Sociological Perspectives on Sport: The Games Outside the Games seeks not only to inform students about the sports world but also to offer them analytical skills and the application of theoretical perspectives that deepen their awareness and understanding of social processes linking sports to the larger social world. With six original framing essays linking sport to a variety of topics, including race, class, gender, media, politics, deviance, and globalization, and 37 reprinted articles, this text/reader sets a new standard for excellence in teaching sports and society.

A Sociological Perspective of Sport, Fifth Edition offers a comprehensive look at the social world of sport. The text is organized to show how sport is a vital component of major sociological concepts such as culture, social organization, socialization, deviance, small groups, collective behavior, mass media, and institutional interrelationships (education, politics, and religion). Chapters move from the "macro" perspective to the "micro" view to make the connection between sport and society clear. A Sociological Perspective of Sport is based on three central themes: sport is a social institution worthy of sociological examination like the more traditional institutions of marriage/family, politics, economy, religion, law, health/medicine, science, and education; sport is a microcosm of the larger society and as such reflects and reinforces the dominant ideology; and numerous institutional connections between sport and other societal institutions make it impossible for changes in one sphere not to have reverberating effects in all spheres.

Sociological Perspectives on Sport: The Games Outside the Games seeks not only to inform students about the sports world but also to offer them analytical skills and the application of theoretical perspectives that deepen their awareness and understanding of social processes linking sports to the larger social world. With six original framing essays linking sport to a variety of topics, including race, class, gender, media, politics, deviance, and globalization, and 37 reprinted articles, this text/reader sets a new standard for excellence in teaching sports and society.

This text looks at the sociology of sport. Narrative case studies of sports sociology from all over the world provide examples of how to interpret issues in professional and elite sports from a sociological perspective.

Why are sport and exercise important? What can the study of sport and exercise tell us about wider society? Who holds the power in creating contemporary sport and exercise discourses? It is impossible to properly understand the role that sport and exercise play in contemporary society without knowing a little social theory. It is social theory that provides the vocabulary for our study of society, that helps us ask the right critical questions and that encourages us to look for the (real) story behind sport and exercise. Sport, Exercise and Social Theory is a concise and engaging introduction to the key theories that underpin the study of sport, exercise and society, including feminism, post-modernism, (Neo-)Marxism and the sociological imagination. Using vivid examples and descriptions of sport-related events and exercise practices, the book explains why social theories are important as well as how to use them, giving students the tools to navigate with confidence through any course in the sociology of sport and exercise. This book shows how theory can be used to debunk many of our traditional assumptions about sport and exercise and how they can be a useful window through which to observe wider society. Designed to be used by students who have never studied sociology before, and including a whole chapter on the practical application of social theory to their own study, it provides training in critical thinking and helps students to develop intellectual skills which will serve them throughout their professional and personal lives.

Sociology of Sport and Social Theory presents current research perspectives from major sport scholars and leading sociologists regarding issues germane to the sociology of sport while addressing traditional and contemporary sociological theories.

"A comprehensive, useful and informative practical book that draws from a range of disciplines. In particular, the learning activities provides some useful group and reflective discussions." - Heather Allison, London Metropolitan University "This book supports our year undergraduate students. The case studies and links with UK programmes provides relevant information to discuss and investigate. Easily accessible." - Emerick Kaitell, Roehampton University This is an accessible and comprehensive introductory textbook for students on sport studies courses. It brings together perspectives drawn from a range of disciplines, especially sociology, history and philosophy, with detailed information on the key political, legal, economic and vocational issues relating to sport. Written specifically for students based in the UK, the text examines the full range of topics relevant to sport studies and is fully supported with learning activities, suggestions for further study, and guidance on how to progress and succeed in the subject.

"This handbook contains useful reviews of major theoretical frameworks and research topics in sports studies-especially sport sociology-written by a star-studded array of internationally recognized experts. The scope and depth of this volume demonstrates the intellectual maturity of this area. Each chapter provides an informative historical context and an organized conceptual framework for making sense of the relevant scholarly literature. The book will be particularly useful to graduate students, advanced undergraduates, and college and university faculty who are seeking to gain rapid, informed access to the literature." --Janet C. Harris, Professor and Chair, Dept. of Kinesiology and Physical Education, California State University, Los Angeles This vital new Handbook marks the development of sports studies as a major new discipline within the social sciences. Edited by the leading sociologist of sport, Eric Dunning, and author of the best selling textbook on sport in the USA, Jay Coakley, it both reflects and richly endorses this new found status. Key aspects of the Handbook include: an inventory of the principal achievements in the field; a guide to the chief conflicts and difficulties in the theory and research process; a rallying point for researchers who are established or new to the field, which sets the agenda for future developments; a resource book for teachers who wish to establish new curricula and develop courses and programmes in the area of sports studies. With an international and inter-disciplinary cast of contributors the Handbook of Sports Studies is comprehensive in scope, relevant in content and far-reaching in its discussion of future prospect.

This book shows how the dynamic interplay of a powerful "golden triangle" of sports, media, and business interests with social, cultural, economic, and political forces shapes sport in a changing world. This edition is a condensed and updated version of the first edition, with an emphasis on current social issues in sport. It also has more global content. The golden triangle concept is more developed and applied more extensively. Other key themes of the first edition—power, status, and inequality—are also more developed. New "Stop and Think Questions" have been added to challenge students to think about the meaning of what they have read. The book is now divided into five sections. The new sections highlight sociology and the sociology of sport; inequality and diversity; globalization and social deviance; major social contexts of sport, including the high school, college, and professional levels; and power, political economy, and global sports.