Editors:
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- Dr. Yannick Kluch, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Dr. Rory Magrath, Southampton Solent University
- Dr. Joseph N. Cooper, University of Massachusetts Boston
There is a rich history of the institution of sport being utilized for activist purposes (Cooper et al., 2019; Edwards, 2016). Examples of sport activism over the past century range from athlete activists utilizing sport for activist messaging, such as former National Football League (NFL) quarterback Colin Kaepernick or, more recently, Afghan Olympic breakdancer Manizha Talash, to entire sports leagues engaging their key stakeholders on matters related to social and racial justice, such as the English Premier League or the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) in the United States. Similarly, research on sport activism has grown substantially over the past two decades (Kluch, 2023; Magrath, 2022; O’Neill et al., 2024). Despite the growth in scholarly investigations into sport activism, the literature on activist endeavors in the arena of sport has largely focused on professional and elite sport contexts in the Global North generally and North American sport specifically.
The Handbook of Global Sport Activism, under contract with Edward Elgar Publishing, seeks to offer new avenues for sport activism research by bringing together scholarship extending our contemporary understanding of activism in and through the institution of sport beyond a strictly North American/Global North focus.
Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
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- Conceptualizing global, transnational, and international approaches to sport activism
- Innovative theoretical, methodological, or pedagogical approaches to global sport activism
- Analyses of global sport activism actors, contexts, and impacts
- Decolonial/postcolonial approaches to sport activism
- Sport activism during times of war and international conflict
- Sport and international social movements
- Sport activism and Indigeneity
- Sport activism and/as globalization
- Sport activism and glocalization
- Global/local stakeholder engagement in sport activism
- Sport activism and constructions of nationalism
- Sport activism and rising right-wing/fascist movements across the globe
- Analyses of sport activism in Global South contexts
- Analyses of sport activism in Global North contexts
- Sport activism beyond the Global South-Global North binary
- Sport activism and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
- New types of activism in/through sport
- Examples of individual, collective, and/or institutional activism in global sport
- Global sport activism by members of minoritized, marginalized, or historically excluded groups in the global power structure
- Global sport activism and environmental justice
- Global sport activism and religious freedom
- Identity activism in global contexts
- Activism in the context of global sport mega events
- Intersectional approaches to/analyses of activism in the global sport ecosystem
- Human rights and global sport activism
- Global sport activism and technology
- Future directions for global sport activism research and/or pedagogy
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Our editorial team defines sport activism broadly and encourages chapter proposals that examine various stakeholders’ activism in the sport ecosystem (e.g., athletes, coaches, sport professionals, community organizers, sport sponsors, sport organizations, scholars, fans, etc.). We especially appreciate chapter proposals utilizing interdisciplinary approaches, those pushing the boundaries of contemporary conventions in sport activism research, as well as contributions from authors historically excluded from the academic study of sport and/or activism.
Note on Author Representation: Our editorial team brings together a variety of identities and areas of expertise. However, we are aware of the lack of representation in terms of gender and geographic location of the authors’ academic institutions. Given the global focus of the handbook, we are currently recruiting additional editors for the project. If your area(s) of expertise align with the edited collection, you hold identities currently underrepresented on the editorial team, and you would like to potentially join the editorial team, please reach out to the lead editor (see contact information below).
Chapter Proposal Guidelines
Interested in contributing a chapter to the edited collection? Please submit a file (PDF preferred) with (1) author name(s), institutional affiliation(s), and contact information, (2) short biography of each author (100 words), and (3) an overview of your proposed chapter (approx. 300 words) to ykluch@illinois.edu by June 13, 2025. Full chapter manuscripts are due January 16, 2026.
Anticipated Publication Timeline
February 26, 2025 — Call for Chapter Proposals
June 13, 2025 — Deadline for Chapter Proposals
July 11, 2025 — Abstract Decisions sent to Contributors
January 16, 2026 — Submission of Full Chapters to Editors
February 13, 2026 – Feedback on Chapters from Editors
April 10, 2026 — Submission of Revised, Final Chapters to Editors
Fall 2026 — Submission of Complete Edited Collection to Publisher
Contact
For questions, inquiries about fit of your idea with the proposed edited collection, and/or other matters related to the project, please email Dr. Yannick Kluch at ykluch@illinois.edu.
