McKinesiology

Abstract

Within this paper, we address how kinesiology-in a similar fashion to other disciplinary enterprises-has become enmeshed with the dictates of the market, privatization, efficiency, flexibility, and the accelerated rationalization of society, associated with the advent of late capitalism. Hence, we outline how these market considerations implicitly and explicitly privilege centrally controlled, efficiency oriented, rationally predictable, and empirically calculable ways of knowing, and of knowledge generation (Ritzer, 2004). We propose that these processes not only further wed kinesiology, the University, and implicated subjects (students as well as Professors) to the logics of the capital, but also place such concerns over human needs, civic and moral responsibilities, public values and critical contents (Giroux, 2010). These non-rational and incalculable pedagogical outcomes are crucial foundations for democracy, political freedom and equality (Brown, 2006), yet are apparently devalued in contemporary kinesiology as in other formations of (higher) education. Pace Ritzer (2006), we thus expose the epistemological McDonaldization evident with kinesiology, which we argue has resulted in a field stymied by what elsewhere has been described as its "inconvenient truth" (Andrews, 2008); namely, the intellectually and humanity limiting scientific doxa apparent and embodied within the constitution of kinesiological departments, curricular, journals, and, indeed, the kinesiology academy itself.

Contextualised skill acquisition research: a new framework to study the development of sport expertise

“…Ingham 1997;Andrews 2008). Andrews et al (2013) paint an explicitly socially critical vision for kinesiologyunder the aegis of Physical Cultural Studies as: 'an interdisciplinary field ground within a critical curriculum of the corporeal that draws on a range of exciting and innovative methodologies that can provide the languages of, and possibilities for, a politically progressive, socially just, and democratic citizenry'. Although not grounded in critical paradigms and political projects in precisely the same way, we too envisage future possibilities in which biophysical sciences and sociocultural sciences may be inextricably linked.…”

‘The Datafication of Everything’: Toward a Sociology of Sport and Big Data

“…The tensions inherent to such assertions are likely familiar to sociologists of sport. The thesis at the core of Andrews' (2008) assessment of the current state of kinesiology is that an epistemological hierarchy has arisen with the scientizing of this discipline (also see Andrews et al, 2013). Liberal capitalism, with its bent towards rationality and productivity, finds 'epistemic corroboration' in positivist objectivity.…”

Laboratory production of health and performance: an ethnographic investigation of an exercise physiology laboratory

“…Social scientists studying the relationship between science and technology, and sport and physical culture have devoted much attention to challenging the ontological and epistemological proclivities of the 'hard science' approach of sports scientists (Maguire 2004;Andrews et al 2013), questioning epistemological divisions (Vertinsky 2009;Pringle and Falcous 2016), and critiquing the discursive power of biomedical de nitions of health (Fusco 2006;Rail and Jette 2015;Thorpe 2016), the body (Pronger 2002;Hargreaves and Vertinsky 2007;Markula 2014), and obesity science (Gard and Wright 2006;Gard 2011;Rail 2012). Similarly, following Brohm's (1978) ground-breaking vituperation, scholars have critically examined sports science and sports medicine (Hoberman 1992; Malcolm 2017) emphasizing doping (Miah 2004;Beamish and Ritchie 2006;Moller, Waddington, and Hoberman 2015) and athlete classification regarding gender (Cooky and Dworkin 2013;Wells and Darnell 2014;Kidd 2017) and disability (Purdue and Howe 2013;Schalk 2016).…”

“…In short, critiques address either epistemological hierarchies (e.g. Andrews et al 2013), or manifestation of knowledge in, for example, schools (e.g. Evans et al 2008), fitness clubs (e.g.…”