Defining Sport: Conceptions and Borderlines
Edited by Shawn E. Klein
This definitional inquiry and the deeper appreciation and apprehension of sport that follows is the goal of this volume. Part One examines several of the standard and influential approaches to defining sport. Part Two uses these approaches to examine various challenging borderline cases. These chapters examine the interplay of the borderline cases with the definition and provide a more thorough and clearer understanding of the definition and the given cases.
This work is not meant to be the definitive or exhaustive account of sport. It is meant to inspire more thought and debate on just what sport is, how it relates to other activities and human endeavors, and what we can learn about ourselves through the study of sport.
This book will be of interest to scholars in philosophy of sport, history, communications, sociology, psychology, sports management, cultural studies, and physical education.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction by Shawn E. Klein
Part 1: Conceptions of Sport
2. A Three-Pointer: Revisiting Three Crucial Issues in the “Tricky Triad” of Play, Games, and Sport by Chad Carlson
3. Broad Internalism and Interpretation: A Plurality of Interpretivist Approaches by Francisco Javier López Frías
4. Hopscotch Dreams: Coming to Terms with the Cultural Significance of Sport by Kevin Schieman
5. Defining Olympic Sport by Heather L. Reid
6. Early Modern Athletic Contests: Sport or Not Sport? by John McClelland
7. The Impact of Mass Media on the Definition of Sport by Keith Strudler
Part 2: Borderline Cases
8. Borderline Cases: CrossFit, Tough Mudder, and Spartan Race by Pam R. Sailors, Sarah Teetzel, and Charlene Weaving
9. Evolution of the Action Sports Setting by Chrysostomos Giannoulakis and Lindsay Pursglove
10. Skateboarding, Sport, and Spontaneity: Towards a Subversive Definition of Sport by Brian Glenney
11. Bullfighting: The Mirror and Reflection of Spanish Society by Teresa González Aja
12. Why Some Animal Sports are Not Sports by Joan Grassbaugh Forry
13. The Mainstreaming of Fantasy Sport: Redefining Sport by Brody J. Ruihley, Andrew Billings, and Coral Rae
14. E-sport: Video Games as Sport by Joey Gawrysiak
What's being said about the book:
“Understanding sport requires understanding the concept of sport, what it means and what sorts of activities it refers to that distinguish it from other human endeavors. But getting a handle on the concept of sport, defining it, has proved to be a notoriously difficult enterprise. Klein’s finely edited volume, the first dedicated exclusively to this topic, is thus a welcome addition to the literature that spreads much needed light on this vexing subject while sparing us none of the complexity that bedevils it.” — William J. Morgan, University of Southern California
"This collection brings new vistas to the established project of conceptualizing sport. It explores paradigmatic cases but also ventures boldly into cases that test the contours of conceptual boundaries. By inviting us to keep furthering our thoughts and discussions of what sport is and how it functions, this collection helps us understand and appreciate more deeply a practice that has fascinated humans for centuries." — Cesar R. Torres, State University of New York
"Defining Sport contributes greatly to the current Philosophy of Sport dialogue and, at the same time, explores well beyond it. It provides a strong approach to establishing a framework for discussing sport as well as an opportunity to explore much of the recent phenomena and changes in sport—the “borderline cases”—which have yet to be addressed. In short, it invites readers to view sport in a fresh, new light. This is an ideal text which will surely serve as a catalyst for deep reflection and thoughtful discourse." — Jack Bowen, Menlo School
