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RN28 Society and Sports

 

The Esa Research Network 28 ‘Society and Sports’ aims at strengthening the visibility and legitimacy of the sociology of sport within the European sociological community. As such, the Esa conference in Turin 2013 will offer, besides the regular stand alone sessions, a broad range of joint sessions in which the sociologists of sport can discuss and exchange their knowledge with colleagues from different but overlapping sociological fields (such as health, gender, emotions, globalization, consumption, and many others). You will find the list of sessions here below and their detailed calls in the attached file.

 

Call for papers submission

Sports, physical activities and body cultures: Crisis, critique and change

 

Far from merely having an economical dimension, the crisis which currently affects the European societies poses new political and social challenges, opening the way to many possible transformations. Established practices and institutions may crumble and die and new configurations and alliances may arise.

As highlighted in the conference theme, two processes are at work. On the one hand, a systemic transformation has driven the shift from public to private power and adapted the state to capital markets. On the other hand, there has been a proliferation of vital types of critique too.

How are these dynamics reflected in the field of sports, physical activities and body cultures?

How does the sphere of sport face the challenges coming from the financial crisis? What models for sport will be sustainable in the future? Are alternatives for the current sport policies necessary? To what extent are post-crisis developments in the context of sport specific when compared to the spheres of economics and politics? To what extent can be the evidence from sport transposed to other spheres of social and cultural life?

 

The RN-28 ‘Society and Sports’ invites papers exploring these and other questions from all areas of the sociology of sport. Possible themes include but are not limited to:

 

·         Critical, creative and collaborative sports practices

·         Sport, media and new media

·         Sociological Theory and Sport: Back to the New Basics?

·         Crossing boundaries through sport events: how does it work?

·      Society and Sports (open session)

 

Joint sessions:

·      Facets of participation in childhood and youth: Exploring sport participation (with RN4 “Sociology of Children and Childhood” and RN30 “Youth and Generation”)

·      The commercialization of sport and fitness practices (with RN5 “Sociology of Consumption”)

·      Sports and culture: participation alike? (with RN7 “Sociology of Culture”)

·      Sport and religion/spirituality (with RN7 “Sociology of Culture” and RN34 “Sociology of Religion”)

·      Sport and emotions (with RN11 “Sociology of Emotions”)

·         Processes of Objectification and Reflexivity in Qualitative Body and Sport Research (with RN11 “Sociology of Emotions” and RN20 “Qualitative methods”)

·         Glocalisation, Cosmopolitanism, Nationalism and Sport (with RN 15 “Global, Transnational and Cosmopolitan Sociology”)

·      Gender, health and physical activity (with RN16 “Sociology of Health and Illness”)

·      Managing competitiveness in working/professional environments: exploring elite sports     (with RN19 “Sociology of Professions”)

·         Sport and the Visual: New Developments and Opportunities (with RN20 “Qualitative methods”)

·      Doing social research on sports’ bodies. Methodological and empirical challenges (with RN20 “Qualitative methods” and RN21 “Quantitative methods)

·      Sports, bodies and sexualities (with RN23 “Sexuality”)

·      Gender and sexual harassment at work and in leisure time (sport) (with RN33 “Woman’s and Gender Studies”)

·      Being a member of the team. Sports and Gender Relations (with RN33 “Woman’s and Gender Studies”)

 

Notes for authors

Authors are invited to submit their abstract either to the general session (open papers) or any specific session. After abstract evaluation, coordinators will have the chance to transfer papers between sessions where applicable.

Abstracts should not exceed 1750 characters (including spaces, approximately 250 words). Each paper session will have the duration of 1.5 hours. Normally sessions will include 4 papers.

Abstracts must be submitted online to the submission platform, see below. Abstracts sent by email cannot be accepted. Abstracts will be peer-reviewed and selected for presentation by the Research Network; the letter of notification will be sent by the conference software system in early April 2013.

 

Abstract submission deadline:    1^st February 2013