Leisure time today is driven by fandom. Once viewed as a social pariah, the fan and associated fandom as a whole has transformed into a popularized social construct researchers are still attempting to understand. Popular culture in the modern era is defined and dominated by the fan, and the basis of fandom has established its own identity across several platforms of media. As some forms of fandom have remained constant, including sports and cinema, other structures of fandom are emerging as the mass following of video games and cosplay are becoming increasingly prominent. Fandom has been established as an important facet in today’s society, and necessary research is required for understanding how fandom is shaping society as a whole. Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Media Fandom is a pivotal reference source that provides vital research that reviews some of the most exigent facets of today’s fandom and highlights understudied cultures of fandom as well as emerging intricacies of established fandom. While promoting topics such as esports, influencer culture, and marketing trends, this publication explores both qualitative and quantitative approaches as well as the methods of social science and critical perspectives. This book is ideally designed for marketers, media strategists, brand managers, consumer behavior analysts, researchers, academics, and students.

This volume of essays examines the ways in which sports have become a means for the communication of social identity in the United States. The essays included here explore the question, How is identity engaged in the performance and spectatorship of sports? Defining sports as the whole range of mediated professional sports, and considering actual participation in sports, the chapters herein address a varied range of ways in which sports as a cultural entity becomes a site for the creation and management of symbolic components of identity. Originating in the New Agendas in Communication symposium sponsored by the University of Texas College of Communication, this volume provides contemporary explorations of sports and identity, highlighting the perspectives of up-and-coming scholars and researchers. It has much to offer readers in communication, sociology of sport, human kinetics, and related areas.

′The Roger Federer, the Steffi Graf, the Usain Bolt of all books about the psychology of sport, packed with insight and wisdom’ - Brian Viner, Sports writer and author of Pelé, Ali, Lillee, and Me This is the first textbook to explore and explain the contribution of social groups and social identity to all aspects of sports and exercise — from leadership, motivation and communication to mental health, teamwork, and fan behaviour. In the context of increasing recognition of the importance of group processes for athletic performance, engagement in exercise and the business of sport, this book offers a new way of understanding, researching and practicing sport and exercise psychology Written by an international team of researchers at the cutting edge of efforts to apply social identity principles to the world of sport and exercise, this will be an essential resource for students, teachers and practitioners who are keen to be at the forefront of thinking and practice.

This book examines how different stages of adult life affect participation in lifestyle sports and in the construction of identity. Drawing on multi-disciplinary perspectives, it explores how gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and location, in conjunction with age and stage in career, affect lifestyle sport practices and meanings. Tracing engagement with lifestyle sport across the lifecourse, from young adult to older age, the book examines the concepts of authenticity and identity in subcultural and alternative sports, exploring how individuals develop lifestyle sport identities, maintain authentic identities, and how they manage those identities as older adults. It presents a range of fascinating, cutting-edge case studies from around the world, covering sports as diverse as climbing, surfing, mountain biking, skateboarding and roller derby, and considers key contemporary issues such as professionalisation, sports labor, and digital technology. It also highlights political tensions and shifts that shape the identities of lifestyle sport communities. This is essential reading for anybody with a serious interest in alternative or lifestyle sports, the relationships between sport and wider society, or the development of subcultures and cultural identity.

This book focuses on leadership in sports coaching, exploring key concepts and principles underpinned by a presentation of new empirical research. Placing social identity theory at its centre, this book provides students and researchers with a powerful tool for understanding the complex social dynamic that is the coaching process.

While globalisation has undoubtedly occurred in many social fields, in sport the importance of ‘the nation’ has remained. This book examines the continuing but contested relevance of national identities in sport within the context of globalising forces. Including case studies from around the world, it considers the significance of sport in divided societies, former global empires and aspirational nations within federal states. Each chapter looks at sport not only as a reflection of national rivalries but also as a changing cultural tradition that facilitates the reimagining of borders, boundaries and identities. The book questions how these national, state and global identifications are invoked through sporting structures and practices, both in the past and the present. Truly international in perspective, it features case studies from across Europe, the UK, the USA and China and touches on the topics of race, religion, terrorism, separatism, nationalism and militarism. Sport and National Identities: Globalisation and Conflict is fascinating reading for anyone with an interest in the sociology of sport or the relationship between sport, politics, geography and history. Chapter 8 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

This book explores the interrelationships between nations, regions and states in the landscape of contemporary international sport, focusing on identity. Using case studies, the book explores themes such as the geopolitics of sports events, contested identities, and ownership of sport.

Innovative readings and blog posts show how sociology can help us understand everyday life.

Playing and watching sport can teach us a great deal about wider social issues. This book looks at how identities are constructed and reinforced in sport, exploring notions of race, class, sexuality and nationalism. With contributions from international experts, this book is key reading for students of sociology and sports studies.

The Routledge Handbook of Language and Superdiversity provides an accessible and authoritative overview of this growing area, the linguistic analysis of interaction in superdiverse cities. Developed as a descriptive term to account for the increasingly stratified processes and effects of migration in Western Europe, ‘superdiversity’ has the potential to contribute to an enhanced understanding of mobility, complexity, and change, with theoretical, practical, global, and methodological reach. With seven sections edited by leading names, the handbook includes 35 state-of-the art chapters from international authorities. The handbook adopts a truly interdisciplinary approach, covering: Cultural heritage Sport Law Education Business and entrepreneurship. The result is a truly comprehensive account of how people live, work and communicate in superdiverse spaces. This volume is key reading for all those engaged in the study and research of Language and Superdiversity within Applied Linguistics, Linguistic Anthropology and related areas.