Organized Sport in the Medialised Modernity

Head of the project at IESF:
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Mittag

IESF staff entrusted with the project:
Pia Klems (Stemmermann) (parental leave 05/2015 - 08/2016), Daniel Ziesche (since 11/2015)

Period of research:
since 2012

Funding:
German Sport University (GSU) 

Content:
The project defines Mediated Modernity as the epoch which started with the declaration of the human rights and which is characterized by a growing pluralisation of lifestyles, but also by a “mediatedness” of all personal circumstances. The sector of sports and physical activity is not the only one which changes dramatically during this era, but due to its massive differentiation and its strong connection to other parts of society it stands as a typical example for societal development and therefore works as an instrument for diagnosis of societal change. The goal of the project is a diagnosis of present modern societies communicated (or mediated) by movement cultures.

The colleagues in the sub-project „Organised Sport in Mediated Modernity“ at the institute of European Sports Development and Leisure Studies investigate these changes with regards to sports clubs as the smallest units of organised sport. Thereby, the sports club is considered from a (sport-)political and a (sport-)historical but also from a social scientific perspective with the aim to research the development of the socio-political functions of the sports club as a place and a medium in the process of societal change on a theoretical as well as an empirical level.  

Within this framework, Daniel Ziesche researches the changing roles and socio-cultural functions of football clubs in selected regions of England and Germany with the aim of a deeper analysis of processes of change with regards to community formation, identity construction and the generation of social capital. Contemporary historical research is done by Pia Stemmermann regarding the values in the social field of sports clubs. She focuses on the values of a sports club as a seismograph for societal change to analyse the social respectively public welfare functions of sports clubs.
Final meeting: 22th/23rd November 2015 in Cologne.

By now, the final publication is available at transcript verlag

Presentations:
Mittag, Jürgen: Mehr als die schönste Nebensache der Welt? Presentaion at FES Mecklenburg-Vorpommern „Über die Bedeutung von Fußball für uns und unsere Gesellschaft“, Schwerin, 12th June 2014. 

Mittag, Jürgen: Vereinsentwicklung und Ehrenamt. Presentation at Gelsensport, Gelsenkirchen 11th June 2014.

Mittag, Jürgen: The Evolution of Sport Clubs and Leisure in Europe: Empirical Trends, Applied Constraints, Analytical Offers. Presentation at “The 2nd BSU-GSU Symposium: Retrospect, Orientation and Prospect of the Exchange and Cooperation”, Peking, 24th/25th September 2013.

Klems, Pia: Was ist ein Sportverein „wert“? Presentation at SportMeMo Conference, Cologne, 20th-21st November 2014.

Klems, Pia: Eine historische Betrachtung von Sportvereinen im Ruhrgebiet anhand von Vereinsfestschriften. Presentation at DAGS Symposium, Freyburg (Unstrut), 9th-11th October 2014.

Ziesche, Daniel: ‘It’s all about responsibility‘: The social value of lower league football clubs in England and Germany, Presentation at EASS 2015, Dublin, 09th-12th June 2015.

Ziesche, Daniel: Alive and Kicking? Fußballvereine in Deutschland und England als Orte von Vergemeinschaftung und Vergesellschaftung. Presentation at SportMeMo Conference, Cologne, 20th-21st November 2014.

Ziesche, Daniel: More Than a Club? Social and Cultural Functions of Football Clubs in Germany. Presentation at Loughborough University, Loughborough, 22th October 2014.