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Books about sports, even those written by scholars, are frequently little more than hagiography. They extol the virtue of athletics for participant and spectator alike. Of greater rarity are those that look critically at the political, social, economic, and psychological underpinnings of contemporary sports. Violence in sports is among the relatively neglected issues of serious study. Sports Violence is perhaps the first collection of scholarly theory and research to examine in detail aggression within and surrounding sports. As such, it seeks to present the broadest possible range of interpretations and perspectives. The book is, therefore, both interdisciplinary and international in scope. Two chapters, by Guttmann and Vamplew, are concerned with historical analyses of sports violence. Definitions and perspectives on aggression in general, and sports-related aggression in particular, are the topics of Chapters 4 through 7 by Smith, Bredemeier, Mark, Bryant, and Lehman, and Mummendey and Mummendey. Here, a wide variety of social and psychological theories are brought to bear on the conceptualization of aggression on the playing field and in the stands. Dunning and Liischen, both sociologists of sport, examine the origins, structure, and functions of violence, of sports, and of their interconnections. Psychological interpreta tions and research are presented in chapters by Russell and Keefer, Goldstein, and Kasiarz, while Bryant and Zillmann examine the portrayal and effects of aggression in televised sports.

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1. Introduction.- Definitions.- Interpretations.- Solutions.- 2. Roman Sports Violence.- Sports Violence.- Spectator Violence.- Conclusion.- 3. Unsporting Behavior: The Control of Football and Horse-Racing Crowds in England, 1875-1914.- Types of Crowd Disorder.- Crowd-Control Measures.- Some Limits of Crowd Control.- 4. What Is Sports Violence? A Sociolegal Perspective.- A Typology of Sports Violence.- Conclusion.- 5. Athletic Aggression: A Moral Concern.- The Ambiguity of Violence.- The Valuing of Violence.- The Psychological Nature of Morality.- The Psychological Nature of Aggression.- Athletic Aggression as a Social-Conventional Issue.- Moral Reasoning and Aggressive Behavior.- Conclusions.- 6. Perceived Injustice and Sports Violence.- Some Examples of Justice-Based Sports Violence.- Overview.- Definition of Perceived Injustice.- Previous Claims About Justice and Sports Violence.- Other Causes of Sports Violence.- Perceived Injustices in Sports: A Typology and Some Recommendations.- What Society Can Learn from Sports.- Are Sports Special?.- Conclusion.- 7. Aggressive Behavior of Soccer Players as Social Interaction.- Soccer as a Field for Studying Aggressive Interaction.- Aggressive Behavior as Social Interaction.- Aggressive Interaction and Its Evaluation in Professional Soccer: Two Case Studies.- The Referee´s Power of Interpretation.- Conclusions.- 8. Social Bonding and Violence in Sport: A Theoretical-Empirical Analysis.- Towards a Typology of Human Violence.- Sports and Violence in Developmental Perspective.- Violence and the Transformation of Social Bonds.- Segmental Bonding and the Sociogenesis of Affective Violence.- 9. Sports, Conflict, and Conflict Resolution: Problems of Substance and Methodology.- Factual Accounts and Theoretical Explanations-A Short Review.- A Structural Interpretation of the Sports Contest.- Some Methodological Observations and Structural Theory.- Conclusion: Instead of a Comprehensive Theory.- Some Praxeological Advances for Sports Policy.- Summary.- 10. Psychological Issues in Sports Aggression.- Valves, Vents, and Drains: The Catharsis Hypothesis.- Outcome.- Conclusions.- 11. Olympic Games Participation and Warfare.- A Test of the Hypotheses.- Conclusions.- 12. Sports Violence and the Media.- The Presence and Nature of Sports Violence.- Does Aggression Increase Spectators´ Enjoyment of Sports?.- Media Exploitation of Sports Violence.- Where Will It All End?.- Author Index.

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