1. SPORTS IN SOCIETY: SOCIOLOGICAL ISSUES AND CONTROVERSIES
CHAPTER 1
THE SOCIOLOGY OF SPORTS:
What is It and Why Study It?
PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald
© 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

2. Sports are Social Phenomena
Sports are related to the social and cultural contexts in which we live.
Sports provide stories and images used to explain and evaluate these contexts.
Sports provide a window into culture and society.
PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald
© 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

3. Sociology is a Tool for Studying Sports in Society
Sociology provides useful:
concepts
theories
research methods.
These tools enable us to ‘see’ behaviour as it is connected with history, politics, economics and social life.
PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald
© 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

4. Culture
Culture consists of the ‘shared ways of life’ people create in a group or society.
These ways of life are created and changed as people interact with each other and as they come to terms with, and even struggle over, how to:
do things and organise their lives
relate to each other
make sense out of their experiences.
PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald
© 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

5. Sports and Culture
Sports, as parts of culture, have forms and meanings that vary from place to place and through history.
PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald
© 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

6. A collection of people:
Society
A collection of people:
living in a defined geographical territory
united through
a political system
a shared sense of self-identification that distinguishes them from other people.
PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald
© 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

7. Sports and Society
Sports, as parts of society, are social constructions that are given form and meaning by people as they interact with each other.
Sports can also be contested activities – meanings and purposes, who plays and who sponsors and provides opportunities.
PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald
© 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

8. The Sociology of Sport
A subdiscipline of sociology that studies sports as part of social and cultural life.
Focuses primarily on ‘organised, competitive sports’.
Helps us ask critical questions about sports in society.
PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald
© 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

9. Sociology vs. Psychology
Psychologists study behaviour in terms of attributes and processes that exist inside individuals.
Sociologists study behaviour in terms of the social conditions and cultural contexts in which people live their lives.
PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald
© 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

10. Critical Thinking about Sports
Critical thinking about sports helps us:
identify and understand social problems and social issues associated with sports
look beyond scores to see sports as social phenomena
make informed choices about sports participation and the place of sports in our lives
transform sports in progressive ways.
PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald
© 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

11. Sociology May Lead to Controversial Recommendations
Sociological research may produce findings that suggest changes in the organisation of sports and the organisation of social life.
Those who benefit from the status quo may be threatened by these research findings.
PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald
© 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

12. Why Study Sports as Social Phenomena?
Sports activities and images are part of people’s lives.
Sports are connected with ideologies in society
i.e., the ‘viewpoints’ that underlie people’s feelings, thoughts and actions.
Sports are connected with major spheres of social life such as:
family, economy, media, politics, education and religion.
PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald
© 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

13. The sets of interrelated ideas that people use:
Ideologies
The sets of interrelated ideas that people use:
to give meaning to the world
to make sense of the world
to identify what is important, right and natural in that world.
PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald
© 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

14. Characteristics of Ideologies
They are never established ‘once and for all time’.
They emerge as people struggle over the meaning and organisation of social life.
They are complex and sometimes inconsistent.
They change as power relationships change in society.
PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald
© 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

15. ‘Dominant Ideology’
Represents the perspectives and ideas favoured by people who have power and influence in society.
Serves the interests of people with power and influence.
PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald
© 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

16. Gender Ideology
A set of interrelated ideas about masculinity, femininity, and relationships between men and women.
Dominant gender ideology consists of prevailing notions of ‘common sense’ about maleness and femaleness in a group or society.
PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald
© 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

17. Racial Ideology
A set of interrelated ideas that people use to give meaning to skin colour and to evaluate people in terms of racial classifications.
Dominant racial ideology consists of prevailing ideas about the meanings of skin colour and the characteristics of people classified in various racial categories.
PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald
© 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

18. Why Study Sports as Social Phenomena?
Sports are connected with major spheres of social life:
Family
Economy
Media
Politics
Education
Religion
PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald
© 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

19. Major Professional Organisations in the Sociology of Sports
International Sociology of Sport Association (ISSA)
North American Society for the Sociology of Sport (NASSS)
Sociological Association of Aotearoa New Zealand (SAANZ)
The Australian Sociological Association (TASA)
* The Sport Management Association of Australia and New Zealand (SMAANZ) also has a dedicated interest in the sociology of sports.
PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald
© 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

20. Disagreements in the Sociology of Sport
Scholars in the field see themselves as:
sports sociologists concerned with sport science issues
sociologists concerned with social and cultural issues.
Scholars may see themselves as:
professional experts (interested in consulting and the application of knowledge to improve sports);
critical sociologists (interested in social and cultural transformation); or
knowledge builders (interested in using research to accumulate knowledge about social life).
PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald
© 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

21. Sport is Defined by Some Scholars as Activities that are:
Physical
Competitive
Institutionalised
Motivated by a combination of internal and external rewards.
PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald
© 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

22. Institutionalisation
Occurs when:
rules become standardised
official agencies enforce rules
organisational and technical aspects of the activity become important
learning game skills becomes formalised.
PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald
© 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

23. Play vs. Dramatic Spectacle
Play involves expressive activity done for its own sake; it is often spontaneous and guided by informal, emergent norms.
Dramatic spectacle involves performances to entertain an audience for the purpose of obtaining rewards.
PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald
© 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

24. An Alternative Approach to Defining Sports
Determine what activities are identified as sports in a society.
Determine whose sports count the most when it comes to obtaining support and resources.
PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald
© 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd

25. Sports are Contested Activities
This means that there are struggles over:
the meaning, purpose and organisation of sports
who will participate and the conditions under which sport participation occurs
how sports will be sponsored and what the reasons for sponsorship will be.
PPTs to accompany Sports in Society 2e by Coakley, Hallinan and MacDonald
© 2011 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd