Ritual pathways and dramaturgical efforts: Negotiating the meaning of organized play in Norwegian children's sports

This article joins Durkheim's theory of cult and Goffman's notion an interactional membrane to show how rituals transform social life from mundanity ritual, back again. I update these classical theories with a cultural sociology performance the fun emphasize diversity in compositions, contextual transformations, contradiction meaning. With abductive methodology, leverage ethnography children's sports Norway we carry out symbolic work set apart mundane then meaningfully enact games either as attractive play modality or constrained organizing creative play. Dramaturgy, not athletic success, is key this study. Children's sports, arena for tacit learning about modalities, us much effort it takes create ritual-like encounters fun. The study also reveals broadly available codes itself, are worked into through performances where adult coaches children manoeuvre possible meanings sports. result multiple pathways can travel interactions.