1st Edition
Sport: Race, Ethnicity and Identity Building Global Understanding
Sport has long been a paradoxical environment with respect to issues of 'race', ethnicity, and identity. For much of the twentieth century, sports around the world were enclaves of difference. Whites and non-whites, for example, were separated on the sports field as they were in many ways off the field. Today sport is much more inclusive, with athletic ability of greater importance than skin colour or ancestry. Yet enmity and antagonism still appear in sport via instances of racial vilification or hostility between some groups. Other problems include the relative absence of minorities from positions of power and influence in sport, as well as folkloric assumptions about athletic ability based upon stereotypes about 'race' or ethnic background.
This book discusses issues of diversity, capacity and equity in the colourful world of global sport. A panoramic approach, covering 'race', ethnicity and identity is consistent with the contemporary global migration of professional athletes, as well as the multicultural contexts of sport in various regions. This collection of essays therefore addresses international dimensions of sport, commonality and difference, as well as the special circumstances of sport and social relations in particular places.
This book was previously published as a special issue of Sport in Society.
1. Introduction: "Building global understanding: diversity, equity and capacity in sport" Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney, Australia
2. "Sport as the new African slave trade: a postcolonial and global phenomenon" Colin King, Lecturer in Sociology, Department of Sociology, Goldsmith’s College, University of London, UK
3. "Sport in postcolonial African nations: liberation and its discontents" Bob Chappell, Professor of Sociology, Brunel University, Uxbridge, United Kingdom
4. "‘The race for supremacy’: the politics of ‘white’ sport in South Africa, 1880-1910" Dean Allen, Senior Lecturer in Sport Studies, Northumbria University, Newcastle, UK
5. "A matter of identity: historical legacy and quotas in South African sport" Christopher Merrett, University Librarian (retired) Pietermaritzburg campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
6. "International development or white man’s burden?: the IAAF’s regional development centres and regional sporting assistance" James Connor, Lecturer in the School of Business, University of New South Wales at the Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra, Australia. Melissa McEwen, PhD candidate in the School of History at the Australian National University.
7. "Touring for the nation: African-American athletes and the cultural Cold War" Damion Thomas, Assistant Professor, Dept of Kinesiology at the University of Maryland, College Park, USA.
8. "In groups, out groups and ethno-religious identity in Scottish football" Joseph M. Bradley, Senior Lecturer in Sports Studies at the University of Stirling, Scotland.
9. "Changing perceptions of ethnicity wrought by the A-League in Australia" Daniel Lock, PhD candidate in Sport Management at the University of Technology, Sydney.
10. "The televised sport ‘monkey’ trial: race and the politics of postcolonial cricket" David Rowe, Director of the Centre for Cultural Research (CCR), University of Western Sydney, Australia
11. Conclusion: "The colourful world of contemporary sport: more than skin and kin" Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney, Australia
Biography
Daryl Adair earned a PhD in Australian history from the Flinders University of South Australia in 1994. Since then he has researched and taught sport history at De Montfort University Leicester and the University of Queensland, then added sport media and sport management to his repertoire at the University of Canberra. He is currently an Associate Professor of Sport in the UTS Business School at the University of Technology, Sydney.
"The text presents historical and modern issues that must continue to be considered and discussed as the questions surrounding race and identity plague nations throughout the world. The fluid writing of the authors allows scholars in and outside of sport to consider the unique and complex issues that exist in sport. While readers of this text may find interest in individual articles, a complete read of the work will provide a much more thorough insight into historical, social, and political issues that are in need of exploration."
- Cassandra Coble, Indiana University–Bloomington, USA, International Journal of Sport Communication, 2015, 8, 522 -525.
