts.
The relevance of sporting traditions to national identities and the use of sport in support of nationalist propaganda are of keen interest to sociologically informed kinesiologists. In fact, some might say that the sociology of sport began as a field motivated to understand and articulate the importance of sport to a nation's development, especially in creating a consensus association among a nation's citizens. Consider the Olympic Games and the pride certain countries have in dominating particular sports or in competing among the top nations in the medal count. Remember your own childhood and which sports were most relevant in your school, community, and leisure experiences - perhaps involvement in these activities created a sense of belonging, purpose, and unity?
While much of the current research on physical culture and nationalism focuses on sport, the field of study we know today as kinesiology emerged in part out of concerns for the health and wellness of the nation. At times this concern for the nation was centered on the effects of major societal change like that of a shift from farm living to city living brought about by industrialization. In other times, the concern for the nation was more directly about national security and a perceived ability to protect one's nation should it encounter conflict with other nations. In times of war, such concerns may have informed a national curriculum for K-12 physical education. In other times, concerns may have informed educational planning without developing a firm national curriculum. In any case, despite a more current focus on sport in relation to the nation, other physical activity settings, including physical education and leisure, have also been deeply linked to nation building.
Learn more about Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity.
People assign arbitrary value to social differences
Directly related to social stratification is social hierarchy, or, as many scholars have called it, the difference that difference makes. This concept is both simple and complex for social scientists, and it takes on unique complications in sport and physical activity.
Directly related to social stratification is social hierarchy, or, as many scholars have called it, the difference that difference makes. This concept is both simple and complex for social scientists, and it takes on unique complications in sport and physical activity. In its most simple form, the concept recognizes that members of society have arbitrarily assigned value to social difference. This has created a social hierarchy that would otherwise not naturally be present. A sport-specific example is the belief that biologically male bodies are more suited to elite athleticism than are biologically female bodies. Rules, guidelines, and the organizational structure of most physical activity programs are organized around this concept of naturalized gender difference. Beliefs about natural racial superiority in certain sports are another example, such as the widespread belief that Kenyan runners are naturally gifted, which fails to recognize training techniques that may account for their long-distance running success.
In another example, Dr. Mary Louise Adams (2011) highlighted the role of sport in reflecting and informing current beliefs about difference as she described the historical shift of men's involvement in the sport of figure skating. At one time, figure skating was seen as a gentleman's sport. Over time the image of the sport was of primarily effeminate male involvement, which was highlighted in the 1990s when a group of skaters put new effort into performing a more preferred masculinized version of figure skating. Studying men's figure skating throughout the 20th century raises many questions about the naturalness of categories of difference and the ways that major social spheres, including sport and physical activity, play crucial roles in reflecting and even creating such ideas about difference.
Learn more about Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity.
Advocating for ethical and humane sports and physical activity
Some of the most powerful people in everyday aspects of sport and physical activity are parents in youth program settings, volunteer coaches, and community members who use their social roles to advance preferred forms of sport for participants, teams, and neighborhoods (e.g., national movement for open streets).
Some of the most powerful people in everyday aspects of sport and physical activity are parents in youth program settings, volunteer coaches, and community members who use their social roles to advance preferred forms of sport for participants, teams, and neighborhoods (e.g., national movement for open streets). The required skills in this category of applied practice are not formally sanctioned, but any ethical advocacy for sport and physical activity that advances a preferred society would include at least the following:
- Study of local policy, access, and leadership issues
- Voluntary study of social movements and social science perspectives
- Willingness to ask difficult questions about valued spaces for sport and physical activity
- Willingness to partner with others in advancing sport and physical activity
- Completion of specific program or organization training such as increasingly required training for parents of participants in community youth sport programs
Regardless of one's relation to the allied professionals or academic professionals, the duties of advocates apply to all who care to fully engage their role as active members of their communities. Duties for this group are not sanctioned or governed by any overarching agency, but actually exist in more of a social contract, or a collective civil and civic engagement in one's school, neighborhood, club, hometown, team, state, or country. We can consider the ongoing duty from three angles:
- Application of a sociological lens to identify meaningful social issues and projects in relation to sport and physical activity
- Willingness to organize a project for addressing social issues through sport and physical activity
- Ability to support and promote projects that increase the capacity of communities to have accessible daily physical activity outlets for all members of society
As one example, a local bike shop owner organizes beginner rides and partners with a community group that develops bike lanes and aims to decrease the town's reliance on automobiles. Yes, the bike shop owner wants to sell bicycles, but she also sees bicycles as part of a larger issue regarding community health and a national reliance on gasoline-fueled transportation. This citizen is going beyond selling bikes as she engages in creating a community where daily bicycling can be an easy, safe, and accessible choice for all members.
In contrast, consider the agitative politically focused bicycle activism of Critical Mass bike rides. Rather than bringing people together solely for a leisurely physical activity, Critical Mass bike rides intentionally take over major auto thoroughfares and draw attention to global reliance on oil and automobiles. In a Critical Mass bike ride, the bicycle and its riders become social activists, or community change agents. These divergent examples of bicycling show that everyday physical activity can have a significant effect on community members and social structures.
Learn more about Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity.
Gain perspective on nationalism in the context of sport and physical activity
Do you remember cheering for your favorite team or athlete during the Olympic Games? Do you have relatives or friends from outside your country who took great pride when their home country did well in the Olympics or other international sporting event?
Do you remember cheering for your favorite team or athlete during the Olympic Games? Do you have relatives or friends from outside your country who took great pride when their home country did well in the Olympics or other international sporting event? When someone mentions the nations of the United States, Canada, Brazil, or Romania, which sports come to mind? You have probably learned to associate baseball, hockey, soccer, and gymnastics with these countries, respectively. And what ideas do you hold about countries that boycott the Olympic Games or that do not allow women to compete on their teams? Each of these questions offers you a chance to aim your sociological imagination at sport and physical activity in national and global contexts.
The relevance of sporting traditions to national identities and the use of sport in support of nationalist propaganda are of keen interest to sociologically informed kinesiologists. In fact, some might say that the sociology of sport began as a field motivated to understand and articulate the importance of sport to a nation's development, especially in creating a consensus association among a nation's citizens. Consider the Olympic Games and the pride certain countries have in dominating particular sports or in competing among the top nations in the medal count. Remember your own childhood and which sports were most relevant in your school, community, and leisure experiences - perhaps involvement in these activities created a sense of belonging, purpose, and unity?
While much of the current research on physical culture and nationalism focuses on sport, the field of study we know today as kinesiology emerged in part out of concerns for the health and wellness of the nation. At times this concern for the nation was centered on the effects of major societal change like that of a shift from farm living to city living brought about by industrialization. In other times, the concern for the nation was more directly about national security and a perceived ability to protect one's nation should it encounter conflict with other nations. In times of war, such concerns may have informed a national curriculum for K-12 physical education. In other times, concerns may have informed educational planning without developing a firm national curriculum. In any case, despite a more current focus on sport in relation to the nation, other physical activity settings, including physical education and leisure, have also been deeply linked to nation building.
Learn more about Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity.
People assign arbitrary value to social differences
Directly related to social stratification is social hierarchy, or, as many scholars have called it, the difference that difference makes. This concept is both simple and complex for social scientists, and it takes on unique complications in sport and physical activity.
Directly related to social stratification is social hierarchy, or, as many scholars have called it, the difference that difference makes. This concept is both simple and complex for social scientists, and it takes on unique complications in sport and physical activity. In its most simple form, the concept recognizes that members of society have arbitrarily assigned value to social difference. This has created a social hierarchy that would otherwise not naturally be present. A sport-specific example is the belief that biologically male bodies are more suited to elite athleticism than are biologically female bodies. Rules, guidelines, and the organizational structure of most physical activity programs are organized around this concept of naturalized gender difference. Beliefs about natural racial superiority in certain sports are another example, such as the widespread belief that Kenyan runners are naturally gifted, which fails to recognize training techniques that may account for their long-distance running success.
In another example, Dr. Mary Louise Adams (2011) highlighted the role of sport in reflecting and informing current beliefs about difference as she described the historical shift of men's involvement in the sport of figure skating. At one time, figure skating was seen as a gentleman's sport. Over time the image of the sport was of primarily effeminate male involvement, which was highlighted in the 1990s when a group of skaters put new effort into performing a more preferred masculinized version of figure skating. Studying men's figure skating throughout the 20th century raises many questions about the naturalness of categories of difference and the ways that major social spheres, including sport and physical activity, play crucial roles in reflecting and even creating such ideas about difference.
Learn more about Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity.
Advocating for ethical and humane sports and physical activity
Some of the most powerful people in everyday aspects of sport and physical activity are parents in youth program settings, volunteer coaches, and community members who use their social roles to advance preferred forms of sport for participants, teams, and neighborhoods (e.g., national movement for open streets).
Some of the most powerful people in everyday aspects of sport and physical activity are parents in youth program settings, volunteer coaches, and community members who use their social roles to advance preferred forms of sport for participants, teams, and neighborhoods (e.g., national movement for open streets). The required skills in this category of applied practice are not formally sanctioned, but any ethical advocacy for sport and physical activity that advances a preferred society would include at least the following:
- Study of local policy, access, and leadership issues
- Voluntary study of social movements and social science perspectives
- Willingness to ask difficult questions about valued spaces for sport and physical activity
- Willingness to partner with others in advancing sport and physical activity
- Completion of specific program or organization training such as increasingly required training for parents of participants in community youth sport programs
Regardless of one's relation to the allied professionals or academic professionals, the duties of advocates apply to all who care to fully engage their role as active members of their communities. Duties for this group are not sanctioned or governed by any overarching agency, but actually exist in more of a social contract, or a collective civil and civic engagement in one's school, neighborhood, club, hometown, team, state, or country. We can consider the ongoing duty from three angles:
- Application of a sociological lens to identify meaningful social issues and projects in relation to sport and physical activity
- Willingness to organize a project for addressing social issues through sport and physical activity
- Ability to support and promote projects that increase the capacity of communities to have accessible daily physical activity outlets for all members of society
As one example, a local bike shop owner organizes beginner rides and partners with a community group that develops bike lanes and aims to decrease the town's reliance on automobiles. Yes, the bike shop owner wants to sell bicycles, but she also sees bicycles as part of a larger issue regarding community health and a national reliance on gasoline-fueled transportation. This citizen is going beyond selling bikes as she engages in creating a community where daily bicycling can be an easy, safe, and accessible choice for all members.
In contrast, consider the agitative politically focused bicycle activism of Critical Mass bike rides. Rather than bringing people together solely for a leisurely physical activity, Critical Mass bike rides intentionally take over major auto thoroughfares and draw attention to global reliance on oil and automobiles. In a Critical Mass bike ride, the bicycle and its riders become social activists, or community change agents. These divergent examples of bicycling show that everyday physical activity can have a significant effect on community members and social structures.
Learn more about Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity.
Gain perspective on nationalism in the context of sport and physical activity
Do you remember cheering for your favorite team or athlete during the Olympic Games? Do you have relatives or friends from outside your country who took great pride when their home country did well in the Olympics or other international sporting event?
Do you remember cheering for your favorite team or athlete during the Olympic Games? Do you have relatives or friends from outside your country who took great pride when their home country did well in the Olympics or other international sporting event? When someone mentions the nations of the United States, Canada, Brazil, or Romania, which sports come to mind? You have probably learned to associate baseball, hockey, soccer, and gymnastics with these countries, respectively. And what ideas do you hold about countries that boycott the Olympic Games or that do not allow women to compete on their teams? Each of these questions offers you a chance to aim your sociological imagination at sport and physical activity in national and global contexts.
The relevance of sporting traditions to national identities and the use of sport in support of nationalist propaganda are of keen interest to sociologically informed kinesiologists. In fact, some might say that the sociology of sport began as a field motivated to understand and articulate the importance of sport to a nation's development, especially in creating a consensus association among a nation's citizens. Consider the Olympic Games and the pride certain countries have in dominating particular sports or in competing among the top nations in the medal count. Remember your own childhood and which sports were most relevant in your school, community, and leisure experiences - perhaps involvement in these activities created a sense of belonging, purpose, and unity?
While much of the current research on physical culture and nationalism focuses on sport, the field of study we know today as kinesiology emerged in part out of concerns for the health and wellness of the nation. At times this concern for the nation was centered on the effects of major societal change like that of a shift from farm living to city living brought about by industrialization. In other times, the concern for the nation was more directly about national security and a perceived ability to protect one's nation should it encounter conflict with other nations. In times of war, such concerns may have informed a national curriculum for K-12 physical education. In other times, concerns may have informed educational planning without developing a firm national curriculum. In any case, despite a more current focus on sport in relation to the nation, other physical activity settings, including physical education and leisure, have also been deeply linked to nation building.
Learn more about Fundamentals of Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity.
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