Deconstructing Sport History: A Postmodern Analysis

Presents a broad spectrum of critical approaches that question traditional sport history.

This groundbreaking collection challenges the accepted principles and practices of sport history and encourages sport historians to be more adventurous in their representations of the sporting past in the present. Encompassing a wide range of critical approaches, leading international sport historians reflect on theory, practice, and the future of sport history. They survey the field of sport history since its inception, examine the principles that have governed the production of knowledge in sport history, and address the central concerns raised by the postmodern challenge to history. Sharing a common desire to critique contemporary practices in sport history, the contributors raise the level of critical analysis of the production of historical knowledge, provide examples of approaches by those who have struggled with or adapted to the postmodern challenge, and open up new avenues for future sport historians to follow.

“The editor highlights some of the important limitations of sport history as it is currently practiced and argues that postmodern theory could be incorporated more effectively into our field’s methodology. The book assembles contributions from respected and talented scholars who employ a variety of approaches to illustrate the potential contributions of postmodern theory to sport history.” — Eric Reed, Western Kentucky University