{"product_id":"spirit-and-sport-religion-and-the-fragile-athletic-body-in-popular-culture-9781621907343","title":"Spirit and Sport: Religion and the Fragile Athletic Body in Popular Culture","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): Sean Samuel O'Neil\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: University of Tennessee Press\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: University of Tennessee Press\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: History\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eSpirit and Sport: Religion and the Fragile Athletic Body in Popular Culture\u003c\/i\u003e, Sean O'Neil studies the intersectionality of religion and disability as it exists within contemporary sports. To do so, he calls to the forefront various contemporary stories about trauma and disability--some fictional, others biographical--and examines how we tell and interpret these stories within the frameworks of athletic activity, competition, failure, and success. O'Neil studies a wide range of perspectives, from John Irving's \u003ci\u003eA Prayer for Owen Meany\u003c\/i\u003e and the big-screen's \u003ci\u003eSigns \u003c\/i\u003eto the experiences of real-life athletes like Tim Tebow, Muhammad Ali, and Bethany Hamilton. Woven throughout his examination of each is a consideration of religious belief and practice, especially within Christianity, as it relates to athletic ability--the lighthearted stories of victory and overcoming, the inspiring triumph over fragility and limitation so often couched in religious terms.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eO'Neil's study draws upon his experiences as a hospital chaplain and his own battle with skin cancer. By blending personal experience with sociological observation, O'Neil argues that the intersection of religion, sports, and disability in popular culture is a revealing site of cultural struggle over competing myths, identities, and values related to the body--both the physical bodies we inhabit as well as the broader social bodies to which we subscribe.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eSpirit and Sport\u003c\/i\u003e is a study with broad appeal: from O'Neil's autoethnographic storytelling to the wide range of narrative media he examines, religious scholars, sports historians, and general audiences alike are sure to find it a thought-provoking and engaging read.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"University of Tennessee Press","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":47595938480279,"sku":"9781621907343","price":5229.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9781621907343.webp?v=1774991793","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/spirit-and-sport-religion-and-the-fragile-athletic-body-in-popular-culture-9781621907343","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}