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Sociological production is prompted and affected by the major social preoccupations of the society it stems from. This is an inherent feature of the social sciences because those who produce knowledge, in this case sociologists, participate in the society they study. The aim of this article is to highlight the social and historical conditions that are at the root of the production of knowledge in the sociology of sports, and the role the latter has played in the exercise sciences in Quebec. This article is composed of two parts. First, it will try to shed light on the social dynamics that created the sociology of sport. Second, it will try to show that the researchers' problematics and the theoretical traditions they have followed were a part of the power dynamics specific to Quebec society and the field of physical education. Briefly, this paper aims to show that the sociology of sport in Quebec has been shaped by the socio-historical conditions in which it has been created and that, at the same time, it has generated a specific social and academic dynamics.

This paper concerns the case study in sociology, and in the social sciences in general. The classical definition attributed to the case study is examined here by recalling the methodological conflict in sociology, marked by a rift between qualitative and quantitative methods, and by a retrospective look at the well-known case studies that American researchers devoted to French Canada (or Quebec), more particularly to its rural culture whose transformation relates to the 'meeting of two worlds.' The criticism levelled at these case studies are examined, especially those concerning their presumed lack of representativeness and objectivity. This lack was invoked without these terms being really stated or clearly determined. In this article, objectivity is defined as being the detailed account of the methodological strategies and operations guiding the approach to an object of investigation. Moreover, a distinction is made between statistical representativeness and sociological representativeness which best determines the generalization value of the case study. Finally, while this approach is considered as a study, or even as descriptive theory, this paper shows that description proves essential in the definition of explanatory theories. The example of the case study approach to the French-language economy in Quebec is presented in order to re-examine, in strictly methodological terms, all the points raised in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]