Eric Dunning

Life lessions

p. cm

"This book explores the interplay between the making of Elias as a sociologist and the development of his core ideas relating to figurations, interdependence, and civilising processes. Focusing on the relevance of Elias's work for current debates within sociology, the authors centrally consider his contributions to the sociology of knowledge and methodology. Dunning and Hughes locate the work of Elias within a discussion of the crisis of sociology as a subject, and compare his figurational approach with the approaches of three major figures in modern sociology: Anthony Giddens, Michel Foucault and Pierre Bourdieu. This highly readable and engaging book will be essential reading for students and scholars of sociological theory and methods."--Publisher's website.

"Figurational sociology is associated with the writings of Norbert Elias. In his theory of 'the civilizing process' and his work on the activity of sociology, Elias devised an approach to the study of human life which is now recognized as one of the major contributions to twentieth-century social science." "Working in collaboration with Eric Dunning, Elias developed a series of writings on sport and leisure. These have been so influential that in some circles they are identified as the leading approach in the field. However, the figurational approach has also been widely criticized. For some critics it exhibits all of the worst features of the now discredited 'liberal', 'functionalist' school of sociology." "This collection provides a major critical assessment of the figurational approach to our understanding of sport and leisure. Contributors explore the distinctive features of such an approach and show its application to matters of sport and leisure. However, this is not a one-sided collection. The editors invited critics of figurational sociology to set out their points of view. Feminist and neo-Marxist contributors, for example, spell out why they judge the approach to be of limited value. The concluding chapter written by Eric Dunning, offers a major statement of what figurational sociologists argue and how their arguments differ from other leading approaches both generally and in the field of sport and leisure. This unique and accessible collection is an important contribution to the growing area of sport and leisure studies."--Jacket.

An authoritative cast of international and inter-disciplinary contributors present the best of current thinking in sports studies as the subject matures and develops academically.

Sports Histories draws on figurational sociology to analyse the development of modern sport. The book brings together case studies from a wide range of sports, from the mainstream such as soccer, rugby, baseball, boxing and cricket, to less frequently examined sports, such as shooting, motor racing, tennis, gymnastics and martial arts. This groundbreaking work highlights key debates in the analysis of modern sport, such as: - The relative influence of intra-national class conflict and international conflict - The relative prominence of commercially led processes in different contexts - The centrality of concerns over violence - Differences between elite and mass-led sports developments Above all, Sport Histories demonstrates the distinctiveness of the figurational sociological approach and its usefulness in the study of the development of modern sport.