Tag: inequality

Within the interrelated disciplines of leisure, sport, tourism and events, concerns regarding social and spatial justice have become increasingly significant for researchers and practitioners. The global pandemic, the climate crisis and anthropogenic processes of climate change, economic challenges and uncertainties, the availability and quality of employment, and the health and well-being of our communities, have intensified social, environmental, political and economic inequalities. The conference provides opportunities for researchers and practitioners to examine a range of social and spatial justice issues.

The purpose of this special issue is to explore the link among social class, sport, and physical activity. We seek quantitative, qualitative, and conceptual papers that investigate the ways that wealth, social class background, and power intersect to influence the opportunities people have to consume sport, their chances to be physically active, their experiences as sport consumers, and how they experience work in sport organizations.

In this special issue, we seek theoretical, methodological, and empirical qualitative contributions that critically examine the socio-materiality of risk, especially in relation to inequality and social injustice. The goal of this thematic issue is to move beyond a risk dualism whereby the ‘social’ is the domain of socio-cultural scholars and the ‘material’ the realm of scientists. We are seeking novel contributions that are empirically rich, qualitatively informed, and theoretically grounded.

We welcome submissions employing a range of disciplinary, methodological, and theoretical approaches. We define sport broadly and would welcome work in competitive, recreational, leisure and physical activity contexts, addressing the relationship between sport and community. That is, work should engage in some way beyond individuals and explore ideas of community, authenticity, relationships, context, place, collectivity, inclusion, belonging, social justice, or a common good.

Mads Skauge is a PhD candidate in sociology at Nord University (Bodø). His doctoral thesis deals with social inequality in Norwegian youth participation and activity in organized sports and at commercial gyms. His research interests and fields of expertise are mainly within sports sociology, social inequality, youth, sports, fitness, public health, sports politics, e-sports, talent selection, football and quantitative methods.

The aim of this PhD course is to provide PhD students with more in-depth knowledge about three central aspects within social scientific inquiry into sport today: power, inequality and technology (e.g. how technology enables the development of new sports, understanding the link between power relations and social inequality in sport, and considering the role of new technology in how we understand and analyze sport).