Blackwell Reference Online

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Despite acknowledgments of sport as a legitimate focus of sociological analysis from early thinkers such as Spencer, Simmel, Weber, Scheler, and Mead ( Luschen 1980 ), the lack of theoretical development in sport studies has been well documented ( Frey & Eitzen 1991 ), although there appears to be increased movement toward the generation and integration of more theoretically driven work. Washington and Karen (2001) point out that Bourdieu's “Sports and Social Class” statement has focused much of our attention with these following key observations: (1) sports is a field relatively autonomous of society with a unique historical dynamic; (2) sport represents struggles between social classes; (3) sport shifted from an amateur elite practice to a professionally produced spectacle for mass consumption; (4) sport production and administration must be understood within the industrial political economy; (5) sports participation as exercise or leisure time depends on economic and cultural capital; and (6) sport practices vary by the conscious and unconscious meanings and functions perceived by various social classes. Sport provides unique opportunities for understanding the complexities of everyday life. Bourdieu's (1991) original argument calls for theoretical inquiry that integrates macro and micro interests, bridging social structure and social psychological processes. Macro methodologies ... log in or subscribe to read full text