ISHPES meets ICSSPE

ISHPES meets ICSSPE was a session at the annual congress of the International Society for the History of Sports and Physical Education (ISHPES) held from Sept 10-13, 2024 in Curitiba, Brazil. The main theme was “Cultural transfers and circulation of knowledge: debates and controversies in the history of physical education”. About 80 sport historians from 14 countries attended the conference, organized at the Federal University of Paraná by Marcelo Moraes e Silva, Evelise Amgarten Quitzau, (Federal University of Viçosa) Daniele Cristina Carqueijeiro de Medeiros (State University of Campinas).

In the introduction of the session, ICSSPE Vice President, Annette R. Hofmann (Ludwigsburg University of Education) presented the purpose, aims and visions of ICSSPE. She also referred to its research projects and programs. One of them being the Biennial Working Programme, which ISHPES was awarded with for the 22/23 edition.

Keiko Ikeda (ISHPES Vice President, Hokkaido University) and ISHPES President Pierre-Olaf Schut (Gustav-Eiffel Université Paris) presented the results of this joint ISHPES research project entitled “Cross-Cultural Approaches to Sustainable Development Goals and Greening Sport: Transnational Study of Open-air Activities, Mountain Sports, and Traditional Games”. It concerns an ontological turn from our dichotomized understandings of the relation between nature and human beings, specifically in the context of greening sport, including (1) Understanding how playing in nature can develop ecological sensibilities in conjunction with traditional ecological knowledge; (2) Reviewing the history of outdoor sporting activities (e.g., mountaineering, hiking, etc.) and their relationship with the conservation movement; and (3) Contextualizing the nexus of ‘sustainability,’ the climate crisis, and the future of sport. The paper offered significant transnational and transhistorical perspectives on the ‘ontological turn’ of greening sport with the latest philosophical understandings of environmentalism within the sociocultural study of sport. The researchers involved were among the above mentioned speakers Tom Fabian, Dario Nardini, Jeroen Derkinderen, Dale Whitfield presenting five regions in the world. The results of the study will be published in an anthology by Palgrave Macmillan.

The third speaker for this ICSSPE session was Maria Beatriz Rocha Ferreira (longtime ICSSPE Executive Board member & Researcher Group NGIME-Federal University of Juiz de Fora and Vice President of IAPESGW), who gave insights into her research on "Indigenous Peoples' Games in Brazil: Cultural Diversity and Gender Issues".

The Brazilian State had a defunctionalizing role in indigenous societies, through wars and diseases, in which they decimated several populations and were considered a punishment from the gods. Indigenous peoples were "introduced" to miscegenation and ethnic integration, adaptation to new socioeconomic and environmental environments, territorial changes, government policies, forbidden to play their games, among other factors. However, many games survived, as Rocha Ferreira stated. These show an interconnection with the earth and the cosmos, pay homage to the changing seasons, rites of passage, cosmologies, conflict resolution, prosperity and peace, and emphasize inter-generation and the collective. Today, they are a demonstration of cultural survival. The emergence of indigenous women in public life has taken place in recent decades. The Indigenous Peoples' Games were another opportunity for them to participate publicly in the organization and practice of the games themselves.

Maria Beatriz Rocha Ferreira's topic matched perfectly with other papers presented, especially since it related to minorities, an often neglected research perspective. Especially women's role within sport history was a popular topic throughout the conference's workshops. Others referred to the development of individual sports, various cultures of physical education and exercise which go back to GutsMuths, Jahn or Ling. Biographical approaches and specific topics that refer to nations, regions or people were also presented.

Between the workshops, keynotes and panel discussions were organized. Among the latter “What is the point of sport history in this era of global crisis?” and “Critical Reflections on the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris 2024” could be joined with panelists that stated their opinions and were also open for elaborate discussions.

The relationship between ICSSPE and ISHPES has always been a fruitful one. Since a few years, ICSSPE representatives attend the ISHPES congresses to introduce ICSSPE to the attendees. For more information on the conference, see https://www.ishpes.org/ishpes-congress-2024/.