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The Fantasy Sport Industry: Games within Games (Routledge Research in Sport, Culture and Society)
by Andrew C. Billings Brody J. RuihleyFantasy sport has become big business. Recent estimates suggest that there as many as 33 million fantasy sport participants in the US alone, spending $3bn annually, with many millions more around the world. This is the first in-depth study of fantasy sport as a cultural and social phenomenon and a significant and growing component of the contemporary sports economy. This book presents an overview of the history of fantasy sport and its close connection to innovations in sports media. Drawing on extensive empirical research, it offers an analysis of the demographics of fantasy sport, the motivations of fantasy sport players and their significance as heavy consumers of sport media and as ultra-fans. It also draws cross-cultural comparisons between fantasy sport players in the US, UK, Europe and beyond. The Fantasy Sport Industry examines the key commercial and media stakeholders in the production and development of fantasy sport, and points to new directions for the fantasy sport industry within modern sport business. It is therefore, fascinating reading for any student, scholar or professional with an interest in sports media, sports business, fandom, the relationship between sport and society, or cultural studies.
The Fantasy of Individuality: On the Sociohistorical Construction of the Modern Subject
by Almudena HernandoThe Enlightenment promised humanity a bright future of emancipation which never actuallymaterialized. Instead, our social order is still based on gender inequality, which rests upon afalse conviction: that the individual can be conceived of as separate from community; that the more individualized a person is, the less they need to establish links with their community to feel safe; and that the more they use reason to build a relationship with the world, the less they need emotions. Th is conviction, which guides the ideals of our social system, is based on a fantasy: the fantasy of individuality.This volume is a step in fleshing out the historical reasons for gender inequality from theorigins of humankind to present times in the Western world. It is a theoretically-informedand up-to-date overview of the history of gender inequality that takes as its starting pointthe mechanisms through which human beings construct their self-identity.Starting from a peripheral, interdisciplinary and heterodox perspective, this book intends toappraise the complexity of gender identity in all its richness and diversity. It seeks to understand the persistence of relationality in supposedly fully individualized male selves, and the construction of new forms of individuality among women that did not follow the masculine model. It is argued here that by balancing community and self beyond the contradictions of hegemonic masculinity, modern women are struggling to build a new, more empowering form of personhood.The author is an archaeologist, who uses her discipline not only to provide data, theory anda long-term perspective, but also in a metaphorical sense: to construct a socio-historicalgenealogy of current gender systems, through an examination of how personhood and self- identity have been constructed in the Western world.
Fantasy Fiction and Welsh Myth: Tales of Belonging
by Kath Filmer-DaviesThis book examines how contemporary fantasy literature offers critical insights into western society and culture by drawing on the ancient myths of Wales. These books emphasise the need to have a set of social and personal values in order to be free from a sense of dislocation and alienation in a highly technologised society and in order to satisfy the sense of 'hiraeth' or longing for a place where one truly belongs.
Fantasy City: Pleasure and Profit in the Postmodern Metropolis
by John HanniganFantasy City analyses the post-industrialist city as a site of entertainment. By discussing examples from a wide variety of venues, including casinos, malls, heritage developments and theme parks, Hannigan questions urban entertainments economic foundations and historical background. He asks whether such areas of fantasy destroy communities or instead create new groupings of shared identities and experiences. The book is written in a student friendly way with boxed case studies for class discussion.
Fantasy City: Pleasure and Profit in the Postmodern Metropolis
by John HanniganFantasy City analyses the post-industrialist city as a site of entertainment. By discussing examples from a wide variety of venues, including casinos, malls, heritage developments and theme parks, Hannigan questions urban entertainments economic foundations and historical background. He asks whether such areas of fantasy destroy communities or instead create new groupings of shared identities and experiences. The book is written in a student friendly way with boxed case studies for class discussion.
Fantasy and Social Movements (Studies in the Psychosocial)
by J. OrmrodIt is sometimes assumed that fantasizing stands in contrast to activism. This book, however, argues that fantasy plays a central role in social movements. Drawing on psychoanalysis and psychosocial theories, Fantasy and Social Movements examines the relationships between fantasy, reality, action, the unconscious and the collective.
Fantasies of Flight
by Daniel M. OgilvieFantasies of Flight invigorates the field of personality psychology by challenging the contemporary academic view that individuals are best studied as carriers of traits. Daniel Ogilvie exchanges a heart-to-heart, case study approach to understanding human behavior for the current strategies of categorizing and comparing individuals according to their manifest traits. Ogilvie asks and endeavors to answer questions like "What were the psychological conditions that led Sir James Barrie to create a character named Peter Pan?" and "What were the dynamics behind the Marshall Herff Applewhite's conviction that a space ship, hiding behind the Hale-Bopp comet, would rescue him and his Heaven's Gate followers after they enacted a mass suicide pact in 1997?" Answering these questions requires him to resurrect "old" ways to think about personality and "old" strategies for studying individuals one by one. Early in the book, Ogilvie reviews the history of why intensive case studies were discredited in psychology and describes how Sigmund Freud's psychobiographical account of Leonardo da Vinci's fascination with flight inadvertently abetted critics of psychoanalytic psychology. He then performs a partial psychobiography of James Barrie and the origins of Peter Pan, followed by an investigation of Carl Jung, who fashioned the collective unconscious to serve as humankind's link to eternity. Arguing that personality psychology needs to become less insular, Ogilvie integrates information from the disciplines of developmental psychology and neuroscience into a theory regarding the latent needs that both Barrie and Jung sought to satisfy. The theory, including its emphasis on the onset of self and consciousness, is then applied to an array of well-known and obscure individuals with ascensionistic inclinations. Well written and accessible, but complex and scholarly, this volume will restore interest in the investigation of people's inner lives.
A Fan's Life: The Agony of Victory and the Thrill of Defeat
by Paul CamposA lifelong sports fanatic plumbs the depths of the fan mindset, tracking the mania from the gridiron to the national political stage and beyond. The Pass. The Curse. The Double Doink. A sports fan’s life is not just defined by intense moments on a field, it’s scarred by them. For a real fan, winning isn’t everything—losing is. The true fans, it’s said, are those who have suffered the most, enduring lives defined by irrational obsession, fervid hopes, and equally gut-wrenching misery. And as Paul Campos shows, those deep feelings are windows not just onto an individual fan’s psychology but onto some of our shared concepts of community, identity, and belonging—not all of which are admirable. In A Fan’s Life, he seeks not to exalt a particular team but to explore fandom’s thorniest depths, excavating the deeper meanings of the fan’s inherently unhappy life. A Fan’s Life dives deep into the experience of being an ardent fan in a world defined more and more by the rhetoric of “winners” and “losers.” In a series of tightly argued chapters that suture together memoir and social critique, Campos chronicles his lifelong passion for University of Michigan football while meditating on fandom in the wake of the unprecedented year of 2020—when, for a time, a global pandemic took away professional and collegiate sports entirely. Fandom isn’t just leisure, he shows; it’s part of who we are, and part of even our politics, which in the age of Donald Trump have become increasingly tribal and bloody. Campos points toward where we might be heading, as our various partisan affiliations—fandoms with a grimly national significance—become all the more intense and bitterly self-defining. As he shows, we’re all fans of something, and making sense of fandom itself might offer a way to wrap our heads around our increasingly divided reality, on and off the field.
A Fan's Life: The Agony of Victory and the Thrill of Defeat
by Paul CamposA lifelong sports fanatic plumbs the depths of the fan mindset, tracking the mania from the gridiron to the national political stage and beyond. The Pass. The Curse. The Double Doink. A sports fan’s life is not just defined by intense moments on a field, it’s scarred by them. For a real fan, winning isn’t everything—losing is. The true fans, it’s said, are those who have suffered the most, enduring lives defined by irrational obsession, fervid hopes, and equally gut-wrenching misery. And as Paul Campos shows, those deep feelings are windows not just onto an individual fan’s psychology but onto some of our shared concepts of community, identity, and belonging—not all of which are admirable. In A Fan’s Life, he seeks not to exalt a particular team but to explore fandom’s thorniest depths, excavating the deeper meanings of the fan’s inherently unhappy life. A Fan’s Life dives deep into the experience of being an ardent fan in a world defined more and more by the rhetoric of “winners” and “losers.” In a series of tightly argued chapters that suture together memoir and social critique, Campos chronicles his lifelong passion for University of Michigan football while meditating on fandom in the wake of the unprecedented year of 2020—when, for a time, a global pandemic took away professional and collegiate sports entirely. Fandom isn’t just leisure, he shows; it’s part of who we are, and part of even our politics, which in the age of Donald Trump have become increasingly tribal and bloody. Campos points toward where we might be heading, as our various partisan affiliations—fandoms with a grimly national significance—become all the more intense and bitterly self-defining. As he shows, we’re all fans of something, and making sense of fandom itself might offer a way to wrap our heads around our increasingly divided reality, on and off the field.
Fans and Fan Cultures: Tourism, Consumerism and Social Media
by Henrik Linden Sara LindenExploring the ambiguous relationship between fandom and consumer culture, this book provides a critical overview of fans, fan cultures and fan experiences in relation to the broader experience and transformation economy. Fans and Fan Cultures discusses key theoretical concepts concerning celebrity, fandoms, subculture, consumerism and marketing through a range of examples in film, travel and tourism, football and music. With an emphasis on social media, and how various online platforms are utilised by brands, artists and fans, the authors explore how this type of communication often contributes to trivialising authentic expressions of cultural and social values and identities.
Fans: A Journey into the Psychology of Belonging
by Michael Bond'A celebration of human idiosyncrasy and of our talent for building shared meaning and solidarity out of the strangest material' – TLSFans takes the reader on a journey through a constellation of fandoms, and along the way demonstrates some fundamental truths about the human condition.Fascinating and thought-provoking, Fans is a story of communities, of what happens to us when we interact with people who share our passions. The human brain is wired to reach out, and while our groupish tendencies can bring much strife (religious intolerance, racism, war, etc.), they are also the source of some of our greatest satisfactions.Fandoms offer much of the pleasure of tribalism with little of the harm: a feeling of belonging and of shared culture, a sense of meaning and purpose, improved mental well-being, reassurance that our most outlandish convictions will be taken seriously, and the freedom to try to emulate (and dress like) our hero.But acclaimed science writer Michael Bond shows that despite these benefits, the world of fandoms is not without its dark underside, from the “copycat effect” fuelling mass shootings to the delusions that can accompany the parasocial relationships that fans feel they have with their heroes.In Fans, Michael Bond draws on the work of social psychologists and anthropologists to understand how people behave in groups and why such groups have such a profound effect on human culture.
Fans: How Watching Sports Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Understanding
by Larry OlmstedThe perfect book for everyone cheering from the couch during the Tokyo Olympics Larry Olmsted&’s writing and research have been called &“eye-opening&” (People), &“impressive&” (Publishers Weekly, starred review), and &“enlightening&” (Kirkus Reviews). Now, the New York Times and Washington Post bestselling author turns his expertise to a subject that has never been fully explored, delivering a highly entertaining game changer that uses brand-new research to show us why being a sports fan is good for us individually and is a force for positive change in society. Fans is a passionate reminder of how games, teams, and the communities dedicated to them are vital to our lives. Citing fascinating new studies on sports fandom, Larry Olmsted makes the case that the more you identify with a sports team, the better your social, psychological, and physical health is; the more meaningful your relationships are; and the more connected and happier you are. Fans maintain better cognitive processing as their gray matter ages; they have better language skills; and college students who follow sports have higher GPAs, better graduation rates, and higher incomes after graduating. And there&’s more: On a societal level, sports help us heal after tragedies, providing community and hope when we need it most. Fans is the perfect gift for anyone who loves sports or anyone who loves someone who loves sports. &“Olmsted opens a window into a psychologically compelling world of passion and purpose.&” —Harvey Araton, author of Our Last Season: A Writer, a Fan, a Friendship
Fans: Soziologische Perspektiven (Erlebniswelten)
by Jochen Roose Mike S. Schäfer Thomas Schmidt-LuxFans sind ein weit verbreitetes und vielfältiges Phänomen: Menschen sind Fans von Fußballvereinen, Musikern, Filmstars, Automarken, Buchfiguren und vielen anderen Dingen. Es gibt Fans in verschiedenen Altersgruppen und Schichten. Dieser Band legt erstmals eine umfassende Soziologie der Fans vor. Die hier versammelten Beiträge wenden soziologische Theorieperspektiven und empirische Instrumentarien auf Fans und Fantum an. Sie analysieren Fans hinsichtlich ihrer spezifischen Emotionalität, ihrer Kultur und Lebensführung, ihrer Sozialisation und Sozialstruktur, ihres Konsumverhaltens, ihrer Mediennutzung und ihrer politischen Partizipation. Thematisiert werden außerdem die internen Abgrenzungen in Fan-Szenen, Fragen der Migration und Globalisierung von Fans, Geschlechterkonstruktionen in Fan-Gemeinschaften sowie die Geschichte des Fantums.
Fans: Soziologische Perspektiven (Erlebniswelten)
by Jochen Roose Mike S. Schäfer Thomas Schmidt-LuxFans sind ein weit verbreitetes und vielfältiges Phänomen: Menschen sind Fans von Fußballvereinen, Musikern, Filmstars, Automarken, Buchfiguren und vielen anderen Dingen. Es gibt Fans in verschiedenen Altersgruppen und Schichten. Dieser Band legt erstmals eine umfassende Soziologie der Fans vor. Die hier versammelten Beiträge wenden soziologische Theorieperspektiven und empirische Instrumentarien auf Fans und Fantum an. Sie analysieren Fans hinsichtlich ihrer spezifischen Emotionalität, ihrer Kultur und Lebensführung, ihrer Sozialisation und Sozialstruktur, ihres Konsumverhaltens, ihrer Mediennutzung und ihrer politischen Partizipation. Thematisiert werden außerdem die internen Abgrenzungen in Fan-Szenen, Fragen der Migration und Globalisierung von Fans, Geschlechterkonstruktionen in Fan-Gemeinschaften sowie die Geschichte des Fantums.
Fandom, Image and Authenticity: Joy Devotion and the Second Lives of Kurt Cobain and Ian Curtis (Pop Music, Culture and Identity)
by Jennifer Otter BickerdikeKurt Cobain and Ian Curtis. Through death, they became icons. However, the lead singers have been removed from their humanity, replaced by easily replicated and distributed commodities bearing their image. This book examines how the anglicised singers provide secular guidance to the modern consumer in an ever more uncertain world.
Fandom Culture and The Archers: An Everyday Story of Academic Folk
by Cara Courage and Nicola HeadlamThe first academic study of the phenomenon of The Archers fandom from the fans themselves. The fourth instalment in the Academic Archers collection, Fandom Culture and The Archers looks beyond the popular success of the Archers to explore how the program, and the themes it discusses, are used in teaching, learning, research and professional settings, and how the Academic Archers fandom helps shape these real life impacts. The chapters explore first the nature of Archers fandom, looking at how academic fans of the show have translated the storylines and issues discussed into theoretical tools, exploring topics from therapy, to the evolution of listening to the show in the digital age. The authors then turn their attention to the use of The Archers in educational and professional settings, exploring its use in both formal educational settings, and in community-led art projects, as well as the show’s engagement with and potential impact on feminism. Providing the reader with increased insight on the impact of the Archers beyond popular culture, Fandom Culture and The Archers is essential reading for fans of the show and fandom and cultural studies scholars alike.
Fandom Culture and The Archers: An Everyday Story of Academic Folk
by Cara Courage Nicola HeadlamThe first academic study of the phenomenon of The Archers fandom from the fans themselves. The fourth instalment in the Academic Archers collection, Fandom Culture and The Archers looks beyond the popular success of the Archers to explore how the program, and the themes it discusses, are used in teaching, learning, research and professional settings, and how the Academic Archers fandom helps shape these real life impacts. The chapters explore first the nature of Archers fandom, looking at how academic fans of the show have translated the storylines and issues discussed into theoretical tools, exploring topics from therapy, to the evolution of listening to the show in the digital age. The authors then turn their attention to the use of The Archers in educational and professional settings, exploring its use in both formal educational settings, and in community-led art projects, as well as the show’s engagement with and potential impact on feminism. Providing the reader with increased insight on the impact of the Archers beyond popular culture, Fandom Culture and The Archers is essential reading for fans of the show and fandom and cultural studies scholars alike.
Fanclubs der Nationalmannschaften im deutschen Teamsport: Value Co-Creation zwischen Kommerzialisierung und Fankultur (Event- und Impaktforschung)
by Gerald FritzIm Zuge der Kommerzialisierung des professionellen Mannschaftssports hat sich neben dem traditionellen Fantypus (supporter) ein konsumorientierter Fantypus (customer) herausgebildet. Zur verbesserten Fan- bzw. Kundenbindung haben daher Teamsportverbände in Deutschland Fanclubs zu ihren Nationalmannschaften gegründet. Gerald Fritz untersucht diese Fanclubs mithilfe eines Mixed‐Methods‐Ansatzes, der qualitative Interviews von DFB‐Fanclub‐Mitgliedern und Experten der Verbände mit einer quantitativen Online‐Befragung verbindet. Er arbeitet Unterschiede und Gemeinsamkeiten der Fanclubs für fünf Teamsportarten heraus und prüft empirisch, inwieweit die Fanclubs einen systematischen Mehrwert (value co‐creation) für die Fan-Community und Sportverbände schaffen.
Fanatical Military Recruiting: The Ultimate Guide to Leveraging High-Impact Prospecting to Engage Qualified Applicants, Win the War for Talent, and Make Mission Fast
by Jeb BlountMilitary Recruiting is a war. It’s just a different kind of war than what you were prepared and trained to fight for. Recruiting is a war for talent. Smart, competent, and capable people are rare and in high demand. Every organization, from commercial enterprises, healthcare, non-profit, sports, and education, to the military is in an outright battle to recruit and retain these bright and talented people. Rather than bullets and bombs, the war for talent is won through high-impact prospecting activity, time discipline, intellectual agility, emotional intelligence, and human to human relationships. On this highly competitive, ever changing, asymmetrical battlefield, to win, you must operate at a level of excellence beyond anything asked of military recruiters before. Yet, in this new paradigm, many recruiters are struggling, and most recruiting units are staring down the barrel at 50 percent or more of their recruiters consistently missing Mission. It is imperative that we arm military recruiters with the skills they need to win in this challenging environment. The failure to make Mission is an existential threat to the strength and readiness of America’s fighting forces and our democracy. Fanatical Military Recruiting begins where the Recruiting and Retention colleges of the various branches of the military leave off. It is an advanced, master’s level training resource designed specifically for the unique demands of Military Recruiting. In FMR, you’ll learn: The Single Most Important Discipline in Military Recruiting How to Get Out of a Recruiting Slump The 30-Day Rule and Law of Replacement Powerful Time and Territory Management Strategies that Put You in Control of Your Day The 7 Step Telephone Prospecting Framework The 4 Step Email and Direct Messaging Framework The 5 C’s of Social Recruiting The 7 Step Text Message Prospecting Framework How to Leverage a Balanced Prospecting Methodology to Keep the Funnel Full of Qualified Applicants Powerful Human Influence Frameworks that Reduce Resistance and Objections The 3 Step Prospecting Objection Turn-Around Framework Mission Drive and the 5 Disciplines of Ultra-High Performing Military Recruiters In his signature right-to-the-point style that has made him the go-to trainer to a who’s who of the world’s most prestigious organizations, Jeb Blount pulls no punches. He slaps you in the face with the cold, hard truth about what’s really holding you back. Then, he pulls you in with stories, examples, and lessons that teach you exactly what you need to do right now to become an ultra-high performing recruiter. Fanatical Military Recruiting is filled with the high-powered strategies, techniques, and tools you need to keep your funnel packed with qualified applicants. As you dive into these powerful insights, and with each new chapter, you’ll gain greater and greater confidence. And, with this new-found confidence, your performance as a military recruiter will soar and you will Make Mission, Fast.
Fanatical Military Recruiting: The Ultimate Guide to Leveraging High-Impact Prospecting to Engage Qualified Applicants, Win the War for Talent, and Make Mission Fast
by Jeb BlountMilitary Recruiting is a war. It’s just a different kind of war than what you were prepared and trained to fight for. Recruiting is a war for talent. Smart, competent, and capable people are rare and in high demand. Every organization, from commercial enterprises, healthcare, non-profit, sports, and education, to the military is in an outright battle to recruit and retain these bright and talented people. Rather than bullets and bombs, the war for talent is won through high-impact prospecting activity, time discipline, intellectual agility, emotional intelligence, and human to human relationships. On this highly competitive, ever changing, asymmetrical battlefield, to win, you must operate at a level of excellence beyond anything asked of military recruiters before. Yet, in this new paradigm, many recruiters are struggling, and most recruiting units are staring down the barrel at 50 percent or more of their recruiters consistently missing Mission. It is imperative that we arm military recruiters with the skills they need to win in this challenging environment. The failure to make Mission is an existential threat to the strength and readiness of America’s fighting forces and our democracy. Fanatical Military Recruiting begins where the Recruiting and Retention colleges of the various branches of the military leave off. It is an advanced, master’s level training resource designed specifically for the unique demands of Military Recruiting. In FMR, you’ll learn: The Single Most Important Discipline in Military Recruiting How to Get Out of a Recruiting Slump The 30-Day Rule and Law of Replacement Powerful Time and Territory Management Strategies that Put You in Control of Your Day The 7 Step Telephone Prospecting Framework The 4 Step Email and Direct Messaging Framework The 5 C’s of Social Recruiting The 7 Step Text Message Prospecting Framework How to Leverage a Balanced Prospecting Methodology to Keep the Funnel Full of Qualified Applicants Powerful Human Influence Frameworks that Reduce Resistance and Objections The 3 Step Prospecting Objection Turn-Around Framework Mission Drive and the 5 Disciplines of Ultra-High Performing Military Recruiters In his signature right-to-the-point style that has made him the go-to trainer to a who’s who of the world’s most prestigious organizations, Jeb Blount pulls no punches. He slaps you in the face with the cold, hard truth about what’s really holding you back. Then, he pulls you in with stories, examples, and lessons that teach you exactly what you need to do right now to become an ultra-high performing recruiter. Fanatical Military Recruiting is filled with the high-powered strategies, techniques, and tools you need to keep your funnel packed with qualified applicants. As you dive into these powerful insights, and with each new chapter, you’ll gain greater and greater confidence. And, with this new-found confidence, your performance as a military recruiter will soar and you will Make Mission, Fast.
A Fan for All Seasons: A Journey Through Life and Sport
by Jon Harvey'Acute, funny and moving' - Ian Hislop'A heartfelt memoir through grief, family and a very funny, obsessive love of sports' - Cariad Lloyd, host of GriefcastA funny, heartfelt, nostalgia-infused story of grief, sport and the journey of a lifetime.What do you do when your world changes in an instant? For Jon Harvey, after the sudden death of his brother, it meant turning to the thing that had given him support, joy and a lifetime of memories: sport, in all its myriad sublime and ridiculous forms. A kaleidoscopic twelve months took him from London Olympia to ancient Olympia, from rugby balls to Rubik's Cubes, Wimbledon tennis to Wimbledon greyhounds, Twickenham to Frimley Green, Roger Federer to Martin 'Wolfie' Adams, and much, much more. It's a celebration, of a life shaped by sport, and the ultimate season ticket.
Fan Cultures (PDF)
by Matthew HillsEmphasising the contradictions of fandom, Matt Hills outlines how media fans have been conceptualised in cultural theory. Drawing on case studies of specific fan groups, from Elvis impersonators to X-Philes and Trekkers, Hills discusses a range of approaches to fandom, from the Frankfurt School to psychoanalytic readings, and asks whether the development of new media creates the possibility of new forms of fandom. Fan Cultures also explores the notion of "fan cults" or followings, considering how media fans perform the distinctions of 'cult' status.
Fan Activism, Protest and Politics: Ultras in Post-Socialist Croatia (Critical Research in Football)
by Andrew HodgesIn what sense can organized football fans be understood as political actors or participants in social movements? How do fan struggles link to wider social and political transformations? And what methodological dilemmas arise when researching fan activism? Fan Activism, Protest and Politics seeks ethnographic answers to these questions in a context – Zagreb, Croatia – shaped by the recent Yugoslav wars, nation-state building, post-socialist ‘transition’ and EU accession. Through in-depth ethnography following the everyday subcultural practices of a left-wing fan group, NK Zagreb's White Angels, alongside terrace observations and interviews conducted with members of GNK Dinamo's Bad Blue Boys, this book details fans' interactions with the police, club management, state authorities and other fan groups. Themes ranging from politics, socialization, masculinity, sexuality and violence to fan authenticity are examined. In moving between two groups, the book explores methodological issues of wider relevance to researchers using ethnographic methods. This is important reading for students and researchers alike in the fields of football studies, regional studies of the former Yugoslavia and post-socialism, political sociology and social movements, and studies of masculinity, gender and sexuality. A useful resource for scholars writing about social movements and protest, or post-socialist subcultural scenes in south-east Europe, the book is also a fascinating read for policymakers interested in better understanding the contemporary (geo)political situation in the region.
Fan Activism, Protest and Politics: Ultras in Post-Socialist Croatia (Critical Research in Football)
by Andrew HodgesIn what sense can organized football fans be understood as political actors or participants in social movements? How do fan struggles link to wider social and political transformations? And what methodological dilemmas arise when researching fan activism? Fan Activism, Protest and Politics seeks ethnographic answers to these questions in a context – Zagreb, Croatia – shaped by the recent Yugoslav wars, nation-state building, post-socialist ‘transition’ and EU accession. Through in-depth ethnography following the everyday subcultural practices of a left-wing fan group, NK Zagreb's White Angels, alongside terrace observations and interviews conducted with members of GNK Dinamo's Bad Blue Boys, this book details fans' interactions with the police, club management, state authorities and other fan groups. Themes ranging from politics, socialization, masculinity, sexuality and violence to fan authenticity are examined. In moving between two groups, the book explores methodological issues of wider relevance to researchers using ethnographic methods. This is important reading for students and researchers alike in the fields of football studies, regional studies of the former Yugoslavia and post-socialism, political sociology and social movements, and studies of masculinity, gender and sexuality. A useful resource for scholars writing about social movements and protest, or post-socialist subcultural scenes in south-east Europe, the book is also a fascinating read for policymakers interested in better understanding the contemporary (geo)political situation in the region.