ST
University of Fort Hare
13
– 16 June, 2010
SOUTH AFRICAN SOCIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION
Congress Venue:
East London International Conference Centre
22 Esplanade Road, Quigney
East London, South Africa
There is growing recognition that leisure time and leisure activities are not simply about free, relaxation time. Games, sporting events, cultural fiestas, entertainment and community recreational activities have emerged in scholarly discourse as having developmental consequences for society. These include the promotion of social inclusion
(especially in the sense of opening opportunities for the marginalised), improvement of human physical and psychological health, enhancement of social skills, and promotion of positive values such as teamwork and tolerance.
UNESCO, for instance, regards sport as a universal language that unites people irrespective of their socio-economic, cultural and political backgrounds. It is a tool for promoting peace in the face of conflict, division and hate. UNESCO also sees leisuretime activities as necessary tools for fighting societal ills such as drug abuse and juvenile delinquency. The economic significance of big sporting and leisure events has also been highlighted, and is widely evident in the growth of tourism opportunities in host countries.
Yet, the realisation of the full developmental benefits of leisure-time activities remains only a dream in most societies. Cuts in government subsidies, worsening unemployment, and the mass withdrawal of young people into the “inner space” of text messaging, electronic games and other “individualised activities” have greatly undermined the putative benefits and developmental impact of leisure-time activities.
Even more disconcerting – as the Marxists would argue – is that sport and leisure have been so hugely commodified that what effectively defines this sphere of human experience is exploitative capitalist relations of production and consumption. Who is the primary beneficiary of, say, the achievements of a soccer team? The Marxist view has brought to the fore the fact that rather than contribute to improved social relations and reduced conflicts, sport and leisure actually exacerbate social conflict. Sport as a form of leisure activity has, for example, become so commercialised and globalised the principal beneficiaries are broadcast networks, owners of soccer teams and sporting venues, big financial services brands and manufacturers of sporting accessories. According to this view, the positive impact of sport is not sufficiently broad-based.

There is even a North-South twist to the argument. European soccer circles are replete with media reports about huge payouts to teams in the form of player-transfer fees. Even so, while in the developing world soccer players are paid a pittance, their counterparts in the developed world receive huge remunerations. As a result, the North continues to drain sporting skills from the South.
As South Africa prepares to host the FIFA World Cup in 2010, questions linger as to whether the tournament’s “Win with Africa in Africa” theme will be realized in terms of broad-based empowerment for ordinary people and ordinary communities. To what extent is FIFA likely to “win with Africa”?
It is within this complex mix of sentiments that the XVI SASA Congress offers a platform for debating the developmental opportunities and challenges that sport and leisure present in the 21 st
century.
Congress Venue
East London International Conference Centre, East London, South Africa
Date:
June 13-16, 2010
Host Institution:
University of Fort Hare
Congress Sub-themes
Further to and complementing the main theme, are the following sub-themes for plenaries:
1.
Scoring at the Grassroots: Sport, Recreation and Mega Events
2.
Sport, Identity Politics & Social Cohesion
3.
Sport, Migration and Challenges for Developemt in the era of Globalsiation
Deadline for Abstracts and paper manuscripts
Abstracts should be submitted online at http://www.sasaonline.org.za
not later than 28
February, 2010. Abstracts should clearly indicate: a) Name, title, institutional affiliation, telephone, contact and e-mail addresses of paper proponents; b) the corresponding author, where many authors are involved; c) theme of the congress, and c) working group in which the paper is to be presented (see list of Working Groups at http://www.sasaonline.org.za/working-groups.html
).
The deadline for the submission of full paper manuscripts is April 30, 2010.
Inquiries (Sponsors, Special Sessions, etc)
For inquiries contact Sandra Matatu ( s.matatu@ru.ac.za
). Visit: www.sasaonline.org.za
further information. These include inquires about the possibility of setting up special sessions.
Prospective sponsors of plenary sessions and/or Working Groups (see list below) as well as organisations wishing to support or participate in the Congress in other ways should please contact the LOC Chair, Ms Penny Jaffray ( pjaffray@ufh.ac.za
, pjaffray@mweb.co.za
).