Sport, Culture and Society

What can sport do to produce positive social change in our world today? Now in a fully revised, updated and expanded fourth edition, this critical, challenging and comprehensive textbook introduces the study of sport, culture and society.

International in scope, the book challenges the reader to activate an audacious spirit of activism in and through sport. Full of contemporary examples, it places sport at the heart of the analysis and introduces the reader to every core topic and emerging area in the study of sport and society, including the history and politics of sport, gender, disability and advocacy, race and racism, violence and crime, health and wellbeing, media and digital communication, the environment, religion, poverty, and sport for development and peace. This edition features new material on sportswashing, sports management, debates around the inclusion/exclusion of transgender people in sport, and the Black Lives Matter movement. It also features a wider geographical range of examples and case studies, including from Latin America, China, India and Africa. Each chapter offers a wealth of useful features, such as ‘Sport in Focus’ case studies, chapter summaries, guides to further reading, revision questions, practical projects, definitions of key concepts, and weblinks. At its heart Sport, Culture and Society is an invitation to make a difference.

This is a broad-ranging, in-depth and thoughtful introduction to the sociocultural analysis of sport and sets a new agenda for the discipline. It is essential reading for all students with an interest in sport.

Additional, updated online teaching and learning resources are available, including a testbank, resource list and glossary.