Contemporary tendencies in the sociology of sport: From constitution to „fragmented“ discipline

Abstract

In the paper, the authors point to the elements of the development of the sociology of sport, through the process of „extrication“ of sport from play and leisure to the transformation of discipline conditioned by a pragmatic consumerist approach to sport, and therefore by the sociology of sport. First, they provide an overview of the emergence and constitution of the sociology of sport in Europe and the United States, with a focus on the development of that discipline in Serbia. Emphasizing that contemporary sport is largely shaped by market relations in mass society, the authors point to the importance of sociological research on the mutual influence of sport on society and society on sport, with a critical reaffirmation of the issues of contextual cognitive possibilities and social conditionality of sport. In particular, they emphasize the need for reaffirmation of the sociology of physical culture, which in its cognitive oeuvre is closer to the sociology of culture and general sociology, as opposed to the contemporary pragmatically conditioned tendencies to „fragment“ the sociology of sport towards new related sub-disciplines. Therefore, the authors argue that the existence of a number of sub-disciplines that have arisen from the sociology of sport is one of the evident indicators that in the domain of sociological knowledge, it is difficult to overcome the influences of pragmatic-new-positivist approaches, which narrow not only the critical-cognitive aspects, but also the practical needs of society for a true understanding and the humane development of the sport and activities related to it.