@article{Oddner, author = {Oddner, Frans}, title = {The character of sport and the sport of character}, series = {Sport in Society: Cultures, Commerce, Media, Politics, Vol. 13, No. 2 (2010), pp. 171-185. [Online ISSN 1743-0445] [doi.org/10.1080/17430430903522905)}, journal = {Sport in Society: Cultures, Commerce, Media, Politics, Vol. 13, No. 2 (2010), pp. 171-185. [Online ISSN 1743-0445] [doi.org/10.1080/17430430903522905)}, abstract = {The idea of sport's character-forming qualities is a globally spread notion, which has begun to be questioned in recent years. In problematizing this notion, the relation of sport to its practitioners has been the primary study. The way the problems reflect the relation of sport to society has been less in focus. This essay sets such a focus with the help of character concepts in social psychology (Riesman, Fromm and Sennett), developing a reconstruction of such concepts of sport in a Swedish context. From being a sphere by the side of society, sport in Sweden from the twentieth century onwards has been increasingly linked in complex ways to the various spheres and actors of society. This understanding of how characters are fostered into and within sport sheds light on the conditions for character formation at different stages of history until the present time. The problems receive further relevance when considering how New Economy culture and its conditions for character formation may affect Swedish sport in the near future.}, language = {en} }