Olympic Perspectives

Historical research on the Olympic Movement is highly valuable as it displays processes of continuity and transformation by which knowledge building processes on the Olympic Movement, its structure and on Olympic sport can be expanded. The Olympic Movement can be addressed from multidisciplinary perspectives, including management, sociology, education, philosophy and history. This comprehensive collection examines the multifaceted profile of the Olympic and Paralympic Movement and presents new insights drawn from a variety of research projects. Historical and political dimensions of the Olympic and Paralympic Movement are addressed, along with educational, ethical, commercial and sociological perspectives.

This book was originally published as a special issue of The International Journal of the History of Sport.

Stephan Wassong is Professor at the German Sport University Cologne, Germany, where he is Head of the Institute of Sport History and Director of its Olympic Studies Centre. He is executive director of the international study programme M.A. Olympic Studies and member of the IOC’s Olympic Education Commission.

Richard Baka is Senior Lecturer in the College of Sport and Exercise Science and an associate of the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Active Living at Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia. His research on the Olympic Games focuses on Australian topics and Olympic Education.

Janice Forsyth is Associate Professor in the School of Kinesiology, and former Director of the International Centre for Olympic Studies in the Faculty of Health Sciences, at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. She specializes in Canadian and Olympic sport history, and has a specific interest in Aboriginal people and sport.