Abstract

The themes in the proceedings of the 1993 Berlin ISHPES Congress are centered on various forms of physical culture in different historical periods and societies. Set against the background of the modernization process, discussion focuses upon the continuity and change seen in playful and sport-regulated patterns of action while also examining the boundaries and mutual influences that the two share with each other. Here attention is drawn to the universalization of modern sport. An additional focal point is the conditions under which the games and sport promote integration into foreign cultures or contribute to the developement of national identity. In pursuing this issue, an ethnocentric perspective is discarded and an understanding of sport, play and dance is reconstructed within their respective cultural contexts. In doing so, the contributions relay heavily on social history and cultutral anthropology. The papers published in Volume One on the historical development of games and the changes they have undergone are supplemented and illustrated by documents from the exhibition "The Art of Hitting the Ball - an Excursion through the History of Games" which was shown during the Congress. Verl.-Info