The specialist group Sport and Politics within the Political Studies Association organises separate, annual conferences on various sports related themes. Next year, 2016, it’s the 10th Anniversary of this conference series, and the theme is Sport, Politics and Social Justice.
Sport, as a cultural form par excellence, is inherently P/political, having what can be described as an ambiguous relationship with the notion of social justice. Governments and international sports organisations often cite the commonly held precepts of social justice – fairness and/or entitlement – as key aspects and determinants of political bargaining and policymaking concerning sport. Indeed some would claim that it is the supposed virtue of justice that sits at the heart of sport that gives sport such special value manifest in the use of sport in initiatives such as crime prevention, community development and health promotion. Others would suggest that within a wider cultural politics, sport, can be understood as an insidious site through which various discourses are appropriated and mobilised in regard to the organisation and discipline of daily life and, from this perspective, sport may do very little to champion an orientation towards social justice, equality and inclusion.
The Sport, Politics and Social Justice Conference 2016 will provide a wide-ranging and interdisciplinary examination of these issues and more. Recognizing sports in their broadest forms, including: elite/high performance, competitive, recreational, community, disability and lifestyle sports, the conference aims to explore the inter-relationship between sport, politics and social justice by drawing on research from politics and political science and a variety of academic fields, including: sociology, social policy, philosophy, criminology, community and youth work, history, law, geography, and sport studies.
Keynote speakers
To be announced soon. Watch this space!
Submission
We welcome Abstracts of up to 300 words for papers that address – but are not limited to – the following themes:
- Sport, politics & inequalities
- Sport, politics & social exclusion/inclusion
- Sport, politics & neoliberal governance
- Sport, politics & identity/ies
- Sport, politics & embodiment
- Sport, politics & digital cultures
- Sport, politics & celebrity cultures
- Sport, politics & mega-events
- Sport, politics & (urban) space
- Sport, politics & (public – mental, physical, wellbeing) health
- Sport, politics & human rights
- Sport, politics & innovative and emerging methodologies
- Sport, politics & international development
- Sport, politics & globalization
- Sport, politics, social justice and transformation
Please email Abstracts (300 words maximum) to PSAsport2015@bournemouth.ac.uk by 18th December 2015. Please indicate your institutional affiliation and whether you are a postgraduate student.
Conference fee
This includes registration, refreshments & lunch both days.
- PSA members: Early bird: £55; After 31st January 2016: £70.
- Non-PSA members: Early Bird: £90; After 31st January 2016: £100
- Non-waged/Student: Early Bird: £45; After 31st January 2016: £60.
NB: Conference fees do not include accommodation or conference dinner (to be held on evening of 5th March). Conference Dinner (£35) and accommodation can be booked as additional extras via the online registration.
Accommodation
We have organised for all conference delegates to be able to access a special conference rate at the Ramada Hotel (Bournemouth Town Centre) at £57 per night
NB: The conference venue is a 5 minute walk from the Ramada
We welcome submissions from international colleagues as well as postgraduate research students.
Dr. Peter Millward
Reader in Sociology
Liverpool John Moores University
