Across the modern political spectrum, left-wing and right-wing political theorists have invested sport with ideological significance. That significance, however, varies distinctively and characteristically with the ideology—a phenomenon John Hoberman terms "ideological differentiation." Taking this phenomenon as its point of departure, this provocative work interprets the major sport ideologies of the twentieth century as distinct expressions of political doctrine.Hoberman argues that a political ideology's interpretation of sport is shaped in part by the value it assigns to work and play as modes of experience; the political anthropologies of right and left can be distinguished by examining their resistance to—or affinity for—sportive imagery of their leaders and of the state itself; there exists a fascist temperament that shows an affinity to athleticism and the sphere of the body that is not shared by the left.Tracing modern sport ideology back to its premodern antecedents, Hoberman examines the interpretations of sport that have been promulgated by European political intellectuals, such as cultural conservatives and contemporary neo-Marxists, and by the official ideologists of Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, the German Democratic Republic, and China before and after Mao.As a form of mass theater, sport can advertise any ideology. But the deeper relationship between sport and political ideology has never before been explored wth such vigor. Presenting the first general theory of sport and political ideology to appear in any language, Hoberman's groundbreaking work is a unique and invaluable contribution to the intellectual and political history of sport in the twentieth century.

Sport and political ideology

Sports & Outdoors

John M. Hoberman

Miscellaneous

Heinemann

DARWIN'S ATHLETES focuses on society's fixation with black athletic achievement. Hoberman argues that this obsession has come to play a troubling role in African American life and our country's race relations. Rich, flamboyant superstars lend credence to age-old prejudices, recycled "scientific" theories denigrating black intelligence, and stereotypes of black violence. This portrayal of black identity encourages a disdain for academic achievement already too widespread among black males. Darwin's Athletes is a powerful indictment of modern sport's racial spectacle.

Darwin's Athletes: How Sport Has Damaged Black America & Preserved the Myth of Race

Houghton, Mifflin Company

<p>Despite its apparent successes the Olympic movement faces an uncertain future. The present controversy surrounding the upcoming Peking games reveals that the movement has been in a state of nearly permanent crisis.<br>Hoberman examines the Olympic doctrine and its most important proponents: Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the movement; Carl Diem, the impressario of the &amp; Berlin (Nazi) Olympiad of 1936; and Avery Brundage, the long-time president of the IOC (1952-1972), the sponsor of Soviet entry into the games, and a controversial figure in the history of American sport. Hoberman furthermore analyzes the American-led boycott of the Moscow games in 1980-- and debunks the idea, heard often, that a fully attended Olympiad could have initiated change in the Soviet Union.<br>Finally, the author offers the first survey of anti-Olympic critiques across the political spectrum, and concludes with a critical examination of the popular conviction that the Olympic Games remain valuable as a cosmopolitan festival of reconciliation.</p>

The Olympic Crisis: Sport, Politics and the Moral Order

Aristide D. Caratzas

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Books by John M. Hoberman

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by John M. Hoberman. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Sport and political ideology

Darwin's Athletes: How Sport Has Damaged Black America & Preserved the Myth of Race

The Olympic Crisis: Sport, Politics and the Moral Order