SPORTS IN SOCIETY: SOCIOLOGICAL ISSUES AND CONTROVERSIES CHAPTER 1 THE SOCIOLOGY OF SPORTS: What is It and Why Study It? 1-1 PPTs to accompany Sports in.

SPORTS IN SOCIETY:SOCIOLOGICAL ISSUES AND

CONTROVERSIES

CHAPTER 1

THE SOCIOLOGY OF SPORTS:

What is It and Why Study It?

1-1PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald © 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

Sports are Social Phenomena• Sports are related to the social and cultural contexts in

which we live.

• Sports provide stories and images used to explain and evaluate these contexts.

• Sports provide a window into culture and society.

1-2PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald © 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

Sociology is a Tool for Studying Sports in Society

• Sociology provides useful:– concepts– theories– research methods.

• These tools enable us to ‘see’ behaviour as it is connected with history, politics, economics and social life.

1-3PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald © 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

Culture• Culture consists of the ‘shared ways of life’ people

create in a group or society.• These ways of life are created and changed as people

interact with each other and as they come to terms with, and even struggle over, how to:– do things and organise their lives– relate to each other– make sense out of their experiences.

1-4PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald © 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

Sports and Culture

Sports, as parts of culture, have forms and meanings that vary from place to place and through history.

1-5PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald © 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

Society

A collection of people:• living in a defined geographical territory • united through

– a political system– a shared sense of self-identification that distinguishes them

from other people.

1-6PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald © 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

Sports and Society

• Sports, as parts of society, are social constructions that are given form and meaning by people as they interact with each other.

• Sports can also be contested activities – meanings and purposes, who plays and who sponsors and provides opportunities.

1-7PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald © 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

The Sociology of Sport

• A subdiscipline of sociology that studies sports as part of social and cultural life.

• Focuses primarily on ‘organised, competitive sports’.

• Helps us ask critical questions about sports in society.

1-8PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald © 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

Sociology vs. Psychology

• Psychologists study behaviour in terms of attributes and processes that exist inside individuals.

• Sociologists study behaviour in terms of the social conditions and cultural contexts in which people live their lives.

1-9PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald © 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

Critical Thinking about Sports

Critical thinking about sports helps us:• identify and understand social problems and social

issues associated with sports• look beyond scores to see sports as social

phenomena• make informed choices about sports participation

and the place of sports in our lives• transform sports in progressive ways.

1-10PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald © 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

Sociology May Lead to Controversial Recommendations

• Sociological research may produce findings that suggest changes in the organisation of sports and the organisation of social life.

• Those who benefit from the status quo may be threatened by these research findings.

1-11PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald © 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

Why Study Sports as Social Phenomena?

• Sports activities and images are part of people’s lives.• Sports are connected with ideologies in society

– i.e., the ‘viewpoints’ that underlie people’s feelings, thoughts and actions.

• Sports are connected with major spheres of social life such as:– family, economy, media, politics, education and religion.

1-12PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald © 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

Ideologies The sets of interrelated ideas that people use:

• to give meaning to the world• to make sense of the world• to identify what is important, right and natural in that

world.

1-13PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald © 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

Characteristics of Ideologies

• They are never established ‘once and for all time’.• They emerge as people struggle over the meaning

and organisation of social life.• They are complex and sometimes inconsistent.• They change as power relationships change in

society.

1-14PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald © 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

‘Dominant Ideology’

• Represents the perspectives and ideas favoured by people who have power and influence in society.

• Serves the interests of people with power and influence.

1-15PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald © 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

Gender Ideology • A set of interrelated ideas about masculinity,

femininity, and relationships between men and women.

• Dominant gender ideology consists of prevailing notions of ‘common sense’ about maleness and femaleness in a group or society.

1-16PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald © 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

Racial Ideology • A set of interrelated ideas that people use to give

meaning to skin colour and to evaluate people in terms of racial classifications.

• Dominant racial ideology consists of prevailing ideas about the meanings of skin colour and the characteristics of people classified in various racial categories.

1-17PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald © 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

Why Study Sports as Social Phenomena?

• Sports are connected with major spheres of social life: – Family– Economy– Media– Politics– Education– Religion

1-18PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald © 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

Major Professional Organisations in the Sociology of Sports

• International Sociology of Sport Association (ISSA)

• North American Society for the Sociology of Sport (NASSS)

• Sociological Association of Aotearoa New Zealand (SAANZ)

• The Australian Sociological Association (TASA)

* The Sport Management Association of Australia and New Zealand (SMAANZ) also has a dedicated interest in the sociology of sports.

1-19PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald © 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

Disagreements in the Sociology of Sport

• Scholars in the field see themselves as: – sports sociologists concerned with sport science issues – sociologists concerned with social and cultural issues.

• Scholars may see themselves as:– professional experts (interested in consulting and the application of

knowledge to improve sports); – critical sociologists (interested in social and cultural

transformation); or– knowledge builders (interested in using research to accumulate

knowledge about social life).

1-20PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald © 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

Sport is Defined by Some Scholars as Activities that are:

• Physical• Competitive• Institutionalised• Motivated by a combination of internal and external

rewards.

1-21PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald © 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

Institutionalisation

Occurs when:

• rules become standardised

• official agencies enforce rules

• organisational and technical aspects of the activity become important

• learning game skills becomes formalised.

1-22PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald © 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

Play vs. Dramatic Spectacle

• Play involves expressive activity done for its own sake; it is often spontaneous and guided by informal, emergent norms.

• Dramatic spectacle involves performances to entertain an audience for the purpose of obtaining rewards.

1-23PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald © 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

An Alternative Approach to Defining Sports

• Determine what activities are identified as sports in a

society.

• Determine whose sports count the most when it

comes to obtaining support and resources.

1-24PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald © 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

Sports are Contested Activities

This means that there are struggles over:

• the meaning, purpose and organisation of sports• who will participate and the conditions under which

sport participation occurs• how sports will be sponsored and what the reasons for

sponsorship will be.

1-25PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald © 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd