Table Of Content2
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Sport, Culture and Society
What can sport do to produce social change in our world today? It is impossible to fully understand
contemporary society and culture without acknowledging the importance of sport. Sport is part of our social
and cultural fabric, possessing a commercial power that makes it a potent force in the world, for good and for
bad. It has helped to start wars and promote international reconciliation, and governments around the world
commit public resources to sport.
Sport matters, but how should you make sense of what is going on in the world of sport today?
Now in a fully revised, updated and expanded third edition, this critical, challenging and comprehensive
textbook introduces the study of sport, culture and society. International in scope, it challenges us to reactivate
an audacious spirit of activism 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;
■ sport, gender and sexuality;
■ sport, disability and advocacy;
■ sport, race and racism;
■ sport, violence and crime;
■ sport and health;
■ sport, globalisation and democracy;
■ sport, media and cultural relations;
■ sport and the environment;
■ sporting cities and mega-events;
■ sport, poverty and development.
Each chapter includes a wealth of useful features, including Sport in Focus case studies, chapter summaries,
guides to further reading, revision questions, practical projects, definitions of key concepts and weblinks.
Additional teaching and learning resources – including a testbank, resource list and glossary – are available on
a companion website.
Sport, Culture and Society is the most broad-ranging, in-depth and thoughtful introduction to the
sociocultural analysis of sport currently available and sets a new agenda for the discipline. It is essential reading
for all students with an interest in sport.
Grant Jarvie is Professor and Founding Director of the Academy of Sport at the University of Edinburgh,
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UK. A former University Vice-Principal-Provost and Chair with a National Sports Council, he has held three
established university chairs, played sport and advised governments, in both the Global North and South.
James Thornton is a marketing manager at London Business School, UK, and co-author of Sport, Culture and
Society (2nd edition). A graduate of Heriot-Watt University, UK, James has studied in both Scotland and
France, and worked as a volunteer with Street Football Aotearoa, the Homeless World Cup’s affiliate
organisation in New Zealand.
Hector Mackie is a doctoral student at the University of Toronto, Canada, after graduating from the
University of Bath (BSc) and the University of Toronto (MSc). Phenomenology underpins his academic work
which focuses on reconstructing sports and physical activities to be able to combat societal inequalities. He has
participated in the International Olympic Academies’ graduate symposium and the World Sports Values
summit in Cape Town. He is a former professional and semi-professional footballer.
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‘Grant Jarvie is one of the most authoritative voices on sport and its wider role in international development
and community cohesion.’ Baroness Tessa Jowell, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, 2001–2007,
Minister for the London Olympics and Paralympics, 2009–2010, UK
‘Sport, Culture and Society endures as the seminal, inter-disciplinary work on the role sport has, does, and
should play in domestic and international affairs. Now in its 3rd iteration, the book is beautifully written,
deeply researched and organised in a highly logical manner. The new case studies, which validate robust and
time-tested theories, demonstrate that Jarvie and his opus remain as the world’s leading sources on all matters
sport.’ Stuart Murray, Associate Professor of International Relations and Diplomacy, Bond University, Australia
‘I have always considered Grant Jarvie’s Sport, Culture and Society one of the most insightful, comprehensive,
and readable accounts of the dynamic place of sports in the contemporary world order. He’s done even better
in this significantly enlarged and updated 3rd edition. It’s organized within a coherent theoretical lens, rich in
examples drawn from every part of the world, and persuasively argued. What I particularly appreciate is his
commitment to social justice, and his advice on how sports and sports people can either enable or undermine
progressive social change.’ Bruce Kidd, Vice President and Principal, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada
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Sport, Culture and Society
An Introduction
Third edition
Grant Jarvie with James Thornton and Hector Mackie
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Third edition published 2018
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2018 Grant Jarvie, James Thornton and Hector Mackie
The right of Grant Jarvie, James Thornton and Hector Mackie to be identified as authors of this work has
been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any
electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and
recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only
for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
First edition published 2006
Second edition published 2012
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Jarvie, Grant, 1955– author.
Title: Sport, culture and society : an introduction / Grant Jarvie, James
Thornton and Hector Mackie.
Description: Third edition. | Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge
is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa Business, [2017] |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016056786| ISBN 9781138917514 (hbk) |
ISBN 9781138917521 (pbk) | ISBN 9781315688961 (ebk)
Subjects: LCSH: Sports—Social aspects.
Classification: LCC GV706.5 .J383 2017 | DDC 306.4/83—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016056786
ISBN: 978-1-138-91751-4 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-91752-1 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-68896-1 (ebk)
Typeset in Perpetua and Bell Gothic
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by Florence Production Ltd, Stoodleigh, Devon, UK
Visit the companion website: www.routledge.com/cw/jarvie
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For Mairi,
David, Colin, Margaret, Kate, Catherine and George
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