An Atlantic divide? Mapping the knowledge domain of European and North American-based sociology of sport, 2008–2018

Abstract

The sociology of sport has become a burgeoning subdiscipline in the 21st century. To assess knowledge domains and the status quo of the field in Europe and North America, this study uses CiteSpace (a bibliometric visualization software) to analyse 870 academic articles published in the International Review for the Sociology of Sport, Journal of Sport & Social Issues and Sociology of Sport Journal from 2008 to 2018. By mapping/examining core contributors, keywords, high citations/cited authors, major clusters and citation bursts, the findings echo John W. Loy’s ‘risk of critical mass’ calling for various citation analysis approaches. The study expands Jon Dart and Ørnulf Seippel’s recent topic model studies on subdisciplinary development in recent decades, contributing to informed discussions of geographical politics and research directions in the field. The scale and scope of this analysis is highly generalizable to assess pre-existing state-of-the-art research on the sociology of sport.

A mapping of JLASSS: The academic consolidation of the socio-cultural studies of sport in Latin America

“…In addition, it should be noted that JLASSS accepts papers in three languages (English, Portuguese, and Spanish) and has the support of reviewers with knowledge of the respective languages, which contributes to a greater gathering of different countries. This multilingualism diverges from what Pike et al (2015) and Tian and Wise (2019) report when they observe that established journals publish only in English, which suggests the existence of a “linguistic imperialism” of those who possess power and influence in the field of sports sociology and who may hinder global contributions to the discipline.…”

“…Both authors are also mentioned in other studies published in important journals related to the sociology of sport. In the studies of Dart (2014), Seippel (2018), and Tian and Wise (2019), these theoretical references were also present in large volume, both in Europe and in North America, something that is also seen in JLASSS , demonstrating that Latin American scientific production tends to be based on European references (Marchi Júnior et al, 2019).…”

“…Therefore, this study emerges as the first step to understand the development of socio-cultural research on sport in this region, fostering international discussions and drawing attention to geographical areas not as widely studied as North America and Europe (Tian and Wise, 2019). In addition, the data herein presented may help in understanding how the field of socio-cultural studies are taking shape in JLASSS and ALESDE (through thematic analysis, researchers, and institutions that participate in this medium) because it is through the visualization of the structure that one can perceive the relationships of agents, which determine the laws and issues that are important in the scientific field (Bourdieu, 2004).…”

A Sociologia Do Esporte Na Argentina: Apontamentos Preliminares Acerca Da Estruturação De Um Subcampo Acadêmico-Científico

“…Esse fato, marcado pela pesquisadora, é colocado justamente para evidenciar que desde o final da década de 1990, Alabarces já se constituía como um dos principais nomes dos estudos socioculturais do esporte. O autor produziu, inclusive, alguns trabalhos analisando o campo dos estudos sociais do esporte na América Latina e Argentina (ALABARCES, 2004;2008;, sempre tomando o cuidado para não fazer um relato autobiográfico devido a tamanha influência e participação que possui na área. Além disso, em 1996, Pablo Alabarces, juntamente com María Graciela Rodríguez, lançam o livro Cuestión de pelotas, considerado por Rodríguez (2013) como um marco inaugurador de novas discussões, pois foi realizada por agentes da academia local, e das ciências sociais, que sempre operou com debates críticos sobre a cultura e sociedade argentina.…”

Book Review: Introduction to the Sociology of Sport

“…Therefore, this work was born as a pioneering tool for the theoretical and practical foundation of a field that is still developing more solid traces in Latin America, especially in Brazil. Despite having theoretical similarity with North American and European research (Dart, 2014; Malcolm, 2012; Tian and Wise, 2019), the book demonstrates the Latin American efforts to strengthen the Brazilian scientific academic scenario, emerging as a fundamental reading for those who wish to conduct research of this nature. Regarding the international scenario, the translation of the respective material into English and Spanish would enable a detailed knowledge about the sociology of sport in Brazil and Latin America, in addition to being a next step to expand the international dialogue on the sociological research of sport developed in the southernmost portions of the Americas.…”