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INTL ST 311

THE GLOBAL GAME: SOCCER, POLITICS, AND IDENTITY

3-4 credits.

Soccer (or football) is played in almost every part of the world. Soccer will be used as a lens through which to think critically about a range of issues within our own societies and around the world. This includes examining the relationship between European imperialism and the globalization of soccer in the early 20th century; thinking about who gets to play (and who gets paid) across different contexts; and analyzing how soccer is both globally networked and intensely local in its passions and rivalries. Draws from a range of perspectives on soccer, from those who consider it to be an opium for the masses to those who see it as a vehicle for positive social change, in order to illuminate some of the big questions facing the world today.

Prerequisites & course information

Requisites: Sophomore standing Course Designation: Core GenEd - Social & Behavioral Science Breadth - Social Science Level - Intermediate L&S Credit - L&S Liberal Arts and Science Repeatable for Credit: No Last Taught: Summer 2026 Learning Outcomes: 1. Identify and describe the ways that soccer shapes societies and vice-versa. Audience: Undergraduate 2. Demonstrate an understanding of different theoretical approaches to studying soccer. Audience: Undergraduate 3. Analyze sites in which soccer can be a vehicle for contesting political and cultural injustices. Audience: Undergraduate 4. Apply course insights to broader debates about globalization, identities, and inequalities. Audience: Undergraduate Learning Outcomes: 1. Identify and describe the ways that soccer shapes societies and vice-versa. Audience: Undergraduate 2. Demonstrate an understanding of different theoretical approaches to studying soccer. Audience: Undergraduate 3. Analyze sites in which soccer can be a vehicle for contesting political and cultural injustices. Audience: Undergraduate 4. Apply course insights to broader debates about globalization, identities, and inequalities. Audience: Undergraduate

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