Whose Knowledge Counts? The Production of Knowledge and Issues of Application in the Sociology of Sport

Abstract

This essay was prompted by and is a response to Yiannakis’ (1989) article in which he called for a more applied orientation on the part of sociologists of sport. In our response, we argue that Yiannakis’ position is flawed because he fails to explore the oftentimes political overdetermination of academic process and the links between the marketplace of physical culture and the prestige hierarchies that exist within the university—How do the two connect? We present a practical alternative to Yiannakis’ programmatic call for an applied sociology of sport.