NASSS 2018 Conference - Vancouver

In 2018, we find ourselves in the midst of what Harry Edwards (2017) referred to as the fourth wave of athlete activism. This era has moved athletes, activists, and scholars to pursue and express creative methods of resistance to oppressive structures in and through sporting spaces (i.e., academia and industry). Springing from the soundtrack of resistance, liberation sociology seeks to “…not just research the social world but assist in changing it” (Feagin, Vera, & Ducey, 2015, p. 1). Therefore, this session will highlight contemporary innovations in resistance methods both in and beyond the academic study of sport. In doing so, we welcome presentations that creatively make use of epistemological and methodological tools (e.g., poetry, song, dance, storytelling, film, photovoice, etc.) to “sing” these songs of liberation. Revolutions necessitate art (Matsuda, 2017) and we seek to facilitate a space of dialogue and action to reverberate these emancipatory melodies in sporting spaces.