Sports Discourse - (Bloomsbury Discourse) by Tony Schirato (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

This book both defines sports discourse, and provides an account of the different discourses that are utilized and come into play when the field of sport speaks. It shows how the sports communities have been addressed over time by various speakers, across various multimodal genres. Tony Schirato looks first at how discourse can be viewed as a form of work, something that produces and naturalizes meanings, and habituates the way we see the world.

Grounding this exploration is an account of the development of the field of sport as a specific discursive regime, one that is both reflected and refracted by the dominant discourses and values of the time. These discourses have become naturalized and shape activities and materialities at local and global levels.

The book ends with an examination of how new technologies and the Web are changing sports discourse, in some cases radically via online commentary, Twitter and user-generated content.

Review Quotes

The language and logic of sporting competition and conduct are deeply ingrained in everyday talk and texts. Combining theoretical sophistication with historical scope, Tony Schirato explains why this is the case. This accessible book travels from the foundations of modern sport through to the expansion of television sport and the rhythms of a globalised, digital age. I recommend it to any reader wanting to understand how the cultural field of sport both reflects and informs the world in which we live.

About the Author

Tony Schirato is Reader in Media Studies, Victoria Wellington University, New Zealand.