Archive for the 'Book' Category

Sport is all about play and game, aesthetic and strength, passion and emotion, challenge and rivalry. But because sometimes players and fans look for a little extra help from God, gods, spirits or any other Supreme Being, sport is also a matter of beliefs and Faith. Often, sport uses religion if the sport itself does not become a religion first.

Since 2008, the Protestant Theologian Olivier Bauer, a former hockey goaltender, is carefully studying the religious aspects of the Montreal Canadiens. In his book, Olivier Bauer reveals how the Montreal Canadiens becomes a religion, specifies which kind of religion it is, and explains how it is interrelated with Quebec’s Catholicism. From a theological point of view, he analyses two ways of practicing the Montreal Canadiens Religion, shows why both ways are idolatry, denounces the weakness of such a religion, and pleads for an evangelical use of the Montreal Canadiens.

Based on the Montreal Canadiens, Olivier Bauer explains how sport becomes a religion, but he also critics the religion that sport offers.

On the religious aspects of the Montreal Canadiens, Olivier Bauer has published an essay: Une théologie du Canadien de Montréal (Bayard, 2011); with Jean-Marc Barreau he has directed an edited book: La religion du Canadien de Montréal (Fides, 2009). On the food in the Bible, he has wrote a novel: Between Steeple and Stove; A Huguenot gourmet (free download from Papyrus, Université de Montréal Institutional Repository:http://hdl.handle.net/1866/2683).

Paralympic Legacies edited by David Legg and Keith Gilbert is now available as part of the  Sport and Society series.

Legacy remains one of the most important issues relating to multisport mega-events across the globe and it could be argued that the development of legacy is one of the most urgent imperatives in elite sport. In this regard the Paralympics is no exception to the quest for long term legacy; however, little in the way of documentation appears to be forthcoming from the International Paralympic community in this regard. This book reviews the concept of legacy across previous Paralympic Games by providing a series of chapters under the headings of ‘The Paralympic Legacy Debate’, ‘Paralympic City Legacies’, ‘Emerging Issues of Paralympic Legacy’ and ‘Reconceptualising Paralympic Legacies’. The issues arising are discussed in terms of a meta-analysis of the author’s work and offer interesting ideas which if taken up by the International Paralympic Committee, International Olympic Committee, Bid Committees, OCOG’s and major sports could change the face of Paralympic legacy towards the positive forever.

Dr. Keith Gilbert is a Professor and Director of the Centre for Disability, Sport and Health in the School of Health, Sport and Bioscience at the University of East London, London, United Kingdom.

Dr. David Legg is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Education and Recreation Studies at Mount Royal University, Calgary, Canada.

Paralympic Legacies edited by David Legg and Keith Gilbert is available as part of the  Sport and Society series.

Dr Keith Gilbert will be joining us for the 2012 Sport and Society Conference in London.

Dr. Keith Gilbert is a Professor in the School of Health & Bioscience at the University of East London and Director of the Centre for Disability, Sport & Health. He researches in the area of sport sociology [which includes opening up many areas of research innovation] and disability of sport and has a strong interest in qualitative, interpretive and narrative research methodologies. He has numerous publications and has edited several books in the broad areas of sport, sociology, cultural studies, environment and disability.

Dr. Gilbert has written over 55 published research articles. He has been an Executive Board Member of the International Council of Sports Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE) and is currently on the publications Board of (ICSSPE). He has won university awards for teaching and also professional development and given numerous keynote conference presentations. Dr. Gilbert has several PhD students working across different areas of sport and society. His own current research interests include the exploration of the sociological dimensions of sport, sport and the environment, legacy and Paralympic research. Professor Gilbert is chief editor of the International Journal of Sport in Society and he has two book series one in the area of Disability and Sport and the other in the broad area of Sport in Society. Professor Gilbert was also the organiser and chair of a conference on Sport in Society with the University of British Columbia in Vancouver in March 2010 between the Winter Olympics and Paralympics and will continue the Sport and Society conferences in Kolkata 2011 and Cambridge 2012.