Ben Powi
Biographic Data
| ID | 309149 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Ben Powi |
| GIVEN NAMES | Ben |
| FAMILY NAME | Powi |
| SIGNATURE | BEN POWI |
| AFFILIATIONS | Bournemouth University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-4324-5668 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 14 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 18 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 14 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2017 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Being there in sport, exercise and health ethnography
This article explores what it means to be there in ethnographic research within sport, exercise and health contexts. Drawing upon an eighteen-month ethnography of a bouldering community, we conceptualise being there not merely as physical presence, but as a skilled and intentional approach to conducting ethnography. Through a somatic layered account centred on climbing shoes, we illuminate how corporeal immersion facilitates nuanced, reflexive un…
Sensory methodologies and disabled sporting embodiment
In this paper, we centre the senses and sensory methodologies in researching disabled sporting embodiment and make suggestions for how such approaches can inform research and practice in physical education (PE). Firstly, we conceptualise sensory research and illustrate its value in revealing the embodied experiences of disabled bodies in sport and PE. Specifically, we advocate the use of sensory research in: (i) developing multifaceted, complex, …
Beyond the boundaries of humour
Normalised within the social fabric of cricket, sledging is a form of gamesship where players aim verbal jousts at one another in order to gain a competitive advantage. Both intimidatory and humorous, existing research into sledging has focused on non-disabled cricketers without considering the experiences of those that do not match this corporeal norm. Accordingly, in this paper we offer the first exploration of sledging as experienced by disabl…
Intellectual disability and the sociology of sport
The Dis/appearing Sporting Body
This article critically explores how disability appears and disappears in high-performance sporting environments. Drawing upon symbolic interactionism and embodiment theory, we specifically focus upon disabled athletes' lived experiences of competing in a pan-disability setting and interrogate the interplay between corporeality and social interaction in the materialising of ability, disability and impairment. In this study, 22 (21 male and one fe…
Running blind
In this article, we consider what it means to be running blind. As an idiom, this phrase refers to doing something through guesswork, without a plan or pre-existing knowledge; instead, our notion of running blind offers an alternative perspective. Drawing upon a novel theoretical approach, which is multidisciplinary and engages with the work of visually impaired (VI) and non-VI scholars, we establish the rich, creative and diverse sensory practic…
Navigating a sighted world
During lockdown in March 2020, daily outdoor exercise was encouraged but little consideration was given to the feasibility of this for visually impaired (VI) people, for whom social distancing measures presented significant challenges.Drawing upon the concepts of ableism and ocularcentrism, this article explores VI peoples' lived experiences of outdoor running (or not) during the COVID-19 pandemic.Eight VI runners participated in two semi-structu…
Researching Disability Sport
In this chapter, the authors map the theorisation of disability sport. They highlight the theoretical deprivation in the contemporary field and reflect upon lack of guidance on how disability theory can be used in sport and physical activity research. Fittingly, the remainder of the chapter is just that: a comprehensive and engaging theoretical overview, which includes I) the foundations of disability studies movement and the emergence of critica…
Embodiment, Identity and Disability Sport
This book investigates the complex relationship between embodiment, identity and disability sport, based on ethnographic research with an international-level visually impaired cricket team. Alongside issues of empowerment, classification and valorisation, it conceptualises the sensuous dimension of being in disability sport and challenges the idealised notion of the sporting body. It explores the players’ lived experiences of participating and co…
Soundscape elicitation and visually impaired cricket
This article examines the development of soundscape elicitation, an innovative method for eliciting rich and captivating accounts of sport and physical activity. This method uses composed auditory ‘tracks’ of the players’ participation and then introduces these recordings during semi-structured interviews to prompt sensorial discussions. The creation of this approach was underpinned by two major considerations: firstly, how to create an accessibl…
We know who is a cheat and who is not. But what can you do?”
Classification in disability sport is an issue mired in controversy. Much of the recent public scrutiny of classification systems and processes has been directed towards to the Paralympics, the showcase global disability sport event. But this is not just a Paralympic issue; the controversy of classification pervades disability sport at all levels. Using an embodied approach to disability sport, this article reveals how classification is experienc…
We are playing for England, we wear the same shirt; just because I have a disability, it doesn’t make me any different
Drawing upon ethnographic research conducted with the England Visually Impaired Cricket Team, this article considers the extent to which participation in visually impaired cricket is an empowering practice. The topic of empowerment and disability sport are well debated; yet, the context of visually impaired cricket provides an original perspective. Using an embodied theoretical approach to disability sport, the participants' experiences of recrea…
Visual impairment, sport and somatic work
This article explores the auditory experiences of a group of visually impaired elite sportsmen and how their sporting participation provides an alternative way of being in team sport. Here, the focus is upon the constructed auditory structure of visually impaired cricket and how this vast, featureless sporting space is endowed with social value. Unlike previous research into the spatial experiences of relatively stable environments, this article …
Sensuous scholarship in action
Visual impairment, sport and somatic work
This article explores the auditory experiences of a group of visually impaired elite sportsmen and how their sporting participation provides an alternative way of being in team sport. Here, the focus is upon the constructed auditory structure of visually impaired cricket and how this vast, featureless sporting space is endowed with social value. Unlike previous research into the spatial experiences of relatively stable environments, this article …
We are playing for England, we wear the same shirt; just because I have a disability, it doesn’t make me any different
Drawing upon ethnographic research conducted with the England Visually Impaired Cricket Team, this article considers the extent to which participation in visually impaired cricket is an empowering practice. The topic of empowerment and disability sport are well debated; yet, the context of visually impaired cricket provides an original perspective. Using an embodied theoretical approach to disability sport, the participants' experiences of recrea…
Navigating a sighted world
During lockdown in March 2020, daily outdoor exercise was encouraged but little consideration was given to the feasibility of this for visually impaired (VI) people, for whom social distancing measures presented significant challenges.Drawing upon the concepts of ableism and ocularcentrism, this article explores VI peoples' lived experiences of outdoor running (or not) during the COVID-19 pandemic.Eight VI runners participated in two semi-structu…
We know who is a cheat and who is not. But what can you do?”
Classification in disability sport is an issue mired in controversy. Much of the recent public scrutiny of classification systems and processes has been directed towards to the Paralympics, the showcase global disability sport event. But this is not just a Paralympic issue; the controversy of classification pervades disability sport at all levels. Using an embodied approach to disability sport, this article reveals how classification is experienc…
The Dis/appearing Sporting Body
This article critically explores how disability appears and disappears in high-performance sporting environments. Drawing upon symbolic interactionism and embodiment theory, we specifically focus upon disabled athletes' lived experiences of competing in a pan-disability setting and interrogate the interplay between corporeality and social interaction in the materialising of ability, disability and impairment. In this study, 22 (21 male and one fe…
Sensuous scholarship in action
We are playing for England, we wear the same shirt; just because I have a disability, it doesn’t make me any different
Drawing upon ethnographic research conducted with the England Visually Impaired Cricket Team, this article considers the extent to which participation in visually impaired cricket is an empowering practice. The topic of empowerment and disability sport are well debated; yet, the context of visually impaired cricket provides an original perspective. Using an embodied theoretical approach to disability sport, the participants' experiences of recrea…
Visual impairment, sport and somatic work
This article explores the auditory experiences of a group of visually impaired elite sportsmen and how their sporting participation provides an alternative way of being in team sport. Here, the focus is upon the constructed auditory structure of visually impaired cricket and how this vast, featureless sporting space is endowed with social value. Unlike previous research into the spatial experiences of relatively stable environments, this article …
Soundscape elicitation and visually impaired cricket
This article examines the development of soundscape elicitation, an innovative method for eliciting rich and captivating accounts of sport and physical activity. This method uses composed auditory ‘tracks’ of the players’ participation and then introduces these recordings during semi-structured interviews to prompt sensorial discussions. The creation of this approach was underpinned by two major considerations: firstly, how to create an accessibl…
We know who is a cheat and who is not. But what can you do?”
Classification in disability sport is an issue mired in controversy. Much of the recent public scrutiny of classification systems and processes has been directed towards to the Paralympics, the showcase global disability sport event. But this is not just a Paralympic issue; the controversy of classification pervades disability sport at all levels. Using an embodied approach to disability sport, this article reveals how classification is experienc…
Embodiment, Identity and Disability Sport
This book investigates the complex relationship between embodiment, identity and disability sport, based on ethnographic research with an international-level visually impaired cricket team. Alongside issues of empowerment, classification and valorisation, it conceptualises the sensuous dimension of being in disability sport and challenges the idealised notion of the sporting body. It explores the players’ lived experiences of participating and co…
Researching Disability Sport
In this chapter, the authors map the theorisation of disability sport. They highlight the theoretical deprivation in the contemporary field and reflect upon lack of guidance on how disability theory can be used in sport and physical activity research. Fittingly, the remainder of the chapter is just that: a comprehensive and engaging theoretical overview, which includes I) the foundations of disability studies movement and the emergence of critica…
Navigating a sighted world
During lockdown in March 2020, daily outdoor exercise was encouraged but little consideration was given to the feasibility of this for visually impaired (VI) people, for whom social distancing measures presented significant challenges.Drawing upon the concepts of ableism and ocularcentrism, this article explores VI peoples' lived experiences of outdoor running (or not) during the COVID-19 pandemic.Eight VI runners participated in two semi-structu…
Running blind
In this article, we consider what it means to be running blind. As an idiom, this phrase refers to doing something through guesswork, without a plan or pre-existing knowledge; instead, our notion of running blind offers an alternative perspective. Drawing upon a novel theoretical approach, which is multidisciplinary and engages with the work of visually impaired (VI) and non-VI scholars, we establish the rich, creative and diverse sensory practic…
Beyond the boundaries of humour
Normalised within the social fabric of cricket, sledging is a form of gamesship where players aim verbal jousts at one another in order to gain a competitive advantage. Both intimidatory and humorous, existing research into sledging has focused on non-disabled cricketers without considering the experiences of those that do not match this corporeal norm. Accordingly, in this paper we offer the first exploration of sledging as experienced by disabl…
Intellectual disability and the sociology of sport
The Dis/appearing Sporting Body
This article critically explores how disability appears and disappears in high-performance sporting environments. Drawing upon symbolic interactionism and embodiment theory, we specifically focus upon disabled athletes' lived experiences of competing in a pan-disability setting and interrogate the interplay between corporeality and social interaction in the materialising of ability, disability and impairment. In this study, 22 (21 male and one fe…
Being there in sport, exercise and health ethnography
This article explores what it means to be there in ethnographic research within sport, exercise and health contexts. Drawing upon an eighteen-month ethnography of a bouldering community, we conceptualise being there not merely as physical presence, but as a skilled and intentional approach to conducting ethnography. Through a somatic layered account centred on climbing shoes, we illuminate how corporeal immersion facilitates nuanced, reflexive un…
Sensory methodologies and disabled sporting embodiment
In this paper, we centre the senses and sensory methodologies in researching disabled sporting embodiment and make suggestions for how such approaches can inform research and practice in physical education (PE). Firstly, we conceptualise sensory research and illustrate its value in revealing the embodied experiences of disabled bodies in sport and PE. Specifically, we advocate the use of sensory research in: (i) developing multifaceted, complex, …
Psychology (10 works) · Disability Rights and Representation (7 works) · Inclusion and Disability in Education and Sport (7 works) · Sociology (7 works) · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts (6 works) · Medicine (5 works) · Sports, Gender, and Society (5 works) · Cricket (4 works) · Gender Studies (4 works) · Political science (4 works)