Presentation Title
Race, Ethnicity, and Physical Culture in a Multicultural Metropolis: Examining Physical Cultural Diversity in the Greater Toronto Area
Location
Room 306, School of Social Work
Start Date
28-9-2018 10:15 AM
End Date
28-9-2018 11:45 AM
Presentation Types
Event
Abstract
This paper reports initial findings from GTActivity, an ongoing research project investigating the diversity of physical cultural activities (sport, physical activity, martial arts, dance, physical games, and others) in the Greater Toronto Area. The paper situates physical cultural diversity within the framework of Canadian multiculturalism; discusses, categorizes, and analyzes the over 900 physical cultural activities that we have identified and researched; and draws on interview data to explore how physical culture contributes to the development of racial and ethnic identities in a multicultural metropolis. We conclude with a theoretical consideration of 1) how sport and physical culture contribute to the construction of fluid or hybridized racial, ethnic, and national identities; 2) how these fluid identities are negotiated through participation in sport and physical activity within diverse meanings of Canadian identity; and 3) how the diversity of physical practices in the Greater Toronto Area contributes to the creation of “physical cultural capital” within the region.
Bio Statement
Mark Norman is a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Health, Aging & Society at McMaster University. He completed his PhD in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education at the University of Toronto in 2015, after which he worked as Project Manager for the GTActivity project at the Centre for Sport Policy Studies and taught as a sessional instructor at University of Toronto and Ryerson University. His research interests include sport’s relationship to social marginalization, identity, and resistance; and qualitative methodologies in sport studies. Peter Donnelly is a Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education at the University of Toronto and Director of the Centre for Sport Policy Studies. He is the Principal Investigator on the GTActivity research project. His research interests include sport and multiculturalism, sport policy, and sport and social inequality.
Race, Ethnicity, and Physical Culture in a Multicultural Metropolis: Examining Physical Cultural Diversity in the Greater Toronto Area
Room 306, School of Social Work
This paper reports initial findings from GTActivity, an ongoing research project investigating the diversity of physical cultural activities (sport, physical activity, martial arts, dance, physical games, and others) in the Greater Toronto Area. The paper situates physical cultural diversity within the framework of Canadian multiculturalism; discusses, categorizes, and analyzes the over 900 physical cultural activities that we have identified and researched; and draws on interview data to explore how physical culture contributes to the development of racial and ethnic identities in a multicultural metropolis. We conclude with a theoretical consideration of 1) how sport and physical culture contribute to the construction of fluid or hybridized racial, ethnic, and national identities; 2) how these fluid identities are negotiated through participation in sport and physical activity within diverse meanings of Canadian identity; and 3) how the diversity of physical practices in the Greater Toronto Area contributes to the creation of “physical cultural capital” within the region.
