# Eric Dunning **Domain:** Sociology of sport **Doc Type:** Developed Wiki Node **Maturity:** Developed **Collection:** [[collections/Gamification|Gamification Collection]] ## Definition **Eric Dunning** (1936–2019) was a sociologist of sport and a major collaborator of Norbert Elias. Their work analyzed sport as controlled mimetic excitement within long processes of state formation and restraint. ## Significance Dunning helps replace a simple catharsis model with an institutional account of how societies organize dangerous excitement. ## Sources - [[articles/gamification/Lex Sportiva and Winning Without Bloodshed|Lex Sportiva and Winning Without Bloodshed]] - [Primary or institutional source](https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/Q/bo58929421.html) ## Routes [[wiki/Norbert Elias|Norbert Elias]] · [[wiki/Civilizing Process|The Civilizing Process]] · [[wiki/Mimetic Activity|Mimetic Activity]] · [[articles/gamification/Lex Sportiva and Winning Without Bloodshed|Lex Sportiva and Winning Without Bloodshed]]