Sociology of Sport: Growth, Diversification, and Marginalization, 1981–2021

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Jay Coakley
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This article tells the story of the sociology of sport over the last 4 decades. In the process, it identifies key developments and trends in the field, the questions and topics that have shaped research and the production of knowledge about sports as social phenomena, the challenges currently facing the sociology of sport, and what may happen to the field over the next 40 years.

The author (jcoakley@uccs.edu) is with the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO, USA.

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