|
 |
|
SportCult Randy Martin and Toby Miller, editors |
|
|
New approaches to the cultural politics of sport. Although sport is pervasive in our society, its significance as a cultural phenomenon remains largely misunderstood, and its singular ability to entertain, inspire, and unite is frequently taken for granted. Sporting metaphors abound in politics and business, and communities, from neighborhoods to nations, see in sport the embodiment of their values. So what do the popularity and ubiquity of sport tell us about the world? How do sport's stories of victory and defeat reflect the society that narrates them? This volume offers a variety of perspectives on the cultural politics of sport. Looking at such diverse examples of sport culture as aerobics, bodybuilding, Mexican pro-wrestling, golf-course design, the basketball documentary Hoop Dreams, women sportscasters, sports-related trademarks, martial arts in Tanzanian youth culture, and cricket in Sri Lanka and post-apartheid South Africa, SportCult deftly explores sport as a cultural frame of reference for such critical issues as national identity, the idea of the body, global capitalism, and the politics of representation. "Randy Martin and Toby Miller have succeeded in introducing some important intellectuals from outside the mainstream in sport studies to weigh in on the topic. Their contributions are most welcome." —Topia "In an ever expanding academic discussion on sport, Randy Martin and Toby Miller have inserted a valuable collection of materials in SportCult. The assemblage of a wide and varied assortment of articles makes Sportcult another important contribution in a field of study that, though long dismissed as not serious intellectual work, is finally getting some of the attention it deserves." —Symploké Contributors: Rosemary J. Coombe, Grant Farred, Qadri Ismail, May Joseph, Bradley S. Klein, Heather Levi, Jim McKay, Gitanjali Maharaj, Michael R. Real, Bruce Robbins, David Rowe, Amanda Smith, Jon Stratton. Randy Martin is professor and chair of the Department of Social Science at the Pratt Institute. Toby Miller is associate professor of cinema studies at New York University, editor of the Journal of Sport and Social Issues, and coeditor of Social Text. 304 pages | 5 7/8 x 9 | 1999 |
||
$24.00 Paper