Interest in more-than-human approaches to the study of sport, physical activity and fitness has gained momentum across multiple disciplines. This momentum invites questioning, curiosity, and response as such approaches bring to the fore a range of ontological, epistemological, practical and political implications for how research is conceived, conducted and represented; indeed, for the very practices of thinking, knowing and doing.
These implications merit constructive and lively dialogue, a collective discussion about the possibilities, caveats, and challenges presented within such conceptual spaces. To this end we are pleased to introduce an international speaker series designed to foster critical discussion across disciplinary lines. This series will bring together scholars across continents and substantive areas of expertise in a collegial online forum that seeks to facilitate thoughtful engagement about the potential, challenges and tensions in doing this work. Specifically, this series provides an interactive, engaging and accessible platform from which to explore the way we imagine and interpret more-than-human theories (and their associated methodological and practical implications) as they relate to the study of sport and physical culture.
The series will rotate through different international institutional hubs and seek to amplify a range of perspectives and positionings. Each session will bring multiple perspectives together, with time for questions and discussion with attendees.
Topics for the 2025 sessions
- More-than-Human Sport and Movement: A Cross-Disciplinary Dialogue (April)
- More-than-Human Methods for Sport and Movement Studies (TBD)
- More-than-Human Sporting Environments: Towards Planetary Justice (TBD)
Future topics in the series will respond to the interests of attendees, but may include discussions on creative methodologies, politics and agency in more-than-human frameworks, sport and movement in the anthropocene.
As mentioned, sessions will rotate between the four organizers’ host institutions and affiliated research groups. The first session of this series – More-than-human Sport and Movement: A Cross-Disciplinary Dialogue – will be hosted by the BMC Research Group at the University of Alberta.
Date
Thursday April 3, 2025, 2:00 – 3:30pm (MDT – Edmonton)
Thursday April 3, 2025, 22:00 – 23:30 (CEST)
Panelists
- Professor Doug Booth, Thompson Rivers University
- Professor Martin Camiré, University of Ottawa
- Professor Simone Fullagar, Griffith University
- Professor Håkan Larsson, Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences
- Dr. Stephanie Merchant, University of Bath
Zoom link
https://ualberta-ca.zoom.us/j/95357640737
The More-than-Human Sport and Movement Seminar Series is organized by Professor Pirkko Markula (University of Alberta), Professor Holly Thorpe (University of Waikato), Assistant Professor Allison Jeffrey (University of Bath), and Assistant Professor Marianne Clark (Acadia University), with support and contributions from postgraduate students, collaborators and colleagues.
Please feel free to distribute this invitation, and attached poster, to friends and colleagues who may have an interest in joining. We hope these discussions will be generative and look forward to welcoming you to the inaugural session on April 3 (or at a future event later this year).
