Book Review 3

Excerpts from “Sands, R., & Sands, Linda. (2010). The anthropology of sport and human movement : A biocultural perspective. Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books” and “Bolin, A., & Granskog, J. (2003). Athletic intruders : Ethnographic research on women, culture, and exercise (SUNY series on sport, culture, and social relations, Albany: State University of New York Press.)”

There are many ways that humans have interacted with sport. I have been most interested in the ways by which contemporary studies have framed these relationships. As a former athlete and anthropologist myself, I was bothered to read that there have been very few studies in to these relationships. However, in this field being new and revolutionary, it does allow for my work to be more welcomed by the anthropological field, as it will be filled progressive ideas. There is no foundation by which to approach  this specific research area.

Despite there being very few literature pieces on the anthropology of sport, there are, however, quite a few ethnographic writings regarding these interactions. I would argue that a majority of the literature in the field of the anthropology of sport are ethnographic ones. One piece that I read that was not an ethnography is The anthropology of sport and human movement : A biocultural perspective. This research looked at how biocultural factors linked to sport have been impacted the evolution of beings within specific cultural contexts. It was refreshing to read a biological anthropology piece. For Indigenous peoples, this piece could be applied as a look into how potentially traditional Indigenous knowledge of how to play sport has been affected by biocultural factors.

I believe that an ethnographic approach, like the pieces presented in Athletic intruders : Ethnographic research on women, culture, and exercise would best capture the relationships between Indigenous peoples and sport. Some of the ethnographies in this book were riveting, and captured many of the issues between gender and sport. It would be interesting to capture another aspect of identity, Indigneity and sport , through an ethnographic lens as well.