Sociology Of Sport Flashcards, test questions and answers
Discover flashcards, test exam answers, and assignments to help you learn more about Sociology Of Sport and other subjects. Don’t miss the chance to use them for more effective college education. Use our database of questions and answers on Sociology Of Sport and get quick solutions for your test.
What is Sociology Of Sport?
Sociology of sport is an area of sociology that studies the relationships between sports, culture and society. It examines the various ways in which sports are influenced by cultural, economic, political and social forces. Additionally, it analyzes how different sports can reflect and shape values, beliefs, identities and behaviors of individuals within a society. The sociology of sport has been growing since the late 19th century when it first emerged as a distinct field of study on its own. Initially focused on sociological theories such as class structure and gender roles within sport; it has since evolved to incorporate a range of topics including media representation, nationalism, racism and globalisation in sport. The first major contribution to this field was made by German sociologist Max Weber who argued that modernity was not just about industrialisation but also about rationalisation with specific reference to the way people organised their leisure activities like sport. This argument laid down a foundation which later theorists would build upon in order to explain the connections between culture and sporting practices. A key concept in understanding these connections is Ëœsportification’ which refers to the process through which certain physical activities become professionalised or institutionalised into sports. This process is often driven by commercial interests who use mass media coverage to promote their product (i.e., athletes). As such, issues such as doping scandals or salary disparities amongst players can all be seen as resulting from this particular dynamic within modern-day sporting events. In addition to these more structural theories around sportification there are other important topics discussed within this field including questions around identity formation through participation in teams/sports clubs; media representations of athletes; race/ethnicity issues; gender differences in participation rates; discrimination against disabled persons etc. All these topics provide insight into how individual experiences are shaped by larger societal forces making sociology of sport an invaluable resource for understanding contemporary culture at large.