Making Sense of Sports

Updated, revised and enhanced with new features, the fifth edition of Making Sense of Sports is the biggest and strongest yet.

Ellis Cashmore's unique multidisciplinary approach to the study of sports remains the only introduction to combine anthropology, biology, economics, history, philosophy, psychology and sociology with cultural and media studies to produce a distinct unbroken vision of the origins, development and current state of sports. New chapters on exercise culture and the moral climate of sports support a thoroughly overhauled text that includes fresh material on Islam, sports commerce and corruption.

Now packed with teaching supplements, including access to a dedicated online resource headquarters with video podcasts of twenty-one chapter outlines from the author (http://tinyurl.com/373oyvr), online quizzes, and an additional twenty-first chapter on depression and mental health in sports and exercise, the new edition contains a cornucopia of thought boxes, as well as guides to further reading, capsule explanations and model essays. In short, Making Sense of Sports is an all-purpose introduction to the study of sports.

Ellis Cashmore is Professor of Culture, Media and Sport at Staffordshire University's Faculty of Health. Prior to this he was Professor of Sociology at the University of Tampa, Florida, and Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Hong Kong. Previous publications include, Martin Scorsese's America (Polity Press, 2009), Sport and Exercise Psychology: The Key Concepts (Routledge, 2008) and Celebrity/Culture (Routledge, 2006).

1. Introduction: What would a world without sport be like? 2. Back to Nature: How do we decide whether althetes are born of made? 3. Built for Action: How does the body compare to well-engineered machinery? 4. A Very Different Animal: What impact did industrialism make on sport - and on us? Burning questions… how old is sport? 5. The Hunt for Reasons: How do theories help us understand sports? 6. In the Mind: How can psychology enrich our understanding of sports? 7. The Pursuit of Perfection: When did fitness become a culture industry? Burning questions… why don't more gay athletes come out? 8. Control of the Body: Where do we draw the line between natural and artificial? 9. Sports Emasculated: How come even top sportswomen are still sex commodities? 10. Behind on Points: Why are we still discussing the issue of race in sports? Burning questions… is cheating fair? 11.Champs and Cheats: When did we first decide drugs in sport were wrong? 12. Not for the Fainthearted: Why do we like athletes who break the rules? 13. Representing the Challenge: What can we learn from painting, sculpture, photography and film? 14. A Match Made in Heaven: How does the media control sports? 15. Planet Murdoch: When did the professionalization of sports begin? Burning questions… is being left-handed an advantage in sports? 16. The [NIKE LOGO] that Conquered the World: How did globalization affect sports? 17. Buying into Celebrity Culture: What makes sports so appealing to advertisers? 18. Morals and Medals: Why is sport about rights and wrongs? 19. Same Rules, Different Game: Why are politics and sport inseparable? 20. Things to Come: Where do we draw the line between technology and humanity?