Assessing the sociology of sport: On world inequalities and unequal development

Abstract

On the 50th anniversary of the ISSA and IRSS, a key foundational scholar to the development of the sociology of sport in Eastern Europe and the internationalization of the ISSA, Gyongyi Foldesi, considers the development of the sociology of sport in Eastern Europe. Foldesi considers the struggles of the sub-discipline in this setting, noting in particular distinctions in development from “sport sociology” to “sociology of sport” as studies increasingly embraced the “sociological imagination”. The essay notes three challenges for the sociology of sport: (1) questions over the value of multidisciplinarity; (2) ongoing debates over the definition of sport; and (3) how non-English speaking scholars can have a meaningful voice in the sociology of sport. The essay closes with a look to the future for sociology of sport in Eastern Europe, noting reasons for optimism given theoretical developments and more engagement with scholarship across the world.