Eric Dunning, "Figuring" Modern Sport

This professorial lecture begins by introducing the key aspects of figurational sociology, as developed by the late Norbert Elias, who is increasingly becoming recognised as one of the greatest sociologists of the twentieth century. This approach is then applied to sport, concentrating firstly on the historical development of various forms of football, including the division between soccer and rugby. The lecture concludes with a discussion of the causes of football hooliganism and of the media reaction to this phenomenon.