“Just Act Normal”: Concussion and the (Re)negotiation of Athletic Identity

in Sociology of Sport Journal
Nikolaus A. Dean*,1
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  • 1 University of British Columbia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2018-0033
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Volume 36: Issue 1
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In this autoethnography, I describe my own personal experiences and dealings with a sport-related concussion. In particular, I focus on the (re)negotiation of my student- athlete identity due to the repercussive affects of concussion. Weaving together personal narratives with Erving Goffman’s presentation of self theory, I attempt to highlight some of the complexities of the injury in relation to athletic identity, and use the theory as a departure point to further discuss how sport-related concussion can be understood within a socio-cultural context. In doing so, I attempt to move beyond my own personal experiences, as a way to comment on the larger social, cultural, and political forces that affect how athletes come to understand and embody concussion.

Dean is with the School of Kinesiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Address author correspondence to Nikolaus A. Dean at nik.dean@ubc.ca.

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