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Introduction to sociological concepts and theories

This is an excerpt from Social Issues in Canadian Sport by Marty Clark,William Bridel.

By Marty Clark and William Bridel

Chapter Objectives

After reading this chapter, you will be able to do the following:

• Define sociological imagination: what it is and how we use it.
• Articulate what social theories are and how they’re used.
• Describe how sport sociologists use multiple theoretical perspectives to conduct research on sport to gain a more accurate understanding of the complexity of social life.
• Begin to think critically about your own and others’ experiences of sport.




Chapter Outline

In this chapter, you will learn about the sociological imagination and social theories. The chapter begins by introducing and explaining social theory and the sociological imagination in broad strokes—the what, the why, and, to some extent, the how. You will then encounter some of the main social theories that sociologists of sport employ to examine the relationship between sport and specific aspects or patterns of society and culture such as race, gender, and class. The final section of the chapter introduces a theory that is key to the content of this textbook: intersectionality. You will also engage with three case studies, structured in the same format as the case studies in the remaining chapters of the textbook.

Social theories are a foundation of critical research and teaching about sport in Canada. All the chapters in this textbook discuss social theories, so there are plenty of opportunities for you to learn more about the what, the why, and the how of social theories and how they are related to studies of sport. Where applicable, chapter authors also make the connection between theory, activism, advocacy, and social change. For now, you might think about social theories as a sort of metaphorical magnifying glass; by adopting them in critical research on society, we can ask and explore questions about why the world is the way it is, what the dominant social norms and values are, and how social forces affect people’s identities, behaviours, beliefs, and experiences. Put another way, social theories are tools or lenses that can be used to interrogate and explain aspects of social life, norms, values, beliefs, and ideas. In examining social life through a theoretical lens, we can call into question what is often taken for granted as “the way things are” or the “status quo.”

We all have personal values and beliefs that help us make sense of the social world in which we live. Perhaps you believe that a higher power created the world and that humans should live according to a particular religious text or texts. Or maybe you are pretty certain that people are animals in nature who should look out for themselves while we’re on this tiny space rock. And you probably have plenty of smaller values and beliefs about things such as speed limit increases or decreases, or perhaps you think your local recreation centre should be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, if it isn’t already. We learn, unlearn, and relearn our values and beliefs about the world as we interact with our families and friends, religions, schools, ­businesses, social media, and the media (to name a few).

Differing from personal values and beliefs, social theories—as tools or lenses to understand our social world—are the product of rigorous processes within academia, often informed by or in conversation with social activists. When done well, this includes the ethical collection and analysis of data (qualitative, quantitative, and sometimes both) from our social worlds. This process of collection and analysis is followed by conversations and debates with a community of scholars, activists, and community members about that evidence; the theory or theories and methods used to collect and analyze it; and the research outcomes and conclusions. This rigorous process may result in further validation of the usefulness of an existing social theory (e.g., a research project might be used to test a particular theory), or it might lead to the development of new social theories. Importantly, it is not the goal of most social theories to present a single or absolute truth about a social issue; most theories begin by conceptualizing social life not as black and white but as grey. Put another way, our experiences of social life are complex and messy, and this should be reflected in our critical thinking about them. This chapter provides an introduction to some of the tools we can and do use to help unpack and understand social life—and the role of sport in social life—historically and in contemporary times.



Sociological ­Imagination

Our personal values and beliefs are incredibly important, to be sure, but sociology is about thinking beyond the personal and understanding lived experiences as part of a larger system of social norms, values, and beliefs that govern in different ways how we go about our daily lives and make sense of our experiences. One way we can do this is by learning how to use our sociological imagination to think beyond the notion that our own experiences are ­somehow isolated from the social world in which we live.

Consider the following hypothetical scenario about two families who live in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Garcia family and the Lee family each register one child of similar age, ability, and love of contemporary dance in a competitive dance program. Both young dancers do well enough in local competitions to qualify for a national dance competition held in Regina, Saskatchewan. While each dancer and their family had an equal desire to attend, the Garcias have the money, time, and capacity to register and attend nationals, while the Lee family does not because they cannot afford the competition registration and travel fees, nor the time away from work. Take a moment to consider what kinds of information you would need to know to understand why the Garcias are able and the Lees are unable to register their child in the dance competition.

American sociologist C. Wright Mills believed that most people seek out explanations for problems like the one faced by the hypothetical Lee family at the level of the individual (Mills 2000, originally published in 1959). Thus, we tend to ask what individual people or families like the Lees “did wrong” to have less money and not be able to afford the dance competition in Regina. But, Mills argued, what appears to be an individual problem is also an issue of social structure. For instance, few of us can influence the capitalist economic system. However, that same system has a tremendous impact on each of us as individuals. Consider that an economic downturn across Canada can lead to thousands of job losses in Winnipeg for families like the Lees who, in turn, might not be able to afford the costs of a dance competition for reasons that are out of their control as individuals.

Mills argued that we should expand our thinking about life to include the impact that social systems, structures, and history have on us as individuals. He coined the term sociological imagination to refer to our ability to imagine the impact that social structures have on us and wrote about how our sociological imaginations are inherently limited. Simply put, a society is too large and complex for any one person to see all of it “in action” and understand how and why it functions. Consequently, this means we tend to perceive the individual problems that we and others face as “the personal troubles of milieu” and struggle to imagine how those same problems are also “public issues of social structure.” Agreeing with Mills, Lemert (2002, 10) puts it simply: “It is usually difficult to understand the larger social forces that affect us.” The reality is that we are born into societies and cultures with historical, pre-existing systems, norms, and taken-for-granted or commonsense knowledges that have a tremendous impact on our identities, behaviours, beliefs, and experiences of life.

According to Mills, we can develop our sociological imaginations by studying sociology. The good news is that reading this book will help you do just that. In what follows, you will read a case study about Waneek Horn-Miller, a prominent athlete and Indigenous rights activist, in order to expand your sociological imagination by learning about the impact of settler colonialism and racism on Horn-Miller’s experiences of elite water polo in Canada. After Horn-Miller’s case study, you will learn about social theories and how they are used to examine colonialism, racism, and other social systems and structures that affect all of our experiences of sport in Canada.



Case Study---------------------------------------------------------------------------------









Activism and Advocacy

Waneek Horn-Miller is a Bear Clan woman from the Nations of Kahnawà:ke and Ohsweken near the city of Montreal, Quebec, and was the first Mohawk woman to compete at the Olympics (Du Bois 2018; Napier 2021). You will read about Water Polo Canada’s abrupt dismissal of Horn-Miller at the height of her playing career to learn about the connection between social forces and “commonsense” ideas about how athletes “should” perform and behave in sport. As such, this case study helps us expand our sociological imaginations while learning about a prominent activist who aims to make sport a better place for more people.

In 1990, Horn-Miller was involved in the Mohawk people’s resistance to the town of Oka’s plan to build a golf course and condominium complex on sacred Mohawk land. Her mother, Kahn-Tineta Horn, was a Mohawk negotiator during the 78-day-long Kanesatake Resistance, commonly referred to in the mainstream press as the Oka Crisis. When Horn-Miller was just 14 years old, a Canadian soldier armed with a bayonet stabbed her in the chest, just centimetres from her heart. Horn-Miller describes the trauma as both haunting and inspiring (CBC News 2016). She spent six days thinking about abandoning her Olympic dreams when her mother said to her, “If you quit now, you will hand your dream over to that soldier and you will be his victim for the rest of your life. You have to show them that we cannot be beaten. And your vehicle is sports” (Napier 2021, 701).

Horn-Miller has a storied history in sport. As a teenager, she participated in the Sacred Run in 1992 and 1993 and in multiple North American Indigenous Games, and she emerged as a dominant freestyle sprint swimmer at the Ontario championships (Cleary 2019). Horn-Miller started her water polo career at Glebe Collegiate Institute, won two OUA championships with the Carleton University Ravens in 1994 and 1995, and was named team MVP and athlete of the year in three seasons. She led the Canadian women’s water polo team to a gold medal at the 1999 Pan Am Games and was voted tournament MVP. Shortly after she co-captained the team to a fifth-place finish at the 2000 Olympics, Horn-Miller spoke publicly about coach abuse on the women’s national team (Heroux 2020). An independent investigation by York University, located in Toronto, Ontario, found evidence of abuse, and Water Polo Canada fired the coaches. However, they also cut Horn-Miller, citing “team cohesion” issues for the abrupt dismissal.

What kind of information do you think you would need to better understand how and why Water Polo Canada cut Horn-Miller from the national team? Perhaps, like many Canadians, you want to know more about Horn-Miller, because we associate individual performance and behaviour with winning. But if we ask only what Horn-Miller did to get cut from the team, we limit our ability to see all the factors at play in this story. We must also ask questions about the social and cultural context to better understand how and why Water Polo Canada cut Horn-Miller at the height of her playing career.

Understanding the systems and structures of colonialism and racism is crucial for understanding Horn-Miller’s story. A powerful example comes from when Horn-Miller was featured on the cover of Time magazine in the lead-up to the 2000 Olympic Games. An American-published magazine with a large Canadian subscriber list (approximately 350,000 in 2000), Time showcased Horn-Miller’s unique dual identity as a Canadian sport star and an Indigenous activist. However, as Horn-Miller later stated, “I was their poster girl on the cover of Time. They were getting all this press attention because I’m Native and [because of] the Oka Crisis. They were using me, but when I became a problem, I got kicked out” (Heroux 2020). Here, Horn-Miller refers to how her Indigenous perspective on leadership, which drove her to speak out against abuse, clashed with the dominant culture of sport. Horn-Miller argues that “team cohesion” is code for assimilation. To “fit” on her team, she would have to adhere to “normal” athlete behaviour by abandoning her identity as a proud Mohawk woman (Schneller 2023). Dominant ideas that athletes should “fit in” or “shut up and play” are deeply rooted in racist (and incorrect) ideas that Indigenous cultures are inferior and that European, colonial cultures are superior. While we may agree that athletes should be good teammates, Waneek Horn-Miller’s story shows us that we need to consider the impact of colonialism and racism on our ideas of “normal” behaviour and our individual experiences of sport in Canada.

Horn-Miller continues to highlight the impacts of colonialism by speaking out about racism in sport and in Canada. In 2019, she argued that her induction into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame was not for her individual statistics or winning but rather for how she endured the racism of Canada’s colonial sport system (Heroux 2020). She added, “I don’t think people should leave sport damaged, hurt and in pain. That’s not what sport is about” (Heroux 2020). She argues that sport can make the world a better place and plans to develop a sustainable national Indigenous sport system so that more Indigenous people can participate in sport and be physically active. In 2023 she said, “If you have the capacity to make something better, make it better. If you have to say hard truths, say them” (Schneller 2023).

More Excerpts From Social Issues in Canadian Sport

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