Author Description

Synopsis: In today's world, people's perceptions of various individuals, countries, races, genders, schools, and even companies are often affected by the sports they watch, read about, or listen to. The impact of sport on these perceptions is covered extensively in Contemporary Issues in Sociology of Sport. This text provides some of the best contemporary writing and research on the sociology of sport. The text is organized into 12 learning units and includes 34 articles from writers and researchers with varied backgrounds. Introductions are provided for each of the units. They include brief summaries of the articles that follow and probing study questions that challenge the reader to think critically about the material. Edited by Andrew Yiannakis, PhD, and Merrill J.^ Melnick, PhD, Contemporary Issues in Sociology of Sport includes: an exploration of topics and themes that have received limited attention in other sociology of sport texts but have been long-standing social concerns; a review of the attitudes toward female athletes and the anti-homosexual phobias present in sport; an in-depth look at the impoverishment of children's games in America; an overview of high school sport participation; a study of the challenges and benefits of the big-time collegiate sport experience; a critique of television's impact on sport and its portrayal of gender and race, and a review of sport and globalization. Unit I provides the reader with a historical background on the development of sociology of sport and addresses several critical issues about the relationship between sociology, physical education, and sociology of sport.^ The text includes an explanation of the growth of the sociology of sport field since 1980, the emergence and growth of the New Physical Education, and a review of the emerging field of sport pedagogy. Unit II illustrates the power and influence of sport on American values, attitudes, behaviors, and cultural practices and its manifestations in our interpersonal and gender relations. Unit III examines whether adult-controlled sport programs are good for children. The authors explore the Little League phenomenon, which they contrast and compare with the spontaneous culture of free play. Unit IV examines the positive and negative effects of high school sport participation, in relationship to other extracurricular activities, on the educational and developmental experiences of student-athletes. Unit V explores the realities, demands, and opportunities created by commercialized, high-visibility collegiate sports and their effects on athletes and universities.^ Unit VI illustrates and examines how race-related discriminatory practices continue to manifest themselves in the world of sport. Specific topics include the allocation of playing positions by race, the use of racially insensitive team names, and racial stratification in professional sport. Unit VII focuses on the social construction of feminine, masculine, and heterosexualized bodies within exercise and sport-related contexts. Unit VIII explores the ways sport produces and reproduces the gender order while serving as "contested terrain" with respect to the construction of feminine and masculine gender scripts. Unit IX explores the mass media's coverage of selected athletes and their sports, and how heavily mediated representations influence perceptions of race, class, gender, and sexuality. Unit X examines the underlying causes of deviance in sport and focuses on such activities as larceny, drug use, and aggression outside of sport.^ Unit XI explores the role and structure of alternative sport communities, especially in creating and maintaining personal identity, in satisfying psychological needs, and in providing contexts for resistance to dominant sport ideologies. Unit XII reviews the influence of Americanization and globalization processes on local sport cultures and practices. Contemporary Issues in Sociology of Sport is a must-read for anyone interested in a better understanding of the social significance of sport.