In the Game: Race, Identity, and Sports in the Twentieth Century [Hardcover]

Amy Bass (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 28, 2005

Talking about race and sports almost always leads to trouble. Rush Limbaugh's stint as an NFL commentator came to an abrupt end when he made off-handed comments about black quarterback Donovan McNabb. Cincinnati Reds' owner Marge Schott and CBS commentator Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder also landed in hot water for public remarks that most people construed as racist. Ask a simple question along these lines--"Why do African Americans dominate the NBA?"--and watch the sparks fly. It is precisely this flashpoint that Amy Bass seeks to explore. Sports wield a tremendous amount of cultural power in the United States and around the world, and often influence our ideas about race. In the Game is a collection of essays by top thinkers on race that survey this treacherous terrain. They engage topics like boxer Joe Louis's iconic status during the Jim Crow era, how blacks shaped the NFL in the 1970s, American Indian sports team mascots, and soccer in Argentina.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This collection of nine essays on race, sports and the cultural collision of both cuts a wide swath, touching on, among other things, Rocky, Rush Limbaugh, Cricket (the British sport that involves something like a baseball bat) and the all-too familiar tomahawk chop. In "Backfield in Motion," Joel Dinerstein discusses how "African Americans create permanent changes in American sports once they attain a certain critical mass," and segues to a lengthy discussion of how white coaches and players view touchdown dances and other victory celebrations as "a lack of emotional self-control," while blacks "consider sports, dance, music, language, and humor along a continuum of performance." Tried-and-true topics (the denigration of Native Americans through team mascots) seem discussed to death, especially when compared to Carlo Rotella's lively deconstruction of the Rocky movies, and the conclusions can place too much importance on sports' cultural value. (Does a better West Indies cricket team really have much to do with forging "new and multiple identities of personhood, nationhood, and masculinity?") Academic in tone (all but one of the essayists hold university posts), much of the content would either bore or go over the head of the average armchair quarterback, but scholars, critics and commentators will find no dearth of opinion and research to cheer or jeer.
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Review

"Hard-hitting and well-researched, Amy Bass has put together a book that peels back the layers and looks inside the sports world we love."--Dan Shaughnessy, author, Reversing the Curse.

"This wonderful collection elevates the discussion of race, racism and sport. Incisive, geographically ranging, and richly historical, the essays gathered here are also luminous, passionate, and fun to read. For those with a love of the game, the pleasures of the text await. For those with critical and scholarly interests in race, culture and politics, this fine volume shows why the terrain of sport should not be ignored."--Nikhil Pal Singh, author, Black is a Country: Race and the Unfinished Struggle for Democracy

"Amy Bass has produced a focused and coherent anthology which challenges the empirical, theoretical, and political protocols that presently dominate sport oriented research on race and racial difference. The essays in this book offer convincingly argued and beautifully written accounts that expose new and important lines of inquiry. The broad interdisciplinarity of In the Game makes it a significant contribution to various intellectual domains, including American studies, ethnic and race studies, history, and the sociology of culture. Sport, as a social and historical phenomenon, has long threatened to become incorporated into the academic mainstream; the broad based relevance and incisiveness of In the Game will, no doubt, assist in the realization of this long overdue recognition. An important book, at an important time."--David L. Andrews, Department of Kinesiology, University of Maryland, College Park

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (July 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1403965706
• ISBN-13: 978-1403965707
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #446,910 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A former professional dancer/actress from Canada, Theresa Runstedtler chose to shift her passion for popular culture from the studio and stage to the classroom. She graduated with a PhD in African American Studies and History from Yale University in 2007, and she is now an Assistant Professor of American studies at the University at Buffalo (SUNY). For the 2011-2012 academic year, she will be a Mellon postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania. Her scholarly articles appear in Canadian Issues (Fall 2005), In the Game: Race, Identity, and Sports in the Twentieth Century (Palgrave MacMillan), the Encyclopedia of World History, the Radical History Review (Winter 2009), and the Journal of World History (December 2010). She is also a periodic contributor to the goodmenproject.com and the newblackman.blogspot.com. For more information, please visit http://about.me/theresarunstedtler

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good stuff, March 14, 2006

By 

Jilly "Jilly" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the Game: Race, Identity, and Sports in the Twentieth Century (Hardcover)

This book has such a great range of stuff, especially the essays by Bass, Dinerstein, Rotella, and Jacobson. They know sports, but they know alot of other stuff too. Very worth reading, even the more obscure stuff.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intelligent and readable, August 29, 2005

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Big Reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the Game: Race, Identity, and Sports in the Twentieth Century (Hardcover)

This collection of essays is a good read for interested citizens and sports fans alike. It tackles the serious issues "in the game," and keeps your attention with a wide array of topics and amazing insights. It hits hard right from the beginning, with Bass's insightful and personal essay about the Red Sox, and continues with highlights from Joel Dinerstein, Matthew Jacobson (I'll never call Dick Allen "Ritchie" again!), and Carlo Rotella. A great book, whether you are on the beach or in the classroom, and important for all.