Download Why Sport Sociology? - Cal State LA

KIN 385:
Sociological Foundations
of Physical Activity
The Sociology of Sport: What
Is It and Why Study It?
 Week

Fall, 2014
Daniel Frankl, Ph.D.
I
Overview of Chapter 1
 (Coakley, 2007, pp. 2-29)
Professor of Kinesiology
California State University, Los Angeles
http://www.snoopy.com/comics/peanuts/meet_the_gang/meet_charlie_brown.html
Why study sports as social
phenomena?
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Sports activities and images are part of
people’s lives
Sports are closely tied to cultural ideology
in society
 i.e., “everyday logic” people use to guide
their ideas, behaviors, & relationships
Sports are connected with major spheres of
social life such as:
 family, economy, media, politics,
education, & religion
Coakley, J. (2009).
Sport in society: Issues
and controversies
(10th ed.). Boston,
MA: McGraw Hill.

Now that sports business is a massive arm
of the international entertainment
industry...there’s no way we can escape its
economic, social and environmental
footprints...[T]he growing involvement of big
business, of the media and of advertisers
has helped reshape the rules of many
games—and, in the process, fuelled new
forms of exclusion.
John Elkington, Environmentalist, president of
SustainAbility (2004) (Cited in Coakley, 2007. p. 3)
Our text, according to Coakley (2007, p.
15) was written to assist a reader in
accomplishing the following:
Required Text

John Elkington, Environmentalist,
president of SustainAbility
Jay Coakley
Think critically about sports so that you
can identify and understand social
problems and social issues associated
with sports in society.
 Look beyond issues of physical
performance and records to see sports
as social constructions that influence
how people feel, think, and live their
lives.

1
Course Objectives
Our Text According to Coakley:

Knowledge about sports makes it
possible to make informed choices
about your sport participation and the
place of sports in your community and
society.
 Think about the ways sports in your
schools and communities might be
transformed so they don’t systematically
disadvantage some categories of
people while privileging others.
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Course Objectives
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What are culture and society?
What are sports and how might we
distinguish sports from other
activities?
 What is the sociology of sport?
 Why study sports as social
phenomena?
 What is the current status of the
sociology of sport as a field of study?


Presentation Objectives
Develop a sensitivity to and understanding of
the nature of structural oppression in its
various forms, e.g., racism, sexism, ageism,
and homophobia.
Acquire the requisite skills and knowledge to
make practical applications from sport
sociology theory and research to sport, play,
and society
 separating the “ought” from the “is” when
addressing athlete, official, and spectator
conduct in sports.
In addition we shall focus on the
following questions proposed by
Coakley (2007, p. 5)
Acquire a familiarity with the general scope
and major tenets of sport sociology
 Obtain a basic knowledge of the
experimental and observational research
methodologies in sport sociology
Understand the dynamics of ethnic and
cultural factors in American sport
 Be able to critically analyze the current
trends in the sport milieu and the dominant
national conversation about sport and the
family, education, economy, mass media,
politics, and religion.
Develop an understanding of the
discipline of sociology in general and
sport sociology in particular
 Become familiar with the assumptions
of the sociological perspective
 Introduce the units of sociological
analysis
 Understand sport as a microcosm of
society

Culture Defined

Culture consists of "the common ideas,
beliefs, practices, and perspectives that
societal members share and that, in turn,
provide 'blueprints' for their behavior
(Leonard, 1998, p. 52).“
 “Culture consists of the ways of life that
people create as they participate in a group
or society (Coakley, 2007, p. 5).”
 “Culture involves all meanings that
people learn from one another. It
includes ideas that are shared by society
members (McPherson, Curtis, & Loy,
1989, p. 7).”
2
Society Defined

“The term society refers to a collection of
people living in a defined geographic
territory and united by a political system
and a shared sense of self-identification
that distinguishes them from other people
(Coakley, 2007, p. 5).”
 “A collection of social relationships
represents a society (McPherson,
Curtis, & Loy, 1989, p. 5).”
 Max Weber conceptualized society as
a “process of patterned interaction
among people (Alix, 1995, p. 24).”
Sociology Defined
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Sport Sociology Defined
Good Sociology
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Good sociology should begin with
the application of radical
skepticism and criticism to one’s
own society, to one’s place in it,
and, by extension, to all social
behavior. Sociology, in short, should
be alienating.
“Sociology is the study of human social
life (August Comte, cited in Leonard,
1998, p.15).”
“Sociology is the scientific discipline that
describes and explains human social
organization (Eitzen & Sage, 2003, p. 2).”
Sociology is the study of social life,
including all forms of social interactions
and relationships (Coakley, 2007, p. 4).

“...the sociology of sport is a subdiscipline of sociology that focuses
on the relationship between sport
and social relations.” Coakley (1994,
p. 3)
Pierre L. van den Berghe
http://ethology.nsu.ru/hes/hesis03/lnl/pvdb.htm
Sport Psychology Defined

A science in which the principles of
psychology are applied in a sport or
exercise setting.
Reproduced from Cox, 2007.
http://www.snoopy.com/comics/peanuts/meet_the_gang/meet_franklin.html
Sport Psychology Defined

The study of the effect of
psychological and
emotional factors on sport
and exercise performance,
and the effect of sport and
exercise involvement on
psychological and
emotional factors.
Coleman R.
Griffith
Reproduced from Cox, 2007.
3
Social Psychology Defined

The study of the effect of
actual, imagined, or
implied presence of
others on an individual’s
feelings, thoughts, and
behaviors.
Sociology Vs. Psychology
Psychologists study behavior in terms
of attributes & processes that exist
inside individuals.
 Sociologists study behavior in terms of
the social conditions and cultural
contexts in which people live their
lives.

Kurt Lewin
1890-1947
Adapted from: Jowett & Lavallee, 2007, p. XI.
Reproduced from: Coakley, 2003.
What are Sports?
From Deportare to Sport

Sport is a modern word first used in
English at around 1440.
 The origin of the word sport is from
middle French de(s)porter which has
its roots in late Latin deportare (to
amuse oneself.”
Reproduced from: Decker, W. (1992), p. 2

“Sports are
institutionalized
competitive activities
that involve rigorous
physical exertion or the
use of a relatively
complex physical skills
by participants
motivated by internal
and external rewards.”
Coakley (2007, p. 6)
Z. Polgar Vs. Chiburdanidze
at the 2004 Olympiad
http://chessphotography.blogspot.com/
Sports are contested
activities
What is Play?

“Play is an expressive
activity done for its own
sake.” (Coakley, 2007, p.
7)
 Dramatic spectacle,
on the other hand, is a
performance that is
intended to entertain an
audience. (Coakley,
2007, p. 7)

Alexis Laree
http://www.glorywrestling.com/Wrestlers.asp
“[Sports] are activities for
which there are no universal
agreements about meaning,
purpose, and organization.”
(Coakley, 2007, p. 11)
 At any point in time, the
critical struggle is over
whose ideas would shape
the national conversation.
(Coakley, 2007)
http://lgs6632.com/photo/06club/06usc/pages/06usc50043.htm
4
Assumptions of the
Sociological Perspective
The Sociological
Perspective
The sociological perspective involves a
process of ‘seeing through’ the facades
of social structures.” (Berger cited in
Eitzen & Sage, 2003, p. 5)
 “The underlying assumption of the
sociologist is that things are not as they
seem (Eitzen & Sage, 2003, p. 5).”
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Individuals are Social Beings
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Individuals are Socially Determined
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Problems Addressed by the
Sociological Perspective
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Sociology looks beyond the commonly
accepted explanations of what is and whether
that’s what ought to be (the naturalistic
fallacy).
Are collegiate athletics educational?
Does competition in sports prepare
individuals for real life?
Does sport participation build character?
Is sports a racism free environment?
Tom McMillen, Former NBA player and
member of US. Congress
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The overall message being drilled into
our kids is clear and dangerous...
Superstars sign 5-year contracts for $20
million. Teachers sign 1-year contracts
for $20,000. In those circumstances, to
whom will you listen, your teacher or
your coach? Where will you spend your
time, in the library or the gym?
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Humans are dependent on others for survival
(to some extent...) Humans are products of their
genes and social environment
Individuals create, sustain, and change the
Social Forms within which they conduct their
lives
 thus, what is, does not necessarily justify
what ought to be...
Eamon Kelly, President of Tulane Univ. after
eliminating men’s Basketball (CBS, Face the
Nation” April 7, 1985)
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The focus on big money, the media
pressure, drugs, gambling and betting are
all part now of our national culture of
intercollegiate athletics. ...it was time to say,
“No more, we’ve had enough.” Our [mission]
is teaching, it’s learning, it’s research. It’s
time for university presidents across the
country to gain control of their institutions.
https://goomer.ncaa.org/wdbctx/LSDBi/LSDBI.home
UNITS OF SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
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The social psychological approach
(e.g., athletes vs. nonathletes with several
dep. var.)
The Micro Level
(e.g., small groups, like family, high
school team)
The Macro Level
Norms, Values, Status and Role, Societal
Institutions-- or cultural imperatives
regulating culturally prescribed behavior
5
Critical thinking
about sports helps us
Identify & understand social problems
and social issues associated with sports
 Look beyond scores to see sports as
social phenomena
 Make informed choices about sport
participation and the place of sports in
our lives
 Transform sports in progressive ways
Sociology may lead to
controversial recommendations
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The conclusions of sociological research
often call for changes in the
organizations of sports and the structure
of social relations in society.
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Those who benefit from the status quo
may be threatened by such conclusions.
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Cultural Ideology consists of
The general perspectives and ideas
that people use
 To make sense of the world
 To discover their place in that world
 To determine what is important, right,
and natural in that world
“Dominant Ideology”
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Represents the
perspectives and ideas
favored by those who have
power and influence in
society
Serves the interests of
those with power and
influence
http://www.hhweb.com/stadiumphotos_fbpro.htm
The characteristics of
Cultural Ideology are:
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It is never established “once and for all
time”
It emerges in connection with struggles
over the meaning and organization of
social life
It is complex and sometimes inconsistent
It changes as power relationships change
in society
Gender Ideology

The dominant
perspectives and
ideas that people
have about
 masculinity &
femininity
 relationships
between men &
women
Image source:
http://www.glasbergen.com/
6
Gender Logic

Gender Logic consists of prevailing
notions of “common sense” about
maleness and femaleness in a society)
 Men are naturally superior to women
 stronger, better skilled, emotionally
controlled
 physically demanding sports turn
boys into men
 A low skilled boy “plays like a girl.”
Class Ideology
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Class ideology consists of “a web of
ideas and beliefs that people use to
understand economic inequalities and
make sense of their own position in an
economic hierarchy in society (Coakley,
2007, p. 23).”
 A meritocracy is a system where
success is achieved by those who
deserve it (Coakley, 2007, p. 23).”
Racial Ideology
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Racial ideology consists of “a web of
ideas and beliefs that people use to give
meaning to skin color and to evaluate
people in terms of racial classifications
(Coakley, 2007, p. 23).”
 Racial ideology is often used as a
basis for evaluating athletic potential
or for explaining athletic success
(Coakley, 2007, p. 23).”
Common Societal Problems and
Resulting Institutions
Sex & Reproduction -- Family
Young members -- Schools
 Order, Distribution of power -- Polity
 Production & Distribution of Goods
and Services – Economy
 Information and Entertainment -Media
 Meaning for life, death, morals -Religion
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Sports and the major spheres
of social life
Sports and the Family
Sports and the Economy
 Sports and the Media
 Sports and Politics
 Sports and Education
 Sports and Religion
 (Coakley, 2007, p. 24-26)
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Questions?
Comments?
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