Playing the Game: An Anthropological Exploration of Youth, Sport, and Play

The Spring 2025 NEOS issue, Playing the Game: An Anthropological Exploration of Youth, Sport, and Play, seeks submissions of anthropological and interdisciplinary research focused on children’s and youths’ experiences with sport, play, recreation, and physical activity. Sport has been described as a microcosm of what life is about, and it is understood to both shape and be shaped by social, cultural, global, political, and historical practices (Besnier, Brownell, and Carter 2018). If play is a human universal (and potentially a universal of all life; see Graeber 2014), what does sport, as the institutionalization of games and the codification and controlling of play, do? What transformative and educational elements of play are suppressed, preserved, or fostered through implementation and participation in play, in games, and in sport? This issue will draw on connections to the power and agency of children and youth to impact and be impacted by their larger worlds through sport and play, mirroring the many influences of sport mentioned above. For instance, sport is mobilized as a tool within development; we encourage scholars to ask to what ends, why, and what do children and youth who are the targets of these development ideologies do with the embodied knowledge of sport, play, and games, delivered through such programs around the globe. The hyper-focus on developing a particular type of sporting body also has ramifications for how young people discover and transform embodied sensory knowledge of movement in specific environments and the understanding of how bodies might be defined along with or against prevailing societal ‘norms.’

We encourage a broad interpretation of how sport and play are defined, inviting scholars whose work includes topics of embodied learning, institutional or structural components of sport and play, imagination, action and acting, adventure, competition, leisure and recreation, and other forms of physical activity. We especially encourage contributions that develop ideas regarding diversity within sport and play, including but not limited to gender, race, and ability.

We invite original research articles (4,000 words max, excluding references) that address this issue’s theme. NEOS also welcomes submissions on scholarship and applied research that uplifts racial, economic, and social justice and the dismantling of systemic oppression for a dedicated standing column on anti-racism and equity in child and youth studies. Some themes and questions that could be of potential interest for inclusion in this issue are:

Youth, Sport, and Play: Control

• What does youth participation in sport, on and off the fields of play, look like within institutional frameworks, and how are children and youth carving out space and agency within these structures?
• How do children and youth interact with sporting places and spaces, like playgrounds, pitches, and fields? How do different recreational spaces (e.g., parks, sports facilities, community centers) support or hinder youth engagement and socialization? What design and policy considerations can improve these spaces?
• In what ways does involvement in competitive activities shape the identities of young people? How do experiences of success and failure in competitive contexts impact self-esteem and personal growth? How does this differ between collaborative, team approaches to sport and individual experiences?
• How are sport and play utilized as an international development tool, and what role do global sporting bodies have in the physical and social development of youth?
• What are the pedagogical benefits or considerations of incorporating adventure-based activities and sports or play into educational settings and curricula?

Youth, Sport, and Play: Free

• How can we reimagine the boundaries of how we define sport and play and explore how children and youth engage with imagination, creativity, fantasy, adventure, and free play? How do these impact children and youth’s cognitive, emotional, and social development?
• In what ways does engagement in sports contribute to the formation and expression of identity and connection to culture among young people? How do experiences of achievement and adversity in sports impact self-esteem and personal growth?
• How do recreational and leisure activities contribute to social inclusion and equity among diverse youth populations? What role do these activities play in bridging social divides and fostering cross-cultural understanding?
• How do youth embody sport, and how are youth bodies controlled, managed, or allowed freedom in sport?

Youth, Sport, and Play: Divergent

• How are assistive technologies altering the participation, inclusion, and performance of youth athletes with physical or cognitive differences? How are inclusive sports programs designed and implemented, and how do they impact youth with different abilities?
• What disparities are present in youth sports regarding gender equity, representation, and inclusivity?
• How can youth sports programs be used to promote social justice and address societal issues such as inequality and discrimination?
• What are the experiences and challenges faced by transgender and non-binary youth in sports?
• What emerging alternative platforms, digital tools, and online media are involved with sport and play, and how are these changing what sport and play look like and how they are defined by youth?
• How do socioeconomic factors influence access to imaginative, adventurous, and recreational opportunities (or organized sports) for youth? What are the implications for policy and practice aimed at addressing disparities?

This list is not exhaustive and we also invite authors to explore other topics that relate generally to sport and play among children and youth, both within formal boundaries and outside of them.

NEOS is an open-access publication of the Anthropology of Children and Youth Interest Group (ACYIG) of the American Anthropological Association (AAA). We publish research on childhood and youth from scholars working across the four fields of anthropology, as well as from those interdisciplinary fields in conversation with anthropological theories and methods. Articles published in NEOS undergo a double-anonymous peer-review process. The deadline for submissions is January 24, 2025 (end of the day). Rolling submissions prior to January 24 are also welcome. While not required, authors are encouraged to submit a brief message about their intent to submit to the Co-Editors by January 10, 2025. The NEOS Editorial Team may be reached at acyig.editor@gmail.com. Visit our website for further information on NEOS, as well as submission guidelines and instructions. You may access the submission portal for the Spring 2025 issue here.

References

Besnier, Niko, Susan Brownell, and Thomas F. Carter. 2018. The Anthropology of Sport: Bodies, Borders, Biopolitics. Oakland: University of California Press.

Graeber, David. 2014. “What’s the Point If We Can’t Have Fun?” The Baffler 24. https://thebaffler.com/salvos/whats-the-point-if-we-cant-have-fun.