Sport and the Sociological Imagination 05 19 2010 Topic 1 What is Kinesiology and where does this course fit in The body and more specifically the active body the body in movement By physical culture we are referring to those activities where the body itself its anatomy its physicality and importantly its forms of movement is the very purpose the raison d etre of the activity being physical Evidently physical culture represents an Ontologically Mixed Entity there are diverse ways of So in Kinesiology in order to get a comprehensive understanding of physical activity we need to think about the active body both scientifically and social scientifically biologically and sociologically and quantitatively and qualitatively this is where KNES287 fits in All aspects of physical culture can also be considered sociological entities since they have emerged from and help to contribute toward definite Social Cultural and Historical Processes Our physical culture is not an accident rather it is a statement window on the nature of the society in which we live Topic 2 A critical and theoretical understanding Criticism is actually a form of commitment a way of saying If there are problems here and un warranted breaches of social justice and human equality let s identify them and work to transform things to make sport and hopefully society better The importance of theory Theory is interpretation it leads to explanation of some social phenomenon and gives order and insight to what is or can be observed Topic 3 An approach to understanding sport Definition of Sport According to some observers Sport itself has no essentialist pre given definition indeed it is very difficult to arrive at consensus as to what sport is Fierce argument can and does rage over whether snooker arts cycling fishing synchronized swimming skating and professional wrestling are regarded as sports The ESPN view of the sporting world Some define sport by suggesting it incorporates that which one confronts when reading the sports pages of major newspapers or in more contemporary fashion when viewing ESPN programming However this form of definition has become increasingly problematic ESPN staples such as college football and golf would generally be considered to be sport However could this also be said of Pool Bass Fishing Poker National Spelling Bee There are also numerous more sophisticated definition efforts Often we think of sport as a set of specific competitive physical activities based on elements of play games and contests From this perspective we formally define sport as a structured goal oriented competitive contest based ludic physical activity Structured rules and codes of conduct spatial and temporal constraints highly bureaucratized Goal oriented commonly defined as objectives allowing clear identification of winners and losers Competitive essentially contest based either between competitors or clock necessarily indeterminate activities involving excitement generated from uncertainty of outcomes Ludic involving elements of freedom of expression and playful creativity Physical involving the use of the body in an instrument and vigorous fashion Evidently what Loy et al are pointing towards is the elite highly structured and competitive team and individual activities which do dominate the contemporary sporting landscape These are what Donnelly 1996 described as prolympic sports Topic 4 Sport as physical culture So sport is according to the loose definition used within this course a collective noun used to describe the various culturally sanctioned aspects of physical activity practiced within a given society The active body is the internal instrument with regard to participation and the external object with regard to spectating of physical culture Range of sporting involvement active spectating passive spectating Play Work Occupational participation professional participation wellness leisure participation However as with other cultural forms music food media the sporting practices and preferences of a society are never guaranteed they are always likely and subject to change Just as society changes so sport culture is in a perpetual state of flux Sport is constantly changing and being changed by the changing nature of societal existence Gramsci s notion of culture as a Contested Terrain Dominant cultural practices and meanings constantly struggle for their position of ascendancy against residual and or emergent practices and meanings Topic 4 Toward a sporting sociological imagination Sport is not substantial it is relational 1 Sport as a World in and of Itself The What Relationship Thesis Sport Contemporary Society Separate and mutually exclusive entities Rejected People tend to engage in a forms of Sports fetishization we treat sport as if it is somehow divorced from the various forces and relations which shape its very constitution as if it is an entity in and of itself and not a product of a particular cultural and historical moment In other words we do not often question why our sporting lives our activities bodies even our fantasies are as they are instead we simply Take them for granted However sport is a Societal Construct whose form and function speaks to the nature of the society in which we live 2 Sport as a Mirror of Society The Reflection thesis Sport Contemporary Society One way and determining relationship between entities Rejected Social imagination C Wright Mills a sociological imagination encourages the recognition that as they live out their lives individuals contribute however minutely to the shaping of society even as he the individual is made by society and by its historical push and shove A sporting sociological imagination any adequate account of sport must be rooted in an understanding of its location within society The essence of sport is to be found within the nature of its relationship to the broader stream of societal forces of which it is a part 3 Sport as Product and Producer of Society The Dialectic Thesis Sport Contemporary Society Two way and mutually reinforcing relationship between entities Accepted Developing a sporting sociological imagination demands that we think about the relationship between sport culture and the societal context out of which it emerged and which it simultaneously helps to constitute The Jigsaw Analogy An individual piece of a jigsaw is relatively meaningless in and of itself it can only be understood in relation to the other pieces with which it combines to