Matt Ventresca
Postdoctoral Fellow in the Sports, Society, and Technology Program
- School of History and Sociology
Overview
Matt Ventresca is a sociologist and cultural studies scholar whose work examines the intersections of sport, health, and technology in the context of media and popular cultures. His current research explores the sociocultural implications of sport’s ongoing “concussion crisis,” with an emphasis on how scientific knowledge about brain injuries is packaged by the media and used to frame wider conversations about risk and identity in sports cultures. Matt is specifically interested in media representations of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) and their relationship to social constructions of trauma, technology, and scientific knowledge/ignorance. He is currently working with colleagues at the University of Calgary (Dr. William Bridel and Dr. Kathryn Schneider) on a cross-border study examining the cultural dynamics of athletes undergoing treatment for sport-related concussion. Matt also studies how global charitable events in support of “men’s health” (e.g. Movember) communicate complex and often problematic ideas about manhood, consumer culture, and the path to social change.
Matt has conducted research interrogating the sociocultural aspects of pain management strategies in professional sports, including the use of prescription painkillers by pro athletes and, most recently, debates around the legalization of cannabis-based treatments in elite sports. He is finishing a book that examines the cultural politics of the global charity Movember and discourses of ironic masculinity. He will be teaching SST courses including "Foundations of Sports Studies," and "Science, Technology and Sports."
- Ph.D., Queen’s University, June 2016
- M.A., Brock University, June 2009
- Hons. B.A., University of Toronto, June 2006
Distinctions:
- Sociology of Sport Journal Outstanding Article Award, 2015
Interests
- History of Technology/Engineering and Society
- U.S. Society and Politics/Policy Perspectives
Focuses:
- North America
- Gender
- Inequality and Social Justice
- Media
- Science and Technology
- Sports
Courses
- HTS-3075: Foundations Sports Stds
- HTS-3089: Science Tech & Sports
Selected Publications
Journal Articles
- The Curious Case of CTE: Mediating Materialities of Traumatic Brain Injury
In: Communication and Sport [Peer Reviewed]
Date: March 2018
- Food for Thought: Notes on Food, Performance, and the Athletic Body.
In: Journal of Sport and Social Issues [Peer Reviewed]
Date: January 2015
- "Officially a Vegan Now:"On Meat and Renaissance Masculinity in Pro Football
In: Food & Foodways [Peer Reviewed]
Date: December 2014
- When is a Drug not a Drug? Troubling Silences and Unsettling Painkillers in the National Football League
In: Sociology of Sport Journal [Peer Reviewed]
Date: September 2014
Internet Publications
- Brain Injury in Sport and its Effects: Entanglements of Science, Law, and Design
In: Transmissions: A SSS Companion Blog.
Date: October 2017
- Can Technology Alone Solve the “Concussion Crisis”?
In: Engaging Sports
Date: February 2017