Global Sports, Global Politics

Undergraduate / Graduate

The little brother of war" was the literal translation of the Iroquois name for a tense, bloody ball-and-stick game that missionaries, reminded of something else, renamed "Lacrosse." The "Muscular Christianity" movement brought to English boarding schools news of leagues of team sports, their controlled violence and its salutary effect on masculinity. Since then team sports entwined with race, class, gender and politics have been part of European political organization and action. From imperialism and colonialism, through the Cold War and into our era of "globalization," sporting institutions and events tell us things we won't learn otherwise about changing politics North and South, East and West, professional and amateur, gender binary and not, level playing fields and otherwise. Are there global sports? Are there global politics? It is easier to track political impacts on games, but we shall be at least as interested in sporting games impact on politics, with our eyes out for rules within the rules, levels of the games, and real histories of equality and avoidance, leagues, peace and justice. Most or all readings will be about sports, possibly including books by CLR James, Ashis Nandy, JA Mangan, Adrian Burgos, Donald Hall, Kazuo Sayama, John MacAloon, Joy Goodwin, David Margolick, Eduardo Galeano, Franklin Foer, Gwendolyn Oxenham, Lisa Uperesa.