Tag: Jens Ljunggren

Samhällsidrotten och idrottssamhället. Humanistisk och samhällsvetenskaplig idrottsforskning under 50 år [Sport in society and the society of sports. Humanistic and social science sports research over 50 years] is edited by Tomas Peterson and published as a celebration of 50 years of Swedish sport studies within the social sciences and humanities. We went abroad to find a suitable reviewer – not a Swede but Swedish speaking – and Ansgar Molzberger accepted the cumbersome task of reviewing this 556 page tome. And he did well, we are happy to bring his review to your attention.

In Interrogating Integration: Sport, Celebrity, and Scandal in the Making of New Germany (University of Michigan Press), Kate Zambon explores how international sporting spectacles, media campaigns, and public debates construct racialized national identity in an era of rising right-wing nationalism, while, across Europe, “integration” has emerged as a guiding concept to regulate cultural differences. Jens Ljunggren provides a comprehensive and critical evaluation of Zambon’s book and points to its many strengths and to some weaknesses, concluding that her critical review is a welcome contribution to the discourse on integration.

In the edited collection Athletics in the Nordic Countries: History and Development, edited by Jörg Krieger, scholars from Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden explore historical developments and current phenomena in the sport of athletics. The authors provide insight into sport officials, events, and athletes from the Nordic countries that have shaped the international athletics scene. In his review, Alan Bairner presents the basic features of a book that obliges the reader to think about what this most accessible of sports is and what it could be, for good or ill.

Sedan historikern Jan Lindroth disputerade med sin avhandling om idrotten som folkrörelse 1974 har det gått ett halvt sekel, och således firar svensk idrottsforskning sitt femtioårsjubileum 2024. Under perioden har idrottsvetenskap vuxit fram som ett nytt utbildnings-, forsknings- och forskarutbildningsämne. Idag finns det idrottsvetenskapliga institutioner eller motsvarande vid tio lärosäten, och fem av dem har forskarutbildning. Forskningsämnena, som från början var pedagogik, historia och psykologi, omfattar idag över trettio olika ämnesdiscipliner.

Swedish sport historian Jens Ljunggren’s latest book, A Political History of Sport in Sweden (Palgrave Macmillan) presents a history of Swedish sport, highlighting in particular the relationship between sport politics and people’s changing attitudes towards sport from the eighteenth century until today. Our reviewer Alan Bairner wishes had had had this book when he started studying Swedish sports 30 years ago. He commends Ljunggren’s impressive research, but would have liked elaborations on the issue of sport and politics, as well as a chapter on gender and one on migration.

Gerald Gems is an ideal companion on a journey into the history of sport. He is a professor emeritus of Kinesiology with a long history of engagement in sport history research, including being past president of the North American Society for Sport History. His latest in a long line of books is Sport History: The Basics (Routledge), which we asked Jens Ljunggren to review. Our reviewer finds much in Gem’s book to commend it, although as usual, the downside of great breadth is paucity of depth.

Wray Vamplew, nowadays entitled Emeritus Professor, is by no means resting on his laurels. His latest monograph, published just last August, is Games People Played: A Global History of Sport (Reaktion Books), in which Vamplew shows how sport has been practiced, experienced and made meaningful by players and fans throughout history. Not quite Emeritus, Professor Jens Ljunggren har read Vamplews voluminous effort, and his balanced review reveals his interest in the historiographical aspects of sport history.

While the Tokyo Olympics is in full (well…) swing, maybe it’s time to study Nolympcs. Jens Ljunggren has read two books with a Games-critical perspective, NOlympians: Inside the Fight Against Capitalist Mega-Sports in Los Angeles, Tokyo and Beyond by Jules Boykoff, and NOlympics: Tokyo 2020/1 in der Kritik, editid by Steffi Richter, Andreas Singler & Dorothea Mladenova. Our reviewer points out the obvious risks involved when activists research their own movement and write its history.

Jens Ljunggren är professor vid Historiska institutionen, Stockholms universitet med stort engagemang i idrottens historia och historiografi, vilket nu senast kommit till uttryck i boken Den svenska idrottens historia (Natur & Kultur). Den nya boken imponerar på vår recensent Isak Lidström, snart själv doktor i idrottshistoria. Inte minst uppskattar han bokens intellektuella nivå och författarens förmåga att balansera mellan akademins krav på stringens och populärhistoriegenrens krav på läsvänlighet.

The Swedish Association of Sports Historians (SVIF) publishes a yearbook, Idrott, historia & samhälle (Sports, History & Society) which is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal of sport history, published in Sweden for the Scandinavian market and beyond.The Forum Editor’s pick from the current issue: NORDISK IDROTTSSAMLING UNDER VINTERKRIGET: BANDYLANDSKAMPERNA SVERIGE–FINLAND OCH NORGE–FINLAND I FEBRUARI 1940 by Peter Dahlén.