Routledge Youth Culture and Sport: Identity, Power, and Politics (Critical Youth Studies)

Youth Culture and Sport critically interrogates and challenges contemporary articulations of race, class, gender, and sexual relations circulating throughout popular iterations of youth sporting culture in late-capitalism. Written against the backdrop of important changes in social, cultural, political, and economic dynamics taking place in corporate culture’s war on kids, this exciting new volume marks the first anthology to critically examine the intersection of youth culture and sport in an age of global uncertainty. Bringing together leading scholars from cultural studies, gender studies, sociology, sport studies, and related fields, chapters range in scope from 'action' sport subcultures and community redevelopment programs to the cultural politics of white masculinity and Nike advertising. It is a must read for anyone interested in gaining a better understanding of the role sport plays in the construction of experiences, identities, practices, and social differences of contemporary youth culture. Review "Giardina (advertising and cultural studies, U. of Illinois, Urbana- Champaign) and Donnelly, a doctoral candidate in sociology at McMaster U. in Canada, assemble 10 essays that critically examine the cultural aspects of youth and sport, challenging contemporary narratives of the topic. Contributors from the US and Canada address the interrelationship of the politics of culture, extreme/action sports and cultural branding, video games, and identity practices among its youth participants, and aspects of race, regarding African American and indigenous populations. Others consider Little League baseball, the politics of whiteness, America's icon of a suburban girl athlete during the Cold War, skater girls and gender identity, masculinity and skateboarding and snowboarding in Canada, and mothers who are athletes." -- Book News Inc., August 2008  About the Author Author Biography Michael D. Giardina, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Advertising & Cultural Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Michele K. Donnelly is a Doctoral Candidate in the Department of Sociology at McMaster University. Her research is focused on feminist and critical sociology of gender, power, and sport.