Dr Alex Stewart

Senior Lecturer in Sociology of Sport and Sport Development

Alex Stewart

I have been teaching for more than 20 years now, having completed a five-year ethnographic study of amateur and professional boxing in and around London, England for my PhD. The opportunity to merge my passion for sport (in a previous life I was an amateur and professional boxer) and learning about the world around me has focused my teaching and research interests around sport sociology and sport development.

In a previous life I spent my time split between boxing competitively and backpacking and working my way around the globe.

Qualifications

  • PhD Sport Sociology - ÑÇÉ«ÊÓƵ
  • BA (Hons) Sport Studies - University of Luton

Teaching Expertise

  • Critical Sport Sociology
  • Sustainable Sport Development
  • Sport for Social Change
  • Qualitative research methods
  • Ethnography
  • Research Supervision

Research Interests

  • Socialisation into and through sport
  • Cultural production and violent sporting participation
  • Sporting subcultures
  • Sport for Change and social justice
  • Athlete welfare
  • Ethnography
  • Embodied methodologies

External Roles

  • Amateur Boxing Association of England Development Commissioner (2006-7)
  • International Review for the Sociology of Sport (Reviewer)
  • Qualitative Research in Sport and Exercise (Reviewer)
  • Journal of Sport and Tourism (Reviewer)
  • Sport in History (Reviewer)

Conference Presentations

  • 'Fighting Bodies for Change'? Critical Notes on the Cultural Legacy of Women's Olympic Boxing 'ICSEMIS convention to be held in Glasgow (July 2012).
  • "Embodying violence: The social construction of desire among English professional boxers", European Association for the Sociology of Sport (eass) Conference to be held in Berne, Switzerland (June 2012)
  • 'Embodying the fight game – Some notes on insider identity, being ethnographic and seeking understanding while conducting ethnographic research as a boxer among boxers in England' - 2011 Ethnography Symposium - Cardiff University ( 2011)
  • 'Social inclusion and sport in consumer society: A boxer's embodied and somewhat narcissistic reflections' - Leisure Studies Association (Leeds Metropolitan University 2010)
  • 'Embodying the fight game: Insider reflections of personal development and social engagement among amateur boxers in England - Sport for sport?: Theoretical and practical insights in sport development : A one day symposium presented by the European Sports Development Network in partnership with the Leisure Studies Association (University of Hertfordshire 2010)
  • 'Learning Respect: Class based masculinities and the performance of morals among amateur and professional boxers in England' - Leisure Studies Association (Canterbury Christ Church University 2009)
  • 'Fighting pro…turning academic: An emergent methodology from the inside' - 3rd International Conference for Qualitative Research in Sport and Exercise (Roehampton University 2009)

Publications

  • Stewart-Psaltis A (2023) - Insider Ethnography in Professional Boxing in Crafting Ethnographic Fieldwork: Sites, Selves and Social Worlds (Co-edited by Marvasti A & Gubrium J; Routledge)
  • Stewart A (2015) - The boxer in the mirror: The ethnographic self as a resource while conducting insider in Ethnographies in Sport and Exercise Research; (Co-edited by Molnar G and Purdy L; Routledge)
  • Stewart A (2012) - Boxing, Culture and Society: Developing winners through the 'sport ethic'? in Theoretical and practical insights in sport development; (Co-edited by Harris S and Mcintosh C; Leisure Studies Association)
  • Stewart A (2011) – The boxer's 'Pugilistic-Present': Ethnographic notes towards a cultural history of professional boxing in England; Sport in History, Vol 31, Issue 4, pp. 464-486

Contact Details

T: +44 (0)1234 742727
E: alex.stewart@beds.ac.uk

address

School of Sport Science and Physical Activity
Faculty of Education, English and Sport
Bedford campus
Polhill Avenue
Bedford
MK41 9EA
UK

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