Announcing the New BMC Research Group Website
Anita Parker
March 2, 2026
Welcome to our newly redesigned digital home: the Body, Movement, and Culture (BMC) Research Group website. Hosted by our leadership team—Allison Jeffrey, Pirkko Markula, and Joseph Mills—this site serves as a central hub for exploring the complex relationships between the moving body and contemporary society.
Here is an overview of what you will find across our new pages:
Home
The Home page is our digital “front door.” Allison, Pirkko, and Joseph welcome you into our research environment by providing a high-level summary of our raison d’etre: leveraging qualitative methods and poststructuralist theory to examine how bodies move through and are shaped by the world.
BMC Leadership Team
The BMC Leadership Team page introduces the founders and leaders of the BMC Research Group.
Co-founder and Co-lead Dr. Pirkko Markula uses qualitative research methods to examine women's exercise experiences, their understandings of health, body image, and the ideal, fit body.
Co-founder, Dr. Jim Denison, a sport sociologist and coach educator, explored the formation of coaching practices through a poststructuralist lens.
Co-lead Dr. Allison Jeffrey draws on theoretical frameworks of new materialisms and the philosophy of posthumanism to expand understandings of moving bodies in sport, physical activity, recreation, and leisure pursuits.
Co-lead Dr. Joseph Mills uses poststructural theories to explore the complex social forces that shape and inform the body, revealing unseen problems and unintended consequences to improve knowledge and practice.
BMC Research
The BMC Research tab connects directly with the Movement Matters Journal, which focuses on the sociocultural studies of physical activity, including topics such as coaching, dance, exercise, leisure, and sport.
Also here, the Member Publications page spotlights recent and notable articles, book chapters, and books authored by the Leadership Team.
BMC Blog
This announcement is the inaugural post in our new BMC Blog, which we intend to be a growing repository of articles featuring knowledge and reflections from our Leadership Team and guest scholars. We have an exciting lineup of posts scheduled that dive into our ongoing research in dance, sport, exercise and fitness. New content is on the way; bookmark this page and check back regularly!
BMC in the Community
At the BMC in the Community page, we share our presence beyond our university campuses by way of conference presentations, podcast conversations, and more.
BMC Event Calendar
Stay up to date with our research group through the BMC Event Calendar, your source for upcoming conferences, seminars, and talks. Each event is an opportunity to engage with our team and join the conversation on sociological perspectives of the moving body.
BMC Members
The BMC Members page introduces the people behind the research. Members conduct research in three main areas: exercise and fitness, dance, and sports. Each Member listing includes their home university, a link to their profile page or email address, and bullet points describe their areas of interest and research.
Thank you for visiting our new digital home. We invite you to explore the site, bookmark your favourite pages, and join us as we continue to move ideas forward at the intersection of body, movement, and culture!
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