Dear all,
In Sweden, said to be one of the most secularized countries in the world, Ascension Day is a public holiday, denoted in our calendars with the date in red (hence the Swedish expression “red days” for public holidays). I’m sure there are forces in society that would like to secularize that day, a fate that befell Whit Monday back in 2004. The market forces like people to work as much as possible, and the state likes the extra tax revenue from another day’s salary. Well, another two days, in fact, since most people take the Friday following Ascension Day off, thereby making it a long weekend. This, on the other hand, makes it virtually impossible to tamper with Ascension Day; people like these days off and long weekends. And of course the Church sides with that sentiment. So, it’s politically impossible, and it’s never gonna happen.
While we’re on the side of the people (and in this case, surprisingly with the church), we still saw fit to publish the third book review of the week on that particular Friday morning. Oh well, can’t be helped, and we did take the rest of the day off.
Last week the following items were published on idrottsforum.org (see below; language and publication dates, YYMMDD, in brackets). Click on the red headings to go to content. Utilize the Google Translate service to turn Scandinavian language pages into (some sort of) English.
Have a great week,
Kjell Eriksson
Editor
Book Reviews
Sports Economics for Non-Economists, by Wray Vamplew
Full of real-world cases and stories, Wray Vamplew’s Sports Economics for Non-Economists (Routledge) offers a short economic history of sport and explains the economic foundations of the world of sport today, from local leagues to mega-events. Sport sociologist Mads Skauge fits in the book’s target group, and his careful reading and thorough review shows that Vamplew fulfills his stated goal; Skauge himself is proof of this, and he recommends the book to his sport social science peers as well as to their students. (Review in English, published 230516.)
Diego Maradona: A Socio-Cultural Study, by Pablo Brescia & Mariano Paz (eds.)
Diego Maradona: A Socio-Cultural Study, edited by Pablo Brescia & Mariano Paz (Routledge), looks at representations of Maradona across a wide variety of media, including literature, cinema, popular music, printed and online press, and radio. Russell Holden has read this first English-language Maradona study, and he is fascinated and delighted – as an academic, as a football fan, as a Maradona admirer. He also finds that the book offers a template for the study of other major historical sporting figures. (Review in English, published 230517.)
Only a Black Athlete Can Save Us Now, by Grant Farred
In Only a Black Athlete Can Save Us Now (University of Minnesota Press), Grant Farred uses sport as a point of departure to argue that the dystopic crisis of our current moment offers a singular opportunity to reimagine how we live in the world. Duncan R. Jamieson was quite taken by Jarred’s analysis and arguments, and concludes that his book should be read by all, but especially by those who see nothing wrong with the racism that has and continues to rear its ugly head. (Review in English, published 230519.)
New Issues of Scholarly Journals
(We rely heavily on journal publishers delivering on their promises of new issue alerts. Sometimes they don’t.)
Event Management: An international journal, Volume 27, 2023, Number 2 | Revisiting Value Cocreation and Codestruction in Events (230515)- Strategies: A Journal for Physical and Sport Educators, Volume 36, 2023, Issue 2 (230515)
- Journal for the Study of Sports and Athletes in Education, Volume 17, 2023, Issue 1 (230516)
- The International Journal of the History of Sport, Volume 39, 2022, Issue 15 | Sport and Authoritarianism in Latin America (230616)
- Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, Volume 35, 2023, Issue 2 (230518)
News items (calls for papers, vacancies, etc.)
- Lediga platser | Biträdande universitetslektor i idrottspedagogik till Malmö universitet | Ansök senast 31 maj 2023 (230517)
