This book is based on three central themes: 1) Sport is a social institution worthy of sociological examination like the more traditional institutions of marriage/family, politics, economy, religion, law, health/medicine, science, and education; 2) Sport is a microcosm of the larger society as it reflects and reinforces the dominant ideology; 3) There are numerous institutional connections between sport and other societal institutions which make it impossible for changes in one sphere not to reverberate throughout all spheres.
The author has organized coverage of the sociology of sport around pivotal sociological concepts-culture, social organization, socialization, deviance, small groups, collective behavior, mass media, and institutional inter-relationships (sport, education, politics, and religion). New material on sports and politics and women in sports keeps this edition timely.
Sports sociologists and health teachers.