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Abstract
In 1972, the term ‘kinanthropometry’, derived from the Greek words ‘kinein’ (to move), ‘anthropos’ (human) and ‘metrein’ (to measure), was launched in the international, Francophone journal Kinanthropologie by the Canadian William Ross and the Belgians, Marcel Hebbelinck, Bart Van Gheluwe and Marie-Louise Lemmens. The authors defined this neologism as ‘the scientific discipline for the study of the size, shape, proportion, scope and composition of the human being and its gross motor functions’. Presenting a theoretical framework for the analysis of the internal social processes of discipline formation – derived from the social history-of-science tradition – this article critically examines whether kinanthropometry was indeed promoted and developed by its community members as a scientific discipline. Therefore, the focus will be on its conceptualisation and positioning within the field of kinanthropology/kinesiology and on its development by a scholarly association, i.e. the International Working Group on Kinanthropometry (IWGK). The strong emphasis of the kinanthropometry community on the standardisation of measurement techniques and its practical and professional application hampered its disciplinary development. Findings of this study could serve as a basis for future ‘fundamental’ investigations addressing questions of disciplinary development within the field(s) of physical education, kinesiology and sport science(s).
Acknowledgements
The authors are dedicating this paper to their colleague Gaston Beunen, who passed away on 13 August 2011. Furthermore, they would like to thank Marcel Hebbelinck and Jan Borms for granting access to their personal IWGK and ISAK archives, the reviewers for their useful comments, and the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) for funding the doctoral project of the first author.