Ken Roberts’ Social Theory, Sport and Leisure offers a clear, compact primer in social theory for students needing to engage with the application of sociological perspectives to the study of sport and leisure. Written in a straightforward style and assuming no prior knowledge, the book offers a fresh and easy to read overview of sociology’s contribution to sport and leisure studies. Ordered chronologically, each chapter: Focuses on the work of a major social theorist and their most influential ideas Provides helpful historical and biographical detail to set the person and their thinking in contemporary context Identifies questions in sport and leisure on which the theory can shed useful light Considers how the ideas can be, or have been, applied in the study of sport and leisure Works as a self-contained unit, enabling students and lecturers to use the book flexibly according to their needs. Written by an outstanding sociologist of leisure and sport, this intelligent yet jargon-free textbook enables students to get to grips with a wide range of important concepts and understand their diverse applications. As such, it is essential reading for any course designed to explore the place and meaning of sport and leisure in society.

Product Description: In today’s media-driven world, it seems there is always a scandal in the news involving athletes. Whether it’s performance-enhancing drugs in cycling, domestic violence in football, or sexual assault in college athletics, new problems pop up as soon as old issues disappear...read more

Product Description: When the general public follow the Olympic Games on television, on the internet, even in the newspapers, they feel like they have themselves experienced the performances of the athletes. This book explores whether it is ever possible to experience the Olympic Games as an athletic event without considering the effect of the media...read more

Product Description: This is a book of pure inspiration. Many of the sporting world's most profound achievements and displays of humanity are never recorded. They happen on sandlots, asphalt, and backyards. Stories of well-known athletes and teams abound in popular literature--what is missing is an exaltation of the moments that can happen to any of the rest of us--and do...read more

Product Description: What is the relationship between sports and society? How can we understand sport in relation to physical activities, leisure and physical culture? In this far-reaching and inter-disciplinary textbook, Karl Spracklen brings together ideas and research from sports studies, sociology, cultural studies, history, philosophy and psychology, in order to explore the meaning and purpose of sports in society...read more

Product Description: AVAILABLE NOW!Sports buffs know all about famous players and coaches and can recite statistics in endless detail. But do fans know how sport is linked to other institutions of society? Do they understand the role of sport in socializing youngsters in both positive and negative ways? What about the ways in which sport perpetuates race and gender-role stereotypes in society? How do owners, coaches, and other sport authorities exercise power to maintain control over athletes?These issues and more are examined in this selection of accessible writings by journalists and leading scholars who represent a new era of critical appraisal of sports—both professional and amateur...read more

Product Description: International Perspectives on Key Issues in Sport and Exercise Psychology is a series of edited books, with a global focus, which reflect the state of art in areas of current and emerging interest in the study of sport and exercise psychology...read more

Product Description: The work of French sociologist, anthropologist and philosopher Pierre Bourdieu has been influential across a set of cognate disciplines that can be classified as physical culture studies. Concepts such as field, capital, habitus and symbolic violence have been used as theoretical tools by scholars and students looking to understand the nature and purpose of sport, leisure, physical education and human movement within wider society...read more

Product Description: Shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2014Spectator sport is living, breathing, non-stop theatre for all.Focusing on spectator sports and their accompanying issues, tracing their origins, evolution and impact, inside the lines and beyond the boundary, this book offers a thematic history of professional sport and the ingredients that magnetise millions around the globe...read more

Product Description: "When do sports stop being fun and games? Hudson takes on that question by addressing weighty topics, such as parental pressure, bully coaches, excessive training, and sexual abuse. Each subject is well researched and clearly presented with statistics, real-life examples, and testimonials, and Hudson is careful to offer best practices to help athletes, parents, and coaches maintain a healthy approach to sports...read more

Looking toward a future with increasingly hybridized media offerings, Sports Media: Transformation, Integration, Consumption examines sports media scholarship and its role in facilitating understanding of the increasingly complex world of sports media. Acknowledging that consumer demand for sports media content has influenced nearly every major technology innovation of the past several decades, chapters included herein assess existing scholarship while positing important future questions about the role sports media will play in the daily lives of sports fans worldwide. Contributions from well-known scholars are supplemented by work from younger researchers doing new work in this area. Developed for the Broadcast Education Association's Electronic Media Research series, this volume will be required reading for graduate and undergraduate students in media, communication, sociology, marketing, and sports management, and will serve as a valuable reference for future research in sports media.