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With the Boys

Little League Baseball and Preadolescent Culture

What are boys like? Who is the creature inhabiting the twilight zone between the perils of the Oedipus complex and the Strum und Drang of puberty? In With the Boys, Gary Alan Fine examines the American male preadolescent by studying the world of Little League baseball. Drawings on three years of firsthand observation of five Little Leagues, Fine describes how, through organized sport and its accompanying activities, boys learn to play, work, and generally be "men."

304 pages | 5.90 x 9.00 | © 1987

Culture Studies

Sociology: Sociology of Arts--Leisure, Sports

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
1. Little League and the Adult Organization of Child’s Play
2. Little League as Sport and Play
3. Moral Socialization: Adult Concerns
4. Moral Socialization: Peer Concerns
5. Sexual and Agressive Themes of Preadolescent Boys
6. Small Groups and Preadolescent Culture
7. Preadolescent Subculture
8. Sport, Culture, and Preadolescence
Appendix 1: The Effects of Little League Baseball
Appendix 2: Participant Observation with Children
Appendix 3: Research Settings and Data Sources
Notes
References
Index

Awards

American Folklore Soc (Children's Sect): Opie Prize
Won

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