Το «παιχνίδι» στο έργο του Norbert Elias

Abstract

Norbert’s Elias contribution, on the social sciences in general and in the study of sports, is widely acknowledged and documented. In his work, evident of an extraordinary theoretical stability, the notion of “game” appears in an array of different theoretical frameworks and functions as a metaphor in various contexts.

The current essay will aim to present the different usages of the notion of “game” within the work of the German speaking scholar. Beginning with the position that games uphold in the context of his wider Civilizing Process theory and his various formulation regarding the formation of modern sports, this essay will try to connect the two earlier, more generally acknowledged, understandings of his work, with his general figuration theory, best exemplified in his later work What is Sociology.

In this way, we hope to highlight, on the one hand, the ways by which Elias’ engagement with sports is inscribed in his wider theoretical project and, on the other, the relation of his work with other classical sociological notions that he is employing, such as power and knowledge, critical in the study of modern sport, as well as central in the inquiry regarding the study of changes in modern mass culture and leisure time practices.