Sport, Culture and Society, Third Edition

by Grant Jarvie (Author)

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.

Review
"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 sportspeople can either enable or undermine progressive social change." – Bruce Kidd, Vice President and Principal, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada

About the Author

Grant Jarvie is Professor and Founding Director of the Academy of Sport at the University of Edinburgh, UK
James Thornton is a marketing manager at London Business School, UK, and co-author of Sport, Culture and Society (2nd edition)
Hector Mackie is a doctoral student at the University of Toronto, Canada