1st Edition
Reflections on Process Sociology and Sport 'Walking the Line'
The book focuses on the distinctive contribution that Joseph Maguire has made to process sociology and the study of sport. Maguire’s work over the past three decades highlights how process sociology has a unique perspective on the relationship between sport, culture and society, and to the body, globalisation and civilisational analysis.
Reflecting on this body of work and the use of process sociology, Maguire captures the research dynamic of ‘walking the line' between involvement and detachment, theory and observation, and engagement and critique. The book is structured around four broad sections: Theory, Sport and Society; The Meaning of Sport, Body and Society; Case Studies in Sport and Process Sociology; Globalisation, Sport and Civilisational Analysis.
Providing an introduction to, and key examples of, a process sociology approach to the study of sport, the body, civilising processes and globalisation, this book will appeal to undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers in sport studies / sports science degrees, sociology, cultural studies and to those studying migration, globalisation and cross cultural civilisation relations.
This book was previously published as a Special Issue of Sport in Society.
Dedication 1. Introduction: Reflections on process sociology and sport: ‘walking the line’ Theory, sport and society 2. Towards a sociology of sport 3. Thinking sociologically about sport 4. Studying sport through the lens of historical sociology and/or sociological history 5. The emergence of football spectating as a social problem The meaning of sport, body and society 6. Human sciences, sports sciences and the need to study people ‘in the round’ 7. Welcome to the pleasure dome?: emotions, leisure and society 8. Body matters: theories of the body and the study of sportcultures 9. Development through sport and the sports – industrial complex: the case for human development in sports and exercise sciences Case studies in sport and process sociology 10. The consumption of American football in British society: networks of interdependencies 11. The global media sports complex: key issues and concerns 12. Globalization, sport and national identities 13. Sport, identity politics, gender and globalization Globalisation, sport and civilisational analysis 14. Power and global sport: zones of prestige, emulation and resistance 15. ‘Civilised Games’?: Beijing 2008, power politics, and cultural struggles 16. ‘Real politic’ or ‘ethically based’: sport, globalization, migration and nation-state policies 17. Branding and consumption in the IOC’s ‘Celebrate Humanity’ campaign
Biography
Joseph Maguire completed his PhD in Sociology at the University of Leicester and is a past President of the International Sociology of Sport Association and RC 27 of the International Sociology Association. He has published extensively in the area of sport, culture and society. Currently his work focuses on the area of sport and social theory and sport and globalisation, with specific reference to identity, the media, migration, environmentalism and political economy. He is currently on the executive Board of the ICSSPE.
Joseph Maguire has been at the forefront of sport sociology being able to enter the 21st century as a respected member of the intellectual community. He has helped foster a robust trans-Atlantic dialogue in sports studies. His work has taken advantage of several disciplines, weaving them into a coherent tapestry of ideas, sports, and geographic regions. Most importantly, however, Joseph Maguire pioneered the effort by sports scholars in the area of globalization and sport. This volume is "like a box of chocolates" in that it represents an array of his best work- pleasure to see in a single tome.
Alan Klein, Professor of Anthropology-Sociology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA
For twenty years, Professor Maguire has been at the forefront of the sociology of sport in Britain. The dedication of an issue of Sport and Society to him is a timely and appropriate recognition of his the scale of his contribution to the field and to the indebtedness of all scholars of sport to him. Throughout his work, Professor Maguire has sought to apply the Eliasian configurational approach to the question of the globalisation of sport in all its facets from body forms to commercialisation. This collection of his finest essays exemplifies his unique approach, demonstrating the extraordinary richness and diversity of his encyclopaedic knowledge of global sports. It should become a basic reference point for all social scientists interested in the critical study of sport in the twenty-first century.
Anthony King, Professor of Sociology, Exeter University
This collection of his original work represents only a handful of Maguire’s most penetrating, diverse and boundary defining studies of the relationship between sport and long-term social processes. Maguire’s status as a leading sociological theorist in the field of sport studies is reaffirmed across the volume’s contents, as is the critical role he has played, and continues to play, in forging conceptual links across disciplinary boundaries. The book is essential reading for those seriously concerned with the critical role of sport cultures in society, and for anyone pursuing contoured analyses of how sport matters sociologically.
Professor Michael Atkinson, Director, Sport Legacies Research Collaborative, University of Toronto
A massive contribution to understanding sport in society based upon decades of research and reflection. This book is scholarly, lucid, moving, committed and a major achievement.
Professor Grant Jarvie, University of Edinburgh and formerly Pro-Vice Chancellor University of Stirling.
