Overview

"In a stressful, turbulent world, sports can be an escape from reality. Yet sport actually mirrors the issues and problems of our world today, bearing the imprint of powerful forces of social change. This book offers a sociological perspective for seeing and understanding the place of sport in society and how it is affected by big business and by demographic, cultural, organizational, economic, political, and technological change. Nixon's main focus is ""big-time"" commercialized and corporate sport, from Little League Baseball, Inc. to youth club sports, high school and college athletics, and professional and Olympic sports. He writes vividly of the making and unmaking of heroes and celebrities. Throughout he shows how the combined influence of networks of major sports organizations, media corporations, and corporate sponsors is shaping sport around the world."

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9781594514425

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Reviews

Nixon offers an informed, enlightening book on a variety of topics related to the sociology of sport. ... Providing multiple sources for those interested in theoretical constructs surrounding the socialization aspects of sport, this clear, concise study is a must for anyone interested in looking at sport in the context of a changing global society. Highly recommended. -CHOICE One of the `founding parents' of the sociology of sport, Nixon has provided us with a new text that highlights dimensions of how sport serves as a microcosm for society both in North America and abroad. Distinguishing this book from many of its competitors is its strong foundational principles in sociological theories, which are used throughout the volume to analyze the dramatically changing landscape of global sports. Nixon supplies for his readers a thorough explication of social scientific methodology, allowing students insight into the cornucopia of research that has burgeoned in the last three decades. The book is readable, accessible, and filled with examples that will capture students' imaginations. -Peter Adler, University of Denver Nixon's Sport in a Changing World is on target with its emphasis on the nature of contemporary sport being largely determined by the partnership of commercialized sport with mass media and the corporate world. Sport at all levels, even high school, is driven by the values associated with rational organization, profit, and marketing appeal. Nixon weaves this theme in an analytical, but clearly expressed, fashion with established theories and concepts of sociology. -James Frey, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Nixon offers an informed, enlightening book on a variety of topics related to the sociology of sport. ... Providing multiple sources for those interested in theoretical constructs surrounding the socialization aspects of sport, this clear, concise study is a must for anyone interested in looking at sport in the context of a changing global society. Highly recommended. --CHOICE One of the 'founding parents' of the sociology of sport, Nixon has provided us with a new text that highlights dimensions of how sport serves as a microcosm for society both in North America and abroad. Distinguishing this book from many of its competitors is its strong foundational principles in sociological theories, which are used throughout the volume to analyze the dramatically changing landscape of global sports. Nixon supplies for his readers a thorough explication of social scientific methodology, allowing students insight into the cornucopia of research that has burgeoned in the last three decades. The book is readable, accessible, and filled with examples that will capture students' imaginations. --Peter Adler, University of Denver Nixon's Sport in a Changing World is on target with its emphasis on the nature of contemporary sport being largely determined by the partnership of commercialized sport with mass media and the corporate world. Sport at all levels, even high school, is driven by the values associated with rational organization, profit, and marketing appeal. Nixon weaves this theme in an analytical, but clearly expressed, fashion with established theories and concepts of sociology. --James Frey, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Author Information

Howard Nixon is Professor of Sociology at Towson University near Baltimore. Having studied and taught sport for 35 years, he is the author of several books and book chapters and many articles in sport sociology.

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