Research in the Sociology of Sport – serie

Intended as a resource for students and researchers alike, this volume is a collection of 16 papers that span past, present and future approaches to the sociological study of sport. It includes both a selection of the "founding" theorists whose work remains so pertinent to seeing sport sociologically, as well as from more contemporary and interdisciplinary perspectives. The contributors include a range of experienced and young scholars in the field.

In contrast to other disciplines in the sport sciences, the sociological study of risk, pain and injury is quite new. Over the last decade, however, sociologists have begun to show that pain and injury are not solely experienced in physical and medical terms, and an impressive corpus of knowledge is beginning to emerge. To date the breadth and depth of this knowledge has not been brought together in any systematic way. As the second volume in the "Research in the Sociology of Sport" series, "Sporting Bodies, Damaged Selves: Sociological Studies of Sports-Related Injury" attempts to reflect the cutting-edge research in the area from several countries in terms of causes, experiences, and outcomes of sport-related pain and injury.

The Olympic Games have become a subject of major importance to students, academics, sports bodies, politicians, urban planners, and the public at large. The Olympic Rings are among the most recognised symbols in the world, and there are few other cultural phenomena that attract such a significant following in the popular media or such widespread support among the nations of the world. "Global Olympics: Historical and Sociological Studies of the Modern Games" draws together some of the world's leading scholars on critical issues emerging from ancient Olympic contests, and over one hundred years of modern Olympic history. A wide range of expertise permits the authors to address these issues from varied perspectives, while encompassing an in-depth assessment of the current literature and debates on the Olympics. This book will serve as an interdisciplinary resource for undergraduate and graduate students alike, as well as for the growing cohort of researchers interested in understanding and explaining the historical and sociological significance of the Games.

Traceable as far back as the work of the path-breaking Chicago School of Sociology in the 1920s and 1930s, subculture and counterculture have long been conceptual staples of the discipline. Implemented originally to designate and describe smaller, often deviant or delinquent, groups within larger social communities, the terms gained pace in their use in mid-twentieth century criminological research, and especially with the development of Cultural Studies in the United Kingdom in the 1970s, where they became widely used to describe processes of social class-based opposition, resistance and protest. More recently, sociologists have moved beyond a strict conformity-resistance model in accounting for the behaviour of sub-communities that coalesce around particular values, behaviours, or preferences.Indeed, contemporary sociological research has raised the possibility that the term subculture in particular may have entirely outgrown its usefulness. While the term counterculture has also languished, there is no doubt that the sorts of social groups to which these terms have historically referred are more extensive and colourful than ever. Certainly this is the case in sport. Put simply, all societies are replete with their own versions of Tribal Play which encompass and represent wider social patterns, processes, and struggles.This volume is a collection of 16 readings on aspects of sub-community life in sport that showcases the breadth and depth of sport subcultural research by a group of international scholars representing varied theoretical and methodological orientations. Some of the sport communities examined include soccer hooligans, endurance athletes, disabled athletes, environmentally conscious surfers, and X-Games participants.This fourth volume in the "Research in the Sociology of Sport" series is edited by two sociologists whose academic training, research and teaching span three of the subdisciplines in which the concepts of subculture and counterculture have been most avidly used and critically tested (Criminology/Youth/Sport), and whose subcultural ventures both in sport and as sociologists are extensive. Michael Atkinson is Senior Lecturer in the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences at Loughborough University in the UK, and Kevin Young is Professor of Sociology at the University of Calgary, Canada.

This book brings together some of the leading authors in sport and sociocultural diversity. Social and cultural diversity becomes a key conceptual framework and lens through which to examine and understand a wide range of cultural issues related to: nationalism, gender, race, ethnicity, indigenous culture, sexuality, (dis)ability and even religiosity. This volume explores the dimensions of cultural diversity that relate to many of the aforementioned dimensions as they are located within the broad context of sport. The chapters are grounded in a variety of concepts and theories, and deal with policy, inclusion, affirmative action legislations, identity, and equity in all aspects of sports organisations as well as related issues that have emerged within the context of social and cultural diversity.Topics covered include: Politics of Identity and Representation, Theorising Sport and Inclusion Practices, Accommodation and Resistance to Diversity/Equality, Symbolic Construction of Sports Communities, Ethnocentrism and Whiteness, Ethnic Identities and Corporate Managerialism, Exploration of Alternative Leadership Paradigms, and Affirmative Action. Themes considered include: Gender, Race, Ethnicity, Indigeneity, Sexuality, (Dis)Ability, and Religiosity. The volume provides accounts from authors throughout the world in examining current ideas about social and cultural diversity in sporting worlds.

This volume takes a fresh approach to qualitative research on sport and physical culture by presenting "student friendly" engaging chapters that clearly articulate the significance and practice of qualitative and/or critical methods in plain and convincing language. It outlines contemporary, cutting-edge approaches in qualitative research methods that students in undergraduate programs in sociology and sociology of sport, as well as, for instance, sport, exercise, kinesiology, or health, can understand clearly. Chapters revolve around one principal method in qualitative methodology, and look at why certain methodological choices were made, what problems were faced, and how these were overcome. Classic issues in methodology, contemporary issues in research methods and innovative trends in qualitative research are addressed through case study examples from emerging and exciting areas of research in sport studies. Topics covered include: historical methods; ethnography; auto-ethnography; embodied methods; interviewing; narratives; participatory action methods; interpretative phenomenological analysis; media analysis; and visual methods.

Research on Indigenous participation in sport offers many opportunities to better understand the political issues of equality, empowerment, self-determination and protection of culture and identity. This volume compares and conceptualises the sociological significance of Indigenous sports in different international contexts. The contributions, all written by Indigenous scholars and those working directly in Indigenous/Native Studies units, provide unique studies of contemporary experiences of Indigenous sports participation. The papers investigate current understandings of Indigeneity found to circulate throughout sports, sports organisations and Indigenous communities. by (1): situating attitudes to racial and cultural difference within the broader sociological processes of post colonial Indigenous worlds (2): interrogating perceptions of Indigenous identity with reference to contemporary theories of identity drawn from Indigenous Studies and (3): providing insight to increased Indigenous participation, empowerment and personal development through sport with reference to sociological theory.

In recent years, sport has attracted considerable attention as an effective means of combating such local and global issues as war and conflict, poverty, ethnic reconciliation, and gender conflicts. Sport has been shown to be an effective tool or triggering device compared to the other development sectors, especially when donors can apply grassroots activities to the development contexts in thoughtful and continuing ways. This book fills the gap in this critical topic- that will only grow more important as governments, sport and national organizations direct more funds towards forms of play, PE and sport in the hope that these will represent one way of coalescing communities and assist development and peace. This volume is part of the early serious and systematic inquiry into this issue. In addition to showcasing some of the most recognized names in the research subfield of Sociology of Sport, the book draws upon an international roster of global contributors. The empirical focus of the chapters spans from Africa to Asia. Further, these chapters represent three groups - theory and philosophy, empirical research in actual 'on-the-ground' case studies, and those using circumspection and care to construct cases regarding measurement and evaluation.

The Sociology of Sport has grown since its inception in the late 1950s and has become robust, and diverse. Many countries now boast strong scholars in the field and this volume reflects the fascinating research being done. This innovative volume is dedicated to a review of the state of the area by region, and country in some cases. For instance, Latin America is expanding widely in the field, and Korea and Japan have had vibrant Sociology of Sport communities for some time.

In this tenth and celebratory volume in the Research in the Sociology of Sport series, ten recognized and influential sport scholars from around the world reflect on their respective academic journeys. They each address ten salient questions summarizing their career and their view of the current and future status of the sociology of sport. Each chapter addresses four main themes: About the author: who are your mentors and influential figures? What is your research trajectory? About sport: why does sport matter? How should sport be studied? Is sport a panacea for social problems? About practising sociology of sport: is teaching sociology of sport easy? Do sociologists like sport? Is the sociologist of sport a ‘public intellectual? About sociology of sport in the academy: does sociology of sport face institutional or industry barriers? What is the future of the sociology of sport? While the ten questions are salient for everyone in the academy irrespective of field of study, they seem particularly trenchant for sociologists of sport as the subfield reaches a chronological milestone and continues to undergo its own ‘growing pains’ and maturation. Following quickly on the heels of, and conceptually tied to, Volume 9 (Sociology of Sport: A Global Subdiscipline in Review), Volume 10 now completes the ‘double celebration’ of this book series as the sociology of sport subfield turns 50.

At a timewhen the public discussion of mental illness in society is reaching a highpoint, athletes and other sports insiders remain curiously silent about theirprivate battles with a range of mental illnesses. While a series ofprofessional athletes have exposed the deep, dark secret related to thepervasiveness of mental illness in high performance sport, relatively little isknown, sociologically, about what mental illness culturally means inside sport. This editedcollection showcases research on how sport, as a social institution, mayactually produce dangerous cultural practices and contexts that foster thedevelopment of mental illness within athlete groups. Further, chapters alsoillustrate how sport, when organized with sensitivity and care, may serve tohelp manage mental illnesses. Rather than analyzing mental illness as anindividual phenomenon, contributors to this volume equally attest to how mentalillness is socially developed, constructed, managed, and culturally understoodwithin sport settings. The book highlights the relevance of a range of theoriespertinent to the social study of mental illness including dramaturgy, culturalstudies, learning theory, symbolic interaction, existentialism, and total paintheory. Chapters range from the discussion of depression, anxiety, eatingdisorders, drug addiction, epilepsy, mental trauma, stigma, the mass mediationof mental illness, and the promise of sport as a vehicle for personal andcollective recovery.

Public awareness of and sensitivity to questions of pain, risk and injury in sport is more acute than ever before. Whether it is questions of what sport (and fans) can realistically and responsibly expect of athletes, how revered practices almost inevitably culminate in suffering bodies, or the widespread attention being paid to injury outcomes (especially concussion), it is clear that sport in many settings currently operates in a climate that is both more scientifically and medically aware and more sensitive to risk 'outcomes'. This volume closely explores the full panorama of pain, risk and injury in the cultural, organizational and legal orbits of sport spaces. Aimed at students, researchers as well as applied professionals, the volume sets the cultural, structural and organizational context that gives rise to pain, risk and injury in the first place, provides substantive empirical examples from diverse sports arenas, looks at the key issues and dimensions of pain, risk and injury in the social consciousness today, and explores three different 'spins' on making sense of the subject matter -- from the position of the issue of consent and the courts, from the position of exploitation and corporate victimization, and from the understudied position of why athletes exit sport as an outcome of pain and injury and with what consequences. This timely and needed addition to the sport literature is an exciting 'on-the-bubble' treatment of a topic that is increasingly troubling authorities and affecting how and whether sport is undertaken.

Sport and the environment are inextricably linked. Sport is dependent on its environmental contexts and is potentially environmentally impactful in its own right. Sport facilities – like ski hills, golf courses, and stadiums – can upset ecosystems and displace local residents. Teams and fans commonly travel in cars and planes that emit CO2. Rising temperatures might make participation in some sports impossible. Other examples abound. Yet while sport can be environmentally damaging, there is also hope that it can be a force for positive environmental change – for example, in modelling pro-environment forms of sport, and in decision-making by sport’s many stakeholders. In a context where pressing concerns about the climate crisis have inspired calls for changes in how people relate to the environment, questions remain about the environmental sustainability of sport. Such questions are at the core of Sport and the Environment: Politics and Preferred Futures, which brings together a diverse collection of contributors to explore a range of topics, such as how sport is implicated in environmentally damaging activities, how decisions about responding to environmental issues are made, who benefits most and least from these decisions, and, ultimately, what a truly environmentally-friendly sport could look like.

In recent years, the relationship between sport and alcohol has become an increasingly popular topic for study, with many current research projects and publications aligning with a public health or medical focus. This volume prioritizes social inquiry and an emphasis on the sociological study of sport and alcohol to help (re)shape the terms of ongoing debates on this topic. Both emerging and expert scholars capture the contested terrain of the sport-alcohol nexus, exploring a range of issues and controversies with a specific focus on promotional culture, policy legislation/regulation, and identity politics. Chapters discuss the intricate social connections of what has become an entrenched, naturalized and global culture of alcohol promotion and consumption within sport. This volume is intentionally global in focus (with geographical regions represented by both chapter topics as well as contributors) and each chapter adds a truly valuable 'spirit' to making sense of the complex relationship between sport and alcohol.

Social media and digital technologies have become significant forces in the sport industry. From athletes and fans interacting via social media and video games, sport organizations integrating these technologies into marketing and public relations functions, to coaches and athletic trainers using digital technology to monitor athletes’ biometric information, these technologies are pervasive in sport. However, the literature at the intersection of sport and social and digital media lies almost exclusively in the domain of marketing and management. While these technologies are often championed for the benefits they offer in these functional areas, the effects and outcomes of these technologies have impacts on athletes, fans, and other society that warrant further attention. This volume brings together a collection of essays from leading global scholars working in diverse areas as sport sociology, sport management, sport media, and sport communication to illustrate how sociological approaches are imperative to enhancing our understanding of sport and social media and digital technology. Within this volume, scholars address topics such as gender, sexuality, racism, identity, politics, mental health, and surveillance and outline how sociological approaches to these topics offer important analyses that further our understanding of the comprehensive effects of social media and digital technology on sport stakeholders.

Doping, as both practice and phenomenon, has largely been approached as a question of socio-cultural context and structures. Doping in Sport and Fitness argues that rigid differentiations between doping contexts – such as sport/fitness or elite/recreational – are less clear than it might seem. Breaking down these boundaries allows for a more complete understanding of substance use patterns, behaviours, and policy responses related to sport, fitness, and society.Contextual separations have greatly impacted how scholars have addressed the phenomena of doping in contemporary society, which in turn has impacted current anti-doping policies, preventative work, and harm reduction strategies globally. Bringing together research on doping and image and performance enhancement drug use (IPED) that highlights links between areas of doping research that have been previously separated, this collection includes contributions focusing on emerging and under-researched topics related to IPED use.Providing studies on new demographic groups of users, especially in terms of gender and age, Doping in Sport and Fitness suggests alternative ways of approaching the issue and supports providers such as coaches and drug service professionals.

This volume contains an Open Access chapter.Recent decades have seen an unprecedented expansion and diversification of sports gambling markets. Enabled by widespread access to the internet, advances in smartphone technology and the liberalisation of gambling advertising, gambling companies have strategically invested in the alignment of this practise with culturally embedded sporting activities, leading some to characterise these developments as the ‘gamblification’ of sports. Bringing together leading scholars from across the world, Gambling and Sports in a Global Age provides a landmark sociological collection on sports gambling from global perspectives.Anchored in a historical sociological context, chapters trace the global transformation of sports gambling amid wider processes of techno-capitalist expansion and the commercialisation of sport before exploring the differential factors that shape the relationship between sport and gambling in unique societal contexts. Contributors examine emerging issues in sports gambling, including the ethics of gambling sponsorship in sport, athlete rights, the risk of harms to youth and the future of sports fandom.Gambling and Sports in a Global Age demonstrates the importance of sociology in understanding sports gambling in a global age, establishing a much-needed scholarly platform with which to generate theoretically informed interventions in research and policymaking. Through an integrated global approach, the contributors shed critical light on centrally relevant sociological themes, providing convenient access to a diverse array of contextual insights and generating new questions for an emerging generation of sociologists.

Athletes across the globe have engaged in high profile protests against state violence since NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand during the US national anthem in protest of state violence against Black communities. There is, however, a much longer global history that precedes and follows Kaepernick’s protest. This series of sport protests, across both professional and amateur levels, has invigorated progressive politics around the world and drawn attention to ongoing authoritarianism, state violence, and vigilante violence, as well as the role sport can play in both exposing and combatting such issues.Challenging the dominant Global North narrative, Athletic Activism: Global Perspectives on Social Transformation demonstrates how athletic activism can not only impact global discourse about inequity, but also foster institutional change that advances social justice. This volume uses the term ‘athletic activism’ to understand how athletes, coaches, and sports professionals use sports, sporting institutions, and athletics to engage in conscious, concerted, and sustained efforts to transform the world they inhabit. Borrowing both historical and contemporary approaches to examine grassroots youth sports, quotidian sites of amateur sport, and mega-sporting events, chapters expand on how we conceptualize athletic activism and theorize the transformative potential of sport and sporting participants.Rooting athletic activism in a global, transnational perspective, Athletic Activism: Global Perspectives on Social Transformation broadens the focus on athletic activism from highly publicized, performative forms of protest on the pitch to local grassroots efforts that seek to address issues of race, violence, gender, sexuality, sustainability, identity, and community development.

The institution of sport has pervasive roots that are steeped in patriarchy. Despite this tradition, sport is at the forefront in making us aware of personal and social issues in global societies. However, sociological attention to family and sport is long overdue and sorely needed. Providing timely knowledge and long-awaited insights into pressing issues, this volume of Research in the Sociology of Sport establishes family and sport as a clearly identified field of study within sociology.Focusing on how families participate in sport in global societies where traditional norms are rapidly evolving, this edited collection presents unique contributions to an under researched area of sociological inquiry. Offering a wide range of perspectives and a multidisciplinary approach, contributors provide applicable solutions to this sociological oversight, and nuanced scholarship that invites future consideration. Divided into three major sections, chapters explore traditional values that are actively challenged by both children and adults, examine the effects of cultural shifts on family relationships, and assess the patriarchal structure of sport participation in global societies.Highlighting the microlevel of the family to grapple with contemporary social issues at the macrolevel of society, Family and Sport: Notable Contributions to Sociology charts new territory to advance a valuable understanding of family and sport issues.

The emergence of sport for development as a developmental strategy led by the United Nations and the use of sport by companies around the world as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility strategies have brought to the fore its developmental utility. Within this broader global context, Sport Development and Sport for Development in the Caribbean offers a unique focus on the Caribbean context to examine issues related to sport development and sport for development across a range of Caribbean countries that include Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, and Trinidad and Tobago.Building on a relatively small, emerging body of work on the Caribbean context, the chapters showcase how this region has been an important part of the processes of globalization, commercialization and professionalization that have expressed themselves in and through sport. Touching on a range of sports which have formed part of Caribbean sport history and culture, including cricket, athletics, baseball and soccer, authors examine a broad array of issues in Caribbean sport that have come to define the contemporary scope of sport sociology. Topics covered are globalization, commercialization, professionalization, nationalism, gender, race, national identity, nationalism, athletic migration and disability.

Bringing together leading as well as emerging scholars involved in research on sport and body, this volume of Research in the Sociology of Sport invokes the postcolonial sporting body to understand the long history of contemporary practices of play as well as their renewed, re-charged and re-signified animation within new conditions and contexts.Responding to an ongoing critical need for decolonisation in and through academic work related to sport in postcolonial nation-states, the dual focus of the collection is to unite a dwindling and often opaque body of scholarship on post-coloniality with the robust, exciting and cutting-edge work on the body in order to illuminate the challenges of sport studies in particular contexts and geographies, as well as possibilities for the future.Rooted in the belief that scholarship discussing postcolonial sporting bodies has a central role in the shaping of future policies and practices, The Postcolonial Sporting Body occupies the meeting point between post-coloniality, sport and body to consider the future not only of sport, but of global politics and identity in a world striving towards greater equity and decolonisation.

There is a scarcity of sociological literature on the role and place of sport within the Arab World and the Middle East that centralizes a critical Muslim perspective. This is significant given both their immense geographical scope and the continued and emerging social and political issues within the Muslim world, in which sport and physical cultures play an important role. This timely edited collection responds to an ongoing need for a critical Muslim studies approach to sport and physical cultures in the Arab World, the Middle East, and North Africa.In the tradition of a critical Muslim studies approach and bringing together a diverse community of scholars, both established and emerging, the chapters utilize sport and physical cultures as its entry point to interrogate and critique Orientalist, Eurocentric, and positivist understandings of Arab and Middle Eastern cultures and communities, engage with intersectional, postcolonial, and decolonial epistemologies to advance this mission, and illuminate and legitimize the sporting knowledge and experiences of those from physical cultures in these regions.Prioritizing sociological analyses from sport scholars from regions which tend to be omitted within Western sport scholarship, Arab and Middle Eastern Sport situates both the scholars and communities discussed in the sociology of sport literature. Boasting a wide range of analyses, it is appealing to sport scholars from diverse interdisciplinary and methodological backgrounds.

Given China’s investment in sport, success in international competitions and recent hosting of high-profile events, there is no doubt the country is a rising power in the realm of global sports. Encouraging readers in other international settings to consider this topic from their own cultural contexts, this collection addresses the question of why China has so tightly embraced modern sport. How does this interact with China’s mediated ability to play and compete with the west?The first English collation of works from both established and emerging sociological scholars on sport culture in China, this collection analyses how sport is seen as a channel of observing global, political and economic challenges. Bringing a foundational Chinese context to each chapter, contributors analyse topics including traditional sports, nationalism, football fandoms, commercialisation and esports. Offering critical insights into ‘glocalized’ sporting cultures and political hegemony, authors dig deep into common sociological theories to address issues around mediating power and China’s sport culture. Examining the relationship between sport and social transformation, contributors also reflect on how we might research the sociology of sport in China going forward.Exploring how sporting cultures, practices and attitudes differ across cultural settings, The Mediating Power of Sport demonstrates how China has created new forms of influence through sport and considers what this might mean for how we think about soft power, international prowess and the deeper role sport can play on the world stage.

Engaging with critical gaps and building on existing knowledge, this volume of Research in the Sociology of Sport brings to the fore new stories from across Oceania, extending the horizon of regional sport scholarship beyond the Global North and tackling the ever-critical question of global disparity and sport.Taking stock of existing knowledge and sociological relevance, contributors reveal the latest research on the sports and issues most widely studied in the region to date, such as sport migrations in rugby unions and sport for development. Presenting insights from emerging research on indigenous or ‘traditional’ sports such as indigenised cricket, outrigger canoeing and indigenous physical activities/games, chapters fill a lacuna in existing scholarship with a further emphasis on women’s football, minority ethnic women’s engagement with sport/exercise and ethnic politics in sport.Positioning these narratives as fundamental to the central project of the sociology of sport, rather than simply an exercise in inclusion, Towards a Pacific Island Sociology of Sport offers an exciting opportunity for sociology of sport scholars to widen the scope of their research in search of fuller understandings of the forms, meanings, dynamics and impacts of sport for Pacific peoples.

International attention on the abuse and exploitation of children and athletes in sport and its prevention has never been higher, as more cases of child abuse in sport have emerged across the globe in recent years. While there have been many developments in research, policy, and practice in this area, we are not yet close to putting an end to endemic child abuse within some sport environments.Against this dynamic landscape, this edited collection is a timely critical reflection on this field, its trajectory, and contemporary developments within it. The chapters are theoretically informed, sociological analyses of abuse, violence, and exploitation of children in sport that critically interrogate the social and cultural terrain in which these interpersonal violations occur. Elucidating deeper understanding of the problem of child abuse in sport and the various responses to it, both academic and policy-based, the collection uses a critical sociological lens and various distinct theoretical lenses to provide the conceptual tools to problematise the practice and administration of youth sport.Engaging critically with the topic, the authors identify weaknesses, limitations, and omissions within current scholarship, thereby – individually and collectively – providing an agenda for future research in this field. Child Abuse in Sport serves as an essential resource for sociology of sport students and researchers in this field, providing a state-of-the-art review of an urgent and rapidly growing area of sport scholarship and governance.

In sport, hazing and initiation rites and rituals are commonly justified by team leaders and proponents as upholding traditions, proving one’s commitment to a team, and as a way of strengthening team bonds. This edited collection offers a current critical analysis of sport hazing practices, including diverse perspectives and experiences of hazing and initiation in the contemporary sport landscape.Providing a much-needed cutting-edge update on the last major publication on sport hazing practices published more than two decades ago, the chapters delve into the continuation of potentially harmful, traditional initiations including the use of alcohol, secrecy, attire, hierarchy, confinement, gender, tradition, heterosexism, homoeroticism, misogyny, power, masculinity, cohesion, symbolism, ritual and the cycle of status from initiated to initiator. With a section dedicated to practical suggestions for enacting positive change to team sport cultures and welcome rituals, authors consider intersections of identity, gender, race, ethnicity, and more, and offer examinations of team hazing from diverse perspectives, analytical frameworks, and theoretical lenses.Responding to recent shifts in the political and sport landscape, it presents an international view, collectively including multi-disciplinary, pioneering perspectives on the current sport hazing landscape – a timely and rich offering to the sporting literature.

With the increasing popularity of K-pop and K-drama, South Korean culture has stepped into the spotlight with interest from the public and academia. The recent success of Korean sport stars in global sports leagues such as EPL, MLB and LPGA have served to introduce young sport celebrities to global fans.With growing interest in Korean sports and its social significance from academia and in public, Sport in Korea: Culture, Politics and Policy brings together research on social, cultural, and political aspects of Korean sports today. This volume is designed as a collection of three distinctive themes: 1) sport culture and consumption in 21st century Korea; 2) key issues and controversies in Korean sport; 3) Korean sport policy and its impact on shaping the Korean sport structure and process.Taken as a whole, the chapters provide a clear – and, crucially, new - understanding of Korean sport culture and structure and expand the scope of sociological research of sport which has been North American and European centric for too long.