{"product_id":"democracy-at-the-ballpark-sport-spectatorship-and-politics-9781438485669","title":"Democracy at the Ballpark: Sport, Spectatorship, and Politics","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eExamines how the national pastime of baseball has the capacity to shape politics and American democracy.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat is the relationship between sports and politics? Often, politics are thought to be serious, whereas sports are diversionary and apolitical. Using baseball as a case study, \u003ci\u003eDemocracy at the Ballpark\u003c\/i\u003e challenges this understanding, examining politics as they emerge at the ballpark around spectatorship, community, equality, virtue, and technology. Thomas David Bunting argues that because spectators invest time and meaning in baseball, the game has power as a metaphor for understanding and shaping politics. The stories people see in baseball mirror how they see the country, politics, and themselves. As a result, democracy resides not only in exclusive halls tread by elites but also in a stadium full of average people together under an open sky. \u003ci\u003eDemocracy at the Ballpark\u003c\/i\u003e bridges political theory and sport, providing a new way of thinking about baseball. It also demonstrates the democratic potential of spectatorship and rethinks the role of everyday institutions like sport in shaping our political lives, offering an expanded view of democracy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThomas David Bunting \u003c\/b\u003eis Associate Professor of Political Science at Shawnee State University\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"State University of New York Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51811652894994,"sku":"9781438485669","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_6270dc27-31f6-4991-aa9b-7332f4a1bf9d.jpg?v=1766487877","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/democracy-at-the-ballpark-sport-spectatorship-and-politics-9781438485669","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}