Dear all,
Tomorrow, June 6, is Sweden’s National Day, commemorating the day, 500 years ago, when Gustav Vasa was elected King of Sweden, whereby a new era in the history of our country commenced.
Well, as important as this may seem, and in one sense probably is, we, the people that bring you idrottsforum.org on a daily basis, will be celebrating something else – that on that same day, 20 years ago, idrottsforum.org entered the global computer network known as the World Wide Web for the very first time. History was made. One might feel inclined to claim that a whole new era in the dissemination of information about academic sport studies was entered into.
There will be loud cheers and glasses raised at the editorial offices of idrottsforum.org tomorrow. We are in fact rather proud of what we have achieved during the past two decades. Just take a look at the first front page that was published. Quite an accomplishment in the day, but still only a Scandinavian publication, mostly in Swedish, with little to say. Today, idrottsforum.org is an English-language international player, with almost 70 percent of the readership from outside of Scandinavia, and with an increasing number of contributions written by international scholars.
However proud we may be, though, complacency is not in sight. We will keep on working to make idrottsforum.org better and even more relevant for anyone anywhere with a scholarly interest in the ever-widening field of sports.
So, enough already with slapping our own backs. 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
Restart: Sport After the Covid-19 Time Out, by Jörg Krieger, April Henning & Lindsay Parks Pieper (eds.)
In the edited collection Restart: Sport After the Covid-19 Time Out by Jörg Krieger, April Henning & Lindsay Parks Pieper (Common Ground), practitioners and international scholars explore the “restart» of sport and fitness following the initial period of lockdowns during spring 2020. Sport sociologist Jan Ove Tangen is appreciative of the individual chapters, but not at all happy with the way they interact within the collection. A more instructive Introduction would have helped, as would a concluding summing-up chapter. (Review in English, published 230529.)
Trends and Advances in Sport and Leisure Management: Expanding the Frontiers, by Vassilios Ziakas (ed.)
The anthology Trends and Advances in Sport and Leisure Management: Expanding the Frontiers, edited by Vassilios Ziakas (Cambridge Scholars Publishing), explores, from an interdisciplinary perspective, the complex dynamics that are reshaping sport and leisure provision. Hans Lundberg has read the collection very carefully, whereby he didn’t miss neither missteps nor expressions of brilliance, and all that’s in between. Except for a few drawbacks the volume is very much to his liking. (Review in English, published 230530.)
Women, Horse Sports, and Liberation: Equestrianism and Britain from the 18th to the 20th Centuries, by Erica Munkwitz
Erica Munkwitz’ Women, Horse Sports, and Liberation: Equestrianism and Britain from the 18th to the 20th Centuries (Routledge) is the first, full-length scholarly examination of British women’s late-modern involvement in equestrianism. We asked Petra Andersson, philosopher and equestrian, for a review, and she likes book, not least the idea of the historic move from sidesaddle to riding astride symbolizing women’s liberation; however, she really would have liked to see the horse play a more central part. (Review in English, published 230601.)
Softpower, Soccer, Supremacy: The Chinese Dream, by J.A. Mangan, Peter Horton & Christian Tagsold (eds.)
The collected volume Softpower, Soccer, Supremacy: The Chinese Dream by J.A. Mangan, Peter Horton & Christian Tagsold (Peter Lang) looks at Xi Jinping’s “Soccer Revolution”, the most extensive politicization and geo-politicization of the Global Game. Oliver Rick, well acquainted with sports in China, considers the book an important collection that provides keen insights into the role of football in China’s politics in the Southeast. He does have reservations though, regarding the inclusion of an Australian perspective. (Review in English, published 230602.)
New Blog Post
Et fotballkulturelt forsvar for antent pyro [A football cultural defense of pyrotechnics], by Mads Skauge
The pyrotechnics debate flared up again, this time ignited by Leif Welhaven who believes the supporters are digging the pyro’s grave by sabotaging the regulations. Violations of the rules can be taken as an excuse for tightening and stricter sanctions. The question is why supporters flare up despite this. Law is a poor starting point for understanding culture. Just as cannabis bans do not eliminate cannabis use – and probably do not reduce consumption much either – bans will not eliminate pyrotechnics in football. The opposite happens: the stricter the enforcement, the more flaring – often in protest. (Published in Norwegian 230602.)
New Issues of Scholarly Journals
(We rely heavily on journal publishers delivering on their promises of new issue alerts. Sometimes they don’t.)
- Journal of Intercollegiate Sport, Volume 16, 2023, Issue 1 (230529)
- Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, Volume 40, 2023, Issue 2 (230529)
- The International Journal of the History of Sport, Volume 40, 2023, Issue 1 (230601)
News items (calls for papers, vacancies, etc.)
- Offentligt försvar av doktorsavhandling | Cardiorespiratory fitness, physical workload, and lifestyle-related factors in occupational groups: associations with sickness absence and cardiovascular disease | Daniel Väisänen, GIH, fredagen den 9 juni 2023 (230530)
- Call for Participants | The 2nd Swedish Network for Sports Tech and Analytics online seminar | June 8, 2023 (230530)
- Seminarium om ridsportens ledarskap och sund idrottsmiljö (230602)
Congratulations on two epic decades of idrottsforum.org, Kjell.
It has been a signal success and, as you say, increasingly international in nature. I am acutely aware of the advantage to the likes of me of the big shift to the English language, but it does mean that all the excellent work being done in Sport Studies in Scandinavia is more read and influential around the world than ever before.
All best from the southern hemisphere to you, your Forum colleagues, contributors and readers.
David
David, thank you for kind words. Your own contributions to the Forum in the form of blog posts have added substantial value to the site and contribited to its international reach. So, again, thank you.
Thanks for all the good work during these two decades, Kjell! You have been, and are, a great editor.
Thank you Karin, very good to hear. I’ll keep on keeping on.