Books in the Routledge Research in Sport, Culture and Society series

This is the first book to critically examine the relationship between participation in high performance sport and health outcomes. Drawing on theory and empirical data from a wide range of disciplines, including sociology, philosophy, political science, developmental psychology, epidemiology, and physical education, the book explores the benefits and detriments of participation in elite sport. Written by a team of leading international researchers, the book examines issues such as talent identification and young athletes, abuse in sport, athlete health in periods of transition, health, sport and the family, and the long-term effects of participation in elite sport.

As the first edited collection dedicated specifically to race, ethnicity and British football, this book brings together a range of academics, comprising both established commentators and up-and-coming voices. Combining theoretical and empirical contributions, the volume will addresses a wide variety of topics such as the experiences of Muslims, the recruitment of African players, devolution and national identities, case studies of minority ethnic clubs, "mixed-race" players, multiculturalism and anti-racism, sectarianism, education, and foreign club ownership. Covering the both amateur and professional spheres, and focusing on both players and supporters, the book elucidates the linkages between race, ethnicity, gender and masculinity.

Examines the relationship between sport and spirituality/religion. This title explores the intersections between sport and prayer, sin and evil, zen, ethical and spiritual concerns, and sectarianism.

Exercise for women is a heavily-laden social and embodied experience. This book investigates the ways women experience exercise within the context of the global fitness industry. It explores media images and the global branding of fitness products, the relationship between exercise and fat, and the lived experience of the exercising body.

Commercial, media, and academic accounts have routinely erased, excluded, ignored, and otherwise made absent the Asian American presence in sport. This book seeks to redress this pattern of neglect by presenting a comprehensive perspective on the history and significance of Asian American athletes, coaches, and teams in North America.

Although there is significant interest in the social role of sport in fostering civil society from both policymakers and academics, there is a lack of evidence of the specific role of sport federations in this system. This book critically presents the mechanisms and structures in a selection of sport federations within a variety of European countries that illuminate the varied relationships between not-for-profit sport federations, their members, governments and the citizens they represent. The contributors explore the contrasts and synergies between core social capital theoretical perspectives, and how these may be informed by and/or shape the realities of governance from different perspectives within the sport system.

The Olympic movement, including the relevant records and statistics, provides a prism to understand the complex evolution of modern Indian society. This book examines the relations between India's place in the Olympic movement and the country's quest for a national and international identity.

Explores masculinity and the body within sports. This book highlights the social processes which impact upon individual constructions and formulations of masculine identity and reviews these in relation to broader debates on gender, embodiment and sporting participation.

Football and Migration presents in-depth case studies of migration in elite men¿s football globally, exploring the role of established leagues in Europe and South America and the emerging leagues of North America and Asia. Exploring and analysing the movement of groups that migration studies have rarely researched, including female professionals, elite youth players, amateur players and their families, drawing on important new research in Ghana, England, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.This book is engaging reading for any student or scholar with an interest in sport, sociology, human geography, migration, international labour flows, globalization, development or post-colonial studies.

This groundbreaking text explores the various ways in which young people experience sport, physical activity and play as part of their everyday lives, and the interventions and outcomes that shape and define those experiences. It covers a range of different sporting and physical activities across an array of social contexts, providing insight into the way in which sport, physical activity and play are interpreted by young people and how these interpretations relate to broader policy objectives set by governments, sporting organisations and other NGOs. Youth Sport, Physical Activity and Play is an important reference for students and scholars from a wide-range of sub-disciplines, including sports pedagogy, sports development, sport and leisure management, sports coaching, physical education, play and playwork, and health studies.

Figurational Research in Sport, Leisure and Health brings together an international team of scholars working within the figurational tradition to explain the significance of figurational sociology for the study of sport. It covers core concepts, such as the civilizing process, and key methods, such as interviewing and ethnography.

This book considers how positive social change can be brought about through sport, focusing on understanding the impact of critical research on issues of social justice. It examines how the use of different social theories impacts sport policies, national curricula, health promotion activities, HPE teaching, and sport training and competition.

What is, or what should be, the function of sport in a globalized, commercialized world? Why does sport matter in the 21st century? In Ethics and Governance in Sport: the future of sport imagined, an ensemble of leading international experts from across the fields of sport management and ethics calls for a new model of sport that goes beyond the traditional view that sport automatically encourages positive physical, psychological, social, moral and political values. Acknowledging that sport is beset by poor practice, corruption, and harmful behaviors, it explores current issues in sport ethics, governance and development, considering how good governance and the positive potentials of sport can be implemented in a globalized sporting landscape. Ethics and Governance in Sport suggests a future model of sport governance based on well substantiated projections, and argues that identifying the root causes of harmful behavior, those things that are characteristic of sport, and engaging sport managers, policy makers and leaders of sport organizations, is essential if sport is to thrive. The book''s interdisciplinary examination of sport, encompassing philosophy, sociology, economics, management and sport development, and its forward-looking approach makes it important reading for advanced students, researchers and policy makers with an interest in the place and development of modern sport. Its clear messages invite self-reflection and discussion, especially within sports organizations.

Sport and Secessionism examines how sporting cultures reflect, inform and sometimes frustrate secessionist movements around the world.

Sport and film have historically been key components of national cultures and societies. This is the first collection dedicated to examining the intersection of these popular cultural forces within specific national contexts.

Sport is often seen as an indicator of the civic maturity of a community, an aspect of the rights of citizens to health, education and social integration. This book examines the relationships between participation in sport and physical activity, and welfare policies across Europe.