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This wide-ranging and ground-breaking book, especially relevant given Brexit and renewed Scottish independence campaigning, provides in-depth analysis of ways Scottishness has been performed and modified over the centuries. Alongside theatre, television, comedy, and film, it explores performativity in public events, Anglo-Scottish relations, language and literary practice, the Scottish diaspora and concepts of nation, borders and hybridity. Following discussion of the 1320 Declaration of Arbroath and the real meanings of the 1706/7 Treaty of Union, it examines the differing perceptions of what the ‘United Kingdom’ means to Scots and English. It contrasts the treatment of Shakespeare and Burns as ‘national bards’ and considers the implications of Scottish scholars’ invention of ‘English Literature’. It engages with Scotland’s language politics –rebutting claims of a ‘Gaelic Gestapo’ – and how borders within Scotland interact. It replaces myths about ‘tartan monsters’ with level-headed evidence before discussing in detail representations of Scottishness in domestic and international media.
"Intellectually deft and lively to read, Skate Life is an important addition to the literature on youth cultures, contemporary masculinity, and the role of media in identity formation." ---Janice A. Radway, Northwestern University, author of Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy, and Popular Literature "With her elegant research design and sophisticated array of anthropological and media studies approaches, Emily Chivers Yochim has produced one of the best books about race, gender, and class that I have read in the last ten years. In a moment where celebratory studies of youth, youth subcultures, and their relationship to media abound, this book stands as a brilliantly argued analysis of th...
In 2008, as few in the world are unaware, China was host to the world via the Beijing Olympics. The world watched the metamorphosis of Beijing from insecure capital to confident metropolis but, aware of it or not, the world was also watching the symbolic assertion, via the Games, of a rising superpower. The Pacific Rim will be the stage on which China initially displays its new hegemonic intentions, aspirations and ambitions. Thus in Post-Beijing 2008, the political, economic and cultural impact of Beijing 2008 on the geopolitical future of the Pacific Rim will be discussed. This perspective, analysed by some of the most distinguished academic commentators from some of the world's leading universities who are closely associated with the Pacific Rim (East and West), is original in focus and the analysis is pregnant with political possibilities. This book was previously published as a special issue of the International Journal of the History of Sport.
Civil Society has not been more relevant as a concept and a practice since the fall of communism in Eastern Europe. Global events from Tahir Square to Wall St have brought a new relevance and urgency to questions about the boundaries of legitimate dissent and public order policing, the meaning of tolerance in the context of conflicting rights claims, and how we can agree on the shared values of the ’good society’. This timely book examines the representation of civil society in news media, exploring the popular understanding of this contested space in relation to conflicting legitimating frames: as the neo-liberal Big Society, activist political participation, or postmodern apolitical to...
This study explores modern Scotland and examines how Scottish politics, culture and identities have interacted within the national and international contexts in the last thirty years. It considers which voices and opinions have proven influential and defining and charts the boundaries of public conversation to and beyond the independence referendum
The premise of The Asian Games: Modern Metaphor forThe Middle Kingdom Reborn - Political Statement, Cultural Assertion, Social Symbol is emphatic. The Guangzhou 2010 Asian Games was a metaphor for hegemony and renaissance. China crushed the other Asian nations with the massive weight of its Gold Medalhaul and demonstrated regional self-confidence regained. The huge accumulation of gold medals emphasized that once again China stood apart, and above, other nations of Asia. China's reaction and the reactions of the other Asian nations are explored in The Asian Games. There is another premise in the publication that theChinese Asian Games were a harbinger of a wider dominance to come: geopolitic...
A unique first-hand narrative of the Falklands war. Rick Jolly was the Senior Medical Officer in the Falklands, setting up and running the field hospital at Ajax Bay, where he and his Royal Marine and Parachute Regiment medical teams treated a total of 580 casualties, of which only 3 died of wounds. The building itself was a derelict meat-packing factory, hastily converted to treat incoming wounded – both British and Argentine – even though two unexploded bombs lay at the back of the building. Rick's diary of the campaign and its aftermath is a fast-paced and gripping account of war experience that covers the entire conflict from initial preparations and passage to the South Atlantic on ...
This collection provides interdisciplinary study of sport in the Middle East in the context of history, politics, policies, gender, religion, ideology and international relations. The chapters examine the role of the Pan-Arab Games in strengthening the bonds of Arab identity in Qatar, the contribution of sport to the building of nationhood and cultural image in Lebanon and Turkey, female involvement in the Olympic movement in Middle Eastern countries, how sport has facilitated the promotion of gender equality and how sport has served the social and cultural transformation of the Islamic world.Study of the role and functions of sport in the Middle East in its historical, political and cultural context is long overdue. Based on recent research conducted by prominent young scholars in this field, this collection will inspire and stimulate the future development of research in the Islamic world. This book was originally published as a special issue of The International Journal of the History of Sport.
In addition to being an internationally recognised pioneer of sports history, Brian Stoddart has also been a leading thinker and influence in the field. That influence has crossed several areas of history, sociology, business, politics and media aspects of sports studies, and has drawn deeply upon his own training in Asian studies. His work has been characterised by cross-disciplinary work from the outset, and has encompassed some very different geographical areas as well as crossing from academic outlets to media commentary. As a result, his influential work has appeared in many different locations, and it has been difficult for a wide variety of readers to access it fully and easily. This volume draws together, in the one place for the first time, some of his most important academic and journalistic work. Importantly, the pieces are drawn together by an intellectual/autobiographical commentary that locates each piece in a wider social and cultural framework. This book was previously published as a special issue of Sport in Society
The Politicisation of Sport in Modern China: Communist and Champions is the first book in English which examines in chronological order key issues in sport in the People's Republic of China from 1949 to 2012 in the context of Chinese history, politics and society. It explores the complexity of Chinese sport including the sovietisation of Chinese sports policy and practice; the emergence of the ‘two Chinas’ issue; the Cold War, the Cultural Revolution, sports diplomacy and sports militarism; China’s turbulent journey of participation in the Asian Games and in the Olympics; the politics and policy of doping and anti-doping in Chinese sport; and China’s sport in the post-Beijing Olympic...