Sport as a Unifying Subject of Study in the Social and Human Sciences

Sport has progressively expanded its scope of analysis beyond the traditional perspectives associated with physical education and competitive performance, incorporating approaches from the social and human sciences. In this context, the School of Social Sciences, Arts, and Humanities (ECSAH) at Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia (UNAD), through its Sports Management program, has promoted an interdisciplinary view of sport linked to fields such as sociology and social communication, strengthening spaces for academic reflection, research, and training with a social and community focus.

The experience demonstrates how sport has been approached as a social phenomenon linked to dynamics of inclusion, social fabric construction, identity, communication, public policy, and community transformation. It also highlights processes of academic coordination among different ECSAH programs through research projects, academic events, specialized study tracks, and spaces for interdisciplinary analysis aimed at understanding sports practices from sociocultural, historical, and communicative perspectives.

The document also addresses the evolution of sociological and communication studies of sport in Latin America and Colombia, highlighting the growing interest in analyzing phenomena related to citizenship, violence, nationalism, gender, media, and the commodification of sport. In this context, it presents initiatives developed by UNAD, such as conferences, forums, and collaborative academic spaces that integrate approaches from sports management, sociology, and social communication.

The interdisciplinary collaboration developed around sports has fostered the creation of innovative academic proposals relevant to contemporary social realities, strengthening processes of education, research, and critical engagement with knowledge in educational settings shaped by collaborative and interdisciplinary dynamics.