How does history of sport rank in sciences – A discussion of the paradigm of the history of sport

Abstract

‪No science can be a province of itself without its theories, neither can history of sport be. Hence a question arises of how it is possible for specific research programmes to have been pursued for more than half a century without their own theories and the paradigm [1], understood here as a collection of concepts and theories composing the methodological basis. What is more, a group of researchers with considerable achievements in historiography of sport, physical education and tourism have not produced anything that could be called a methodology. Retrospective insight into sport may take two forms: research into historic sport and research into history of sport. Research into historic sport is usually carried out by university history departments and is focused on issues in sport, while issues related to social processes, complex relationships between sport and politics, social and cultural processes are the objective of historical research. Presently arriving at interesting results in historical research is more likely where two or more disciplines meet – hence a sociologist knowledgeable in sport, cultural anthropologist, etc. Certainly, new subdisciplines will be emerging: historical psychology of sport and historical sociology of sport. The fact that mass sources are available makes research into recent history of sport turn into a multidisciplinary study area. An increase in the number of interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary links will evolve.