SOCIOLOGY OF SPORTS Society and Sports from a

SOCIOLOGY OF SPORTS Society and Sports from a Sociological Perspective

SPORTS: FROM SPARE TIME ACTIVITY TO ITS MODERN MEANING Ø Desportare: (Latin) having fun, hanging around Ø Desport: (French) to entertain, to amuse Ø Sport: (English) using spare time, entertainment, hobby

DEFINITION OF SPORT Ø A physical and spare time activity with a set of rules and institutions, resembling both a game and a profession, applied in a form of competition (Georges Magnane) Ø An institutionalized physical activity based on competition which lies in a place between game and profession (G. Luschen)

DEFINITION OF SPORT Ø A worship of intensive and habitualized muscular activity which depends on the will for progress and even for risks which might lead to situations including danger. (Pierre de Coubertin) Ø Physical practices which possess their own values, rules and rituals in a form of joyful competition. (Carl Diem)

INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF SPORTS Ø Rules of the activity gets standardized. Ø Organizing actors supervise the application of and obedience to these rules Ø Increasing significance of the organizational and technical sides of the activity Ø Formalisation of acquiring game skills

WHY STUDY A SOCIOLOGY OF SPORTS? Ø Sports as a part of human social life. Ø Sports as a cultural determinant Ø Many actors within the realm of sports, with direct or indirect participations and roles.

GENERAL THEMES Ø SPORTS AND SOCIAL CLASS Ø SPORTS AND GENDER Ø SPORTS AND POLITICS Ø SPORTS, IDEOLOGY AND PROPOGANDA Ø SPORTS, ETNICITY AND NATIONALISM Ø SPORTS AND ECONOMY

GENERAL THEMES Ø SPORTS AND GLOBALISATION Ø SPORTS AND IDENTITY Ø SPORTS AND VIOLENCE Ø SPORTS AND IMPERIALISM Ø SPORTS AND EDUCATION

DEVELOPMENT OF THE DISCIPLINE Ø CONTRIBUTIONS OF ANTHROPOLOGY Ø HEINZ RIESSE AS THE FIRST TO USE THE TERM “SOCIOLOGY OF SPORTS” (1921) Ø JOHANN HUIZINGA: HOMO LUDENS (THE PLAYING HUMAN), 1938 Ø INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF SPORT SOCIOLOGY (1966)

DEVELOPMENT OF THE DISCIPLINE Ø HARRY EDWARDS Ø JAY COAKLEY Ø NORBERT ELIAS Ø ERIC DUNNING Ø JEAN MARIE BROHM

SOCIOLOGY OF SPORTS IN TURKEY MUSTAFA ERKAL’S “SPORTS FROM A SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE” (1978) AS THE FIRST STUDY IN TURKEY. Ø İBRAHİM ARMAĞAN’S “SOCIOLOGICAL BASIS OF SPORTS” (1981) Ø YILMAZ ÇOBANOĞLU’S “SOCIOLOGY OF SPORTS” (1996) Ø CAN İKİZLER’S “SPORTS IN SOCIAL SCIENCES” (2000) Ø

HISTORICAL ORIGINS OF SPORT The Neolithic Age: Survival and the need for physical strength Ø Social division of labor and the warriors class. Ø Specialization and professionalisation in warfare (archery, horseback riding. . . ) Ø Settled communities and the phenomenon of spare time. Ø

HISTORICAL ORIGINS OF SPORT Spare time as a consequence of the slave mode of production Ø Ancient Greek city states: birthplace of first organized sports activities. Ø In addition to spare time, struggle against nature and other societies contributed to the genesis of sports Ø Defensive-offensive sports as the first sporting activities (wrestling, boxing, archery. . . ) Ø

ANCIENT GREEK EXPERIENCE Ø Gender dimension: Masculine monopoly Ø Social class dimension: Male citizens only Ø Philosophical dimension: Ideal state with an education system based on sports as well as philosophy, arts and sciences. Ø The Gymnasium Ø The Palaestra

FIRST ORGANIZED SPORTS: THE OLYMPICS (776 B. C. ) In addition to local competitions held in sacred festivals in various Greek city states, the Olympic games is considered to be the first organized sports activity. Ø Olympics as worship: dedication to the Olympians (Gods and Goddesses) Ø Olympics as a tool for sacred truce in the Hellenic world (Ekecheiria) Ø Only male Greek citizens allowed to watch and attend the Games Ø Naked status of sportsmen Ø

MYTHOLOGICAL BASIS OF SPORTS AND BODY IMAGE Ø Age of Heroes and the strong hero image Ø Hercules (Herakles) as the forthcoming hero of mascular strength Ø Battle of Marathon (490 B. C. ) and the legend of Pheidippides Ø Atalante: the she-warrior Ø Odysseus and his bow

ANCIENT ROMAN EXPERIENCE Ø Sports for the entertainment of the free citizens Ø Slave warriors: gladiators Ø Ex-slave trainsmen Ø The audience, the arena and social control

MIDDLE AGES Ø The Feudal system and two sides of sports Ø Knighthood competitions Ø Noble sports for the aristocracy Ø Common sports for spending spare time for the peasants Ø Pre-modern forms of football

RISE OF THE EUROPEAN BOURGEOISIE AND SPORTS Ø Rise of modern sports Ø More disciplined, organized and with rules Ø Sports as a uniting tool for promoting the ideals of Western liberalism: freedom, brotherhood, equality and coexistence. Ø Sports: a reflection of the capitalist way of life; competition. Common “team” sports for the proleteriat: football

THE BIRTH OF FOOTBALL Ø British imperialism and the UK as the global exporter of sports Ø British bureaucrats as sports missionaries all around the Empire. Ø Sports and imperialism: sports imperialism

THE BIRTH OF FOOTBALL Ø Revival of a middle-age common spare time activity among Cambridge students (1848) Ø Popularisation of football in a short period More spare time for the proleteriat by means of legal regulations on work hours Weekend off after Saturday afternoon Advancements in public transport

Sports and class: the UK case Working class and football Ø The Roman Method: canalization of the energy of the ordinary masses Ø Good and loyal citizens via a collective belonging Ø While elite sports in the UK remained to be mostly individual sports; common sports like football rose as team sports. Ø First football clubs founded by trade unions or simply workers of single factories Ø Church teams (Aston Villa, Birmingham, Bolton, Everton) Ø

EXPORT OF FOOTBALL TO CONTINENTAL EUROPE Ø 1878: Copenhagen Ø 1887: Hamburg Ø 1888: Paris Ø 1885: Vienna Ø 1893: Genova Ø 1886: Budapest

THE MODERN OLYMPIC GAMES Ø Baron Pierre de Coubertin Ø 1896 First Olympic Games in Athens

THE USE OF OLYMPIC GAMES AS A POLITICAL TOOL Ø Internationalisation of sports and use of sports as a tool of international politics 1920 Anvers Games 1936 Berlin Games 1948 London Games 1972 Munich Games 1980 Moscow Games 1984 Los Angeles Games

OLYMPISM and its CRITIQUES Ø Olympism as an ideal for sports and society both on the national and global scales Ø Critiques of olympism as the tool of European capitalism and imperialism Ø The anti-democratic status of the Olympic administrative organs Ø Coubertin’s anti-feminism

SPORTS BRANCHES Ø Individual and team sports Ø Survival sports and spare-time sports Ø Elite sports and common sports

BOXING Ø Civilizing process and sports: Boxing as a good example regarding this context (N. Elias) Ø Historical origins date back to ancient Mesopotamia Ø Classical Boxing in ancient Greece and Rome

EARLY BOXING & MODERN BOXING Rules (from a no-rule and no-referee violent showgame to modern boxing): punchable body parts, standart durations for rounds and breaks, points earned, medical staff. . . etc. Ø Weight divisions (no divisions in former) Ø Use of accessories (from bandages and wooden spikes to gloves and headguards) Ø Ethics: from warrior ethos of honor to fairplay Ø From a fully offensive game towards an offensive/defensive one Ø

BOXING AND CONTROL OF VIOLENCE Ø N. Elias: Civilizing society, civilized ways of settling personal disputes among males rather than gun duels. Use of the fists as a more civilized way Modern society, social rules and its reflection on sports: modern boxing Violence limited and controlled by game rules

TENNIS Ø Historical roots in medieval France Ø Badminton and croquet Ø Field tennis in Britain as an elite sport Ø The significance of the lawn in elite activities Ø From the field to the lawn: Walter Clopton Wingfield as the founder of modern tennis (1873)

TENNIS BECOMING WORLDWIDE Ø Mary Outerbridge and the import of tennis to USA (1874) Ø The First Wimbledon Championships (1877): local British tournament Ø Tennis goes international: The Davis Tournaments of 1900 Ø International Lawn Tennis Federation (1912)

TENNIS AND CLASS Ø Pacification of the British upper classes in the 18 th century. Ø Pacification of political conflicts among upper classes and pacification in other areas of social life Ø Combination of rural customs and upperclass manners: elite sports like cricket and tennis

BASEBALL Ø Bat-and-ball games Ø From Britain to USA Ø Alexander Cartwright as the founder of modern baseball (1845) Ø The 19 th century: popularization of baseball in the US and becoming a national sport. Ø National League established in 1876

BASEBALL Ø Negro National League in 1933 Ø Jackie Robinson as the first black player in the US National League (1947) Ø Races united dating from the 60’s Ø Babe Ruth League (1947) for the popularization of baseball among the American youth

BASKETBALL Ø James Naismith as the founder of basketball (1891) Ø A team sport available indoors during cold winter Ø Colleges and the popularization of basketball as a common sport Ø Foundation of the NBA (1949) Ø Afro-Americans and basketball