Soccer: A Global History

4 credits · Undergraduate

Whether you call it soccer, football or futebol the beautiful game with the round ball is played and watched around the world. This class will explore how and why that came to happen. Along the way it will trace key developments in the game such as the formation of clubs, international tournaments, the development of stadiums, fan culture, media coverage, formations and styles of play, gambling and corruption, the working conditions and wages of players. We will locate these changes in broader historical processes – political, economic, social and cultural - that have transformed the game and made it a global commodity. The class will teach you both about the game and about thinking historically and how the world changes over time.