The social significance of sport: an introduction to the sociology of sport

Abstract

Social Significance of provides a far more comprehensive, penetrating, and insightful analysis of contemporary sport than other texts. Part I, Reflects Culture and Society, considers how sport reflects the norms, values, and practices of other social institutions. Part II, Reinforces Social Inequalities, analyses how sport fosters inequity or promotes social mobility for cross-sections of the population. Part III, Is an Arena of Resistance and Conflict, examines how sport can encourage resistance and conflict, stimulate social change, and create subcultures that pursue the interests of disadvantaged groups. This introductory sociology of sport text is designed to help students appreciate the social significance of sport, understand the social structures, social relations, and social problems of sport, and learn how the theories and methods of the social sciences allow us to better understand sport and to develop policies and programmes to resolve social problems in sport. The supporting Instructor's Manual, free to those adopting The Social Significance of Sport as a course text, contains suggestions for course assignments, an extensive list of audio-visual support materials, and objective, short-answer, and essay questions for testing.