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For most people, surfing is associated with Hawaii, California, and Australia – with sun, sand, and scantily-clad bodies. However, after the Second World War, surfing also found a more unlikely home: the north coast of Scotland. In the 1960s and 1970s, the first people to surf the Pentland Firth’s world-class waves braved brutal weather conditions, poor (or no) wetsuits, and baffled locals. Equally as unlikely as surfing’s presence on the north coast was its first permanent community, founded amongst workers at a nuclear research facility with a notoriously poor safety record. This book discusses the existence and evolution of surfing in the region, from the 1960s to the present day. It does not, however, focus just on surfing: it also acts as a history of the region itself, and examines the possibilities and limits of surfing, sport, and activities like them being used as a means of reinventing communities. This book is therefore a valuable tool for historians, sport practitioners, and economic policymakers alike: what can surfing tell us about the modern Highlands and Islands, and indeed contemporary Scotland?
This book presents a captivating story about traditional sports and games in the current world. It moves from Denmark to the Basque Country and to Scotland, exploring traditional games in their local contexts. It highlights the numerous, practical functions of traditional games, showing that these games are very valuable, necessary, and actually fit the needs of our times! It offers an original perspective on traditional sports and games, providing captivating stories from personal trips to these countries and numerous practical descriptions and inspirational ideas about how to use traditional games in practice.
"A welcome addition for those who teach sports studies... Used as a primer, this book provides readers with excellent introduction to the key sociological concepts, methods, and theories, and, also offers useful examples and contextualised discussions that beginners to the realm of sociology will no doubt appreciate. Beedie has compiled for students a good companion text that could certainly be used in conjunction with more detailed books, and, to guide students through more complex academic texts. Students have certainly appreciated Beedie's efforts to help them apply sociological rigour to analysing their sporting worlds, identities and experiences." - Geoffery Kohe, Worcester University "...
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This book describes how the field of sports history has matured dramatically over the past decade, and expands on what this means for sports historians today. The specially commissioned essays, addressing a range of thematic and regional contexts that make up this companion make it a uniquely valuable resource.
"To some extent Hoover's policies anticipated directions that would be pursued by modern environmentalists. The National Conference on Outdoor Recreation brought together wilderness advocates and urban planners, and passage of the first federal law to limit oil pollution in navigable waters marked the beginning of an ongoing effort to control the effects of industrialization on the environment. Hoover's advocacy of pleasant, affordable housing introduced the idea that our everyday environment is the starting point for environmental concerns."--BOOK JACKET.
What can sport do to produce social change in our world today? It is impossible to fully understand contemporary society and culture without acknowledging the importance of sport. Sport is part of our social and cultural fabric, possessing a commercial power that makes it a potent force in the world, for good and for bad. It has helped to start wars and promote international reconciliation, and governments around the world commit public resources to sport. Sport matters, but how should you make sense of what is going on in the world of sport today? Now in a fully revised, updated and expanded third edition, this critical, challenging and comprehensive textbook introduces the study of sport, ...
It is impossible to fully understand contemporary society and culture without acknowledging the place of sport. Sport is part of our social and cultural fabric, possessing a social and commercial power that makes it a potent force in the world, for good and for bad. Sport has helped to start wars and promote international reconciliation, while every government around the world commits public resources to sport because of its perceived benefits. From the bleachers to the boardroom, sport matters. Now available in a fully revised and updated new edition, this exciting, comprehensive and accessible textbook introduces the study of sport, culture and society. International in scope, the book exp...