SOCIOL 155BW Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Political Philosophy
Reading Notes
Baseball and Society
Name/Date: Edgar Mancia; May 14, 2018
Article/Book Title: Sport and Social Class
Summary
Describe the main point or points of the article or book excerpt (3-4 sentences. (Please note that
if there is more than one reading assigned you can choose to summarize one reading or more
than one):
The purpose of this article is to consider the significance of sports from a sociological
perspective. According to the author, sports are explained as a “supply intended to meet a social
demand.” (Bourdieu 357) This is extremely important to understanding how critical social
conditions well influence the sport agenda. The author also asserts that such an agenda revolves
around two key factors. Is there an area of production where sports products are generated? And,
What are the social conditions of these products being produced? These questions help us
understand the relationship between society and sports.
Major Terms
List and define two major terms from the reading (be sure to cite appropriately, using the page
numbers from the reading!):
1) “Autonomization” (Bourdieu 357) – This term is defined as the capacity of an agent to act in
accordance with objective morality rather than under the influence of desires.
2) “Esoteric” (Bourdieu 364) – intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of
people with a specialized knowledge or interest.
I Approve!
Provide one quote from the article (with proper citation!) and explain why you found this point
valuable or link this statement to other course material (2-3 sentences):
“The constitution of a field of sports practices is linked to the development of a philosophy of
sport which is necessarily a political philosophy of sports. (Bourdieu 360)
- When explaining the significance of this quote the author assesses that this “political
philosophy” had a certain agenda. Sports were considered to attribute to the development of
characteristics like courage and manliness. The interaction of sports meant help you grow your
character. He emphasizes how the huge separation between classes entitled the dominant class to
follow their moral ideology within sports.
I’m Not So Sure…
Provide one quote from the article (with proper citation!) and explain why you take issue with
the author’s point or argument disagree or provide an alternative explanation, or both (2-3
sentences):
“That this field is itself part of the larger field of struggles.” (Bourdieu 361)
I believe this quote is true to a certain extent. This is because as sports developed over time, we
tend to see these “struggles” or certain stigmas become less and less prevalent. For instance, in
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