Sport and Leisure in the Civilizing Process : Critique and Counter-Critique

Annotation How do figurational sociologists approach the subjects of sport and leisure? How does their approach differ from other approaches in the field? This major collection, edited by leading writers on sport and leisure, offers a superb introduction to the figurational sociology of sport and leisure. The distinctive features of the approach are clearly explained and contributors show how figurational sociology is applied in the analysis of concrete problems. However, the collection also gives space to critics of the figurational approach. Included here are contributions which claim that the approach is inaccurate, blinkered and irrelevant Front Matter....Pages i-xix The Field of Play in Sport and Leisure Studies....Pages 1-35 Drugs, Sport and Ideologies....Pages 36-64 Cleaning up the Game: Perspectives on the Evolution of Professional Sports....Pages 65-95 Towards a Sociological Theory of Sport and the Emotions: A Process-Sociological Perspective....Pages 96-120 Sports and Civilization: Is Violence the Central Problem?....Pages 121-136 Chariot Races, Tournaments and the Civilizing Process....Pages 137-160 Sex, Gender and the Body in Sport and Leisure: Has There Been a Civilizing Process?....Pages 161-182 Sport, Power and Dependency in Southern Africa....Pages 183-200 Figuring a Brighter Future....Pages 201-220 Figurational Sociology and the Sociology of Sport: Some Concluding Remarks....Pages 221-284 Back Matter....Pages 285-289