Signe Højbjerre Larsen
University of Southern Denmark
In 2017, Jeffrey Kidder from Department of Sociology at Northern Illinois University published Parkour and the City. The book gives a comprehensive and in-depth insight into the discipline of parkour as it is practiced and has evolved in the United States. Kidder’s book thereby fills the need for studies in parkour to be sensitive to the local context. Furthermore, Kidder uses parkour as a sociological lens to zoom in on the conditions of postmodern urban life and the potential (bodily) responses to them, and thereby shows how sport always has broader social connections and significance. To show my respect for and appreciation of the book, I have chosen to do devote a full article to discuss and evaluate the book. The review is structured after the chapters in the book and rounded off with a call for culturally sensitive and comparative studies in parkour as well in lifestyle sports in general.
Download the full-text article here!
SIGNE HØJBJERRE LARSEN is a Teaching Associate Professor (Ph.D.) in the Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics at the University of Southern Denmark. Her research focus on parkour, self-organized movement cultures, cultural theory, sociology and philosophy of sport.
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