Week 2 Flashcards
What created the approach of functionalism ?
Emilie Durkheim
What did functionalism focus on ?
transition to modernity
* premodern vs modern - culture and society
How are pre-modern societies according to the functionalist approach ?
- mechanical solidarity - needs are satisfied independently of other households
- simple division of labour - each household can take care of itself
- strong socialization/weak individualism - sense of belonging
- powerful collective authority/moral order - “collective conscience”
How are modern society in relation to the functionalist approach ?
- organic solidarity
- complex division of labour
- interdependency/specialization of work roles
- strong individualism
What did pre-modern societies focus on ?
- religion - sense of unity; belonging
- rituals and ceremonies
- rules and objects of worship
- unity (or communittas)
What did modern societies involve ?
religion decreased
* individuals vs society
* individualism vs order
What is anomie ?
sense of loneliness; not feeling part of a social whole
What void did sports fill in modern societies ?
sports fill the void that religion caused in modern societies
What does sports replaces ?
replaces the role that religion had in pre-modern societies
What did Christopher Bromberger state about sports ?
- Soccer -> religion
- matches -> ceremonies
- ex: Football is on Sundays (ritual/routine)
According to the functionalist approach what do sports involve in relation to religion ?
sacrilized sports symbols, logos, names
* ex: Yankee changing uniform
* quasi-religious significance
Negative and positive rites
* practioners and spectators
What are the conflicts of the functionalist approach ?
nationalistic conflicts
* ex: Pakistan vs India in cricket
nationalist divisions ?
exclusionary? - ex: hockey in Canada; access to sport
antisocial? - damage property, drinking, etc
Who is Karl Marx ?
- founder of “Marxism”
- critic of capitalism
What was the relationship b/w capitalists and workers under Marxism ?
capitalists
* own means of production
* hire someone to work for you; exploit workers by claiming some part of their workers things
workers
* sell labour-power
* exploited by capitalists
* alienated from work (feeling about job)
What is the role of sports in a capitalist society ?
- capitalism -> crises and unemployment
- workers -> revolution
- never happened -> ideology
What is ideology under Marxism ?
dominant ideas (“false consciousness)
* accept existing social order as legitimate and unchangeable
reproduce social order
What is something that does not work out in marxism ?
working harder to go up the social latter doesn’t work out in marxism
What did Nathan Kalman-Lamb state about sports ?
sports not as ideology but as social reproduction
* worked performed is similar to house work; domestic work
athletic labour vs labour-power of other workers
let people experience joy, pleasure, happiness which lets you get up the next day to go to work
What does James Connor state about sports ?
professional sports -> exploitation (vs. risk transfer)
* exploitation: identifies power within a relationship
* risk transfer: risk involved in running a sporting enterprise is transferred within the ‘sportsnet’; social exclusions
atheletes’ value > salaries
* create more value than they receive
What is the reserve army under Marxism ?
increases in professional sports
* every year the same number of new hires into league to replace current workers
athletes, even the biggest stars, = replaceable
What are the criticism of the Marxist approach ?
- economic determinism/reductionism ?
- sports as just exploitative or ideological ?
Who is Max Weber ?
founding thinker in sociology
What did Weber focus on ?
- transformation of pre-modern to modern societies (same as Durkheim)
- power and status
What was Weber’s view on class ?
- class divisons -> varied
- class -> income and life opportunities; education
- status groups -> honour, lifestyle (teacher vs student)
What was invovled in Weber’s approach ?
- modernity -> rational planning
- purposive rationality increase and substantive rationality decreases
- economic productivity and political stability increases
- individual freedom, creativity, spontaneity decreases
- become more scietific in modern society; science replaces religion
What is meritocracy ?
people win positions of authority on the bases of their abilities and talents
What is specialization ?
discrete and narrow or specialized roles
* ex: MLB pitchers
What role does science and technology play in Weber’s approach ?
- science and technology increases in modern societies
- guessing and intution decreases
What are the criticisms of Weber’s approach ?
- sports -> economic imperatives; not just efficiency but aesthetics, morality, community
- some sports aren’t rationalized
- meritocracy -> myth
