Competing in the 1986 National College Games of the People's Republic of China, Susan Brownell earned both a gold medal in the heptathlon and fame throughout China as "the American girl who won glory for Beijing University." Now an anthropologist, Brownell draws on her direct experience of Chinese athletics in this fascinating look at the culture of sports and the body in China.
"Training the Body for China" is the first book on Chinese sports based on extended fieldwork by a Westerner. Brownell introduces the notion of "body culture" to analyze Olympic sports as one element in a whole...

Body Cultures explores the relationship between the body, sport and landscape. This book presents the first critically edited collection of Henning Eichberg's provocative essays into 'body culture'. Eichberg, a well-known scholar in continental Europe who draws upon the ideas of Elias, Focault, Habermas and others, is now attracting considerable interest from Anglo-American sociologists, historians and geographers. This collection has been extensively edited to highlight Eichberg's most important arguments and themes. Introductory essays from the editors and Susan Brownell provide...

The past two centuries have witnessed tremendous upheavals in every aspect of Chinese culture and society. At the level of everyday life, some of the most remarkable transformations have occurred in the realm of gender. Chinese Femininities/Chinese Masculinities is a mix of illuminating historical and ethnographic studies of gender from the 1700s to the present.

The essays in this highly creative collection are organized in pairs that alternate in focus between femininity and masculinity, between subjects traditionally associated with feminism (such as family life) and those...

One of the more problematic sport spectacles in American history took place at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, which included the third modern Olympic Games. Associated with the Games was a curious event known as Anthropology Days organized by William J. McGee and James Sullivan, at that time the leading figures in American anthropology and sports, respectively. McGee recruited Natives who were participating in the fair's ethnic displays to compete in sports events, with the "scientific" goal of measuring the physical prowess of "savages" as compared with "civilized men." This...

A caregiver's life is a whirlwind of activity and emotion. You are dealing with a lot of stress and many unknowns. Some days it gets you down. When you need encouragement, you need it to be fast and powerful. You know you need to take care of yourself. It's time to feel the love. It's time to look at things from a different perspective. Get the Caregiver Attitude and discover: How to keep your spirits up when you are discouraged What your care means to your loved one What true strength really is A new perspective on life's priorities How to deal with the change in your life How caregiver...