Sport and Globalization

This course looks at how and why sports cross borders, and the ways in which sport fandom connects people to each other, their geography, and their own identity.  Students come to appreciate the soft power of sport that politicians, nation-states, and corporate brands leverage to their advantage. The industry of sport has been among globalization’s most stalwart disciples; students learn how the world of sport has been shrinking, with games crossing more and more boundaries, making of its athletes, fans, and stakeholders, citizens of the world. Likewise, the course encourages students to think of sport culture from a more cosmopolitan, more globalized, perspective.