Religion, Sport, and Play Unit

Shadows, Sins and Profits: Complicating Sport and Play

The intersections of sport, play and religion often give rise to interpretations that romanticize the role, function, meaning and celebrity of particular events, participants, games, sport or play in general. A hearkening back to a time of innocence, a purity of experience, and even a seeking of perfection in body or performance conceals motivations, actions and consequences that cannot easily be reduced to a matter of ethics alone.

This call seeks proposals that address these dimensions of the shadow side, conceived broadly, of sport and play at all levels. Topics may include, but are not limited to:
• politicization of sport; commodification of human and animal bodies
• commercializing play; exoticization and mis-representation in team naming and iconography
• ritualizing violence; eugenics and the quest for perfection
• physical and emotional abuse in sports
• risking health for performance and profit
• fans behaving badly; economic injustice—the toll on athletes and communities, etc.

A diverse range of disciplinary perspectives, religious and spiritual traditions, methodologies, and critiques are encouraged, as well as proposals that engage the Boston area, the site of the 2020 AAR.