Search Results
You are looking at 1 - 7 of 7 items for
- Author: Peter Donnelly x
- Refine by Access: All Content x
Special Theme Issue: British Cultural Studies
Peter Donnelly
The Construction and Confirmation of Identity in Sport Subcultures
Peter Donnelly and Kevin Young
It is usual in interactionist research to view the process of socialization into subcultures as, in part, a process of identity formation. However, we prefer to examine this process, at least in the case of sport subcultures, as a far more deliberate act of identity construction. That is, through a variety of means, the most significant of which is modeling, the neophyte member begins to deliberately adopt mannerisms, attitudes, and styles of dress, speech, and behavior that he or she perceives to be characteristic of established members of the subculture. Such perceptions among neophytes are usually far from being completely accurate and are frequently stereotypical. Thus, it is necessary to examine also the complementary process of identity confirmation in order to conduct a more complete examination of socialization into a subcultural career. These processes, and neophyte mistakes emerging in them, are examined with respect to ethnographies of climbers and rugby players conducted by the authors, together with supporting material from studies of other sports-related aspects of ethnographic research.
A Sociology of North American Sociology of Sport: Disunity in Unity, 1965 to 1996
Alan G. Ingham and Peter Donnelly
As we pass the 30th anniversary of a recognized sociology of sport in North America, it is appropriate to develop a current sociological analysis of the subdiscipline. In the first part we examine the origins of the field and the development of the Wisconsin socialization paradigm and the social problems perspective. In the second part we explore the critical shift in the field, emerging from an engagement with C. Wright Mills, and the development of a political economy perspective. In the third part we review the turn to Antonio Gramsci and cultural studies, focusing particularly on the themes of gender and the body. We conclude by considering whether, given the current eclecticism, sociology of sport is still a legitimate description of our field.
Sport Volunteerism and Social Capital
Jean Harvey, Maurice Lévesque, and Peter Donnelly
This study focuses on the relationship between sport volunteerism and social capital, defined here as a resource that stems from participation in certain social networks. A position generator and a resources generator were used to measure the social capital of respondents. Results from this pilot study survey, exploring several aspects of volunteerism in sport in two Canadian communities (one in Québec, the other in Ontario), show a strong relationship between volunteerism in sport and social capital but do not allow a precise measure of the direction of this relationship. Results also show stronger relationships between sport volunteerism and social capital when we control for gender, language, and age.
Whose Knowledge Counts? The Production of Knowledge and Issues of Application in the Sociology of Sport
Alan G. Ingham and Peter Donnelly
This essay was prompted by and is a response to Yiannakis’ (1989) article in which he called for a more applied orientation on the part of sociologists of sport. In our response, we argue that Yiannakis’ position is flawed because he fails to explore the oftentimes political overdetermination of academic process and the links between the marketplace of physical culture and the prestige hierarchies that exist within the university—How do the two connect? We present a practical alternative to Yiannakis’ programmatic call for an applied sociology of sport.