SPORT & INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Introduction to Course + History of Globalization of Economies & Sport

SPMT 651 - Spring 2014

Meghan Ferriter, Ph.D. mferrite@gmu.edu

27 January 2014

WELCOME!

• SPMT 651: Sport & International Development

• Mondays - 7:20 pm - 10:00 pm

• Enterprise Hall 77

• January 27 - May 14

COURSE OBJECTIVES

We will explore historical and contemporary events, perspectives, and applied approaches to sport and international development, in order to: 1. explain international economic development strategies.2. describe the theoretical underpinnings in development studies.3. analyze the role of the globalization in international development.4. explain how sport fits into development studies and practices.5. outline the role of international sport organizations in developing countries.6. demonstrate how sport can foster development within societies.7. conduct research on a specific sport and development issue.

READINGS

Darnell, S. (2012). Sport for development and peace: A critical sociology. London: Bloomsbury.Gibbs, T., & Leech, G. (2009). The failure of global capitalism. Nova Scotia, Canada: Cape Breton University Press.Levermore, R., & Beacom, A. (Eds.). (2009). Sport and international development. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Pillay, U., Tomlinson, R., & Bass, O. (Eds.). (2009). Development and dreams: The urban legacy of the 2010 Football World Cup. Pretoria: HSRC Press. Free download available at: http://www.hsrcpress.ac.za/product.php?cat=24&freedownload=1&productid=2259

Other assigned articles available via the E-Journals collection at Mason.

COURSE CALENDAR

Date TopicFebruary 3 The Global Economy and the Concept of “Development.”

February 10 Histories of Sport in the Colonial Era

February 17 Understanding the Role of Sport in Liberation Politics

February 24 Sport and Development: Mapping the Field and Introduction of Sport & International Development Communication Platforms

March 3 The Emergence of Development Studies and Development Theories.

March 10 (Spring Break)

March 17 Research Posters and Presentations: Case Study of Sport and Development

March 24 Development in Practice: Theory to Action

March 31 Ways of Doing Sport Development

April 7 Gender and Sport Development

April 14 International Organizations and Sport Development

April 21 Mega-Events and Sport in Development

April 28 Future Directions for Sport and Development

May 5 Review of Sport and International Development

MORE INTROS• Me: Cultural Anthropologist/Sociologist (PhD&BA) & Historian

(MA/BA)

• Identity, Discourse, Communication, Media, Cultural Studies, Community, Narrative, Online Communities, Digital Studies, Digital Humanities, Knowledge production, Wikipedia…and more

• Project Coordinator - Smithsonian Institution Transcription Center - Collaborative transcription & review to unlock, then make available all kinds of knowledge: discovery, community, history, science, art

PATRON OR SPECTATOR?Absorbing Olympics Discourses: Amateurism, Nationalism, Equality, Fair Play, and Nostalgia

TOP RESEARCH QUESTIONS

• In what ways do people become and remain fans of sport and communicate with each other using digital tools and technologies?

• In what ways are the cultural meanings of professional sport associated with gender, ethnicity, and age changing in the UK and the US in the context of international social processes?

• In an international environment of modernization, technological advance,and restructured economic and political hierarchies, in what ways did Irish nationalists react to internal and external catalysts to create a sustained identity?

TELL ME MORE

• About You and Your Interests, Please!

• Program & focus, Objectives, Plans or interests in Sport Management/Development, etc

• How can we make this course best augment your career goals?

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

• “…the processes by which there is an attempt to improve life chances throughout the world but particularly in countries considered to be “low-income”.”

Levermore & Beacom (2012: 7)

DEVELOPMENT• suggests linear movement

• discourses of “progress” + “modernization”

• rooted in religious, political, & economic contexts

• grew out of imperialism::colonialism, race for trade, and entrenched social-political relationships

A LOT OF DICHOTOMIES• Global vs. Local

• Cosmopolitan (Center) vs. Periphery

• Modern vs. Traditional

• West vs. “Global South”

• Capitalism vs. Communism

• Amateur vs. Professional

CONCEPTS OF NOTE

• Globalization

• New? … Not really

• Suggested as constant, rapidly increasing & intensifying

• Reinforces/Defines: LOCAL v GLOBAL & understanding of world

“the intensification of world-wide social relationships which link

distant places in such a way that local happenings are shaped

by events occurring many miles away and vice-versa”

- Giddens in Beynon & Dunkerley (2000: 64).

CONCEPTS OF NOTE

Imperialism

Colonialism

“…an unequal human and territorial relationship, usually in the form of an empire, based on ideas of superiority and practices of dominance, and involving the extension of authority and control of one state or people over another.”

- Gregory et al (2009: 373)

“(The) establishment, exploitation, maintenance, acquisition, and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory… (featuring) a set of unequal relationships between the colonial power and the colony and often between the colonists and the indigenous population.”

Concept/Project Practice

COLONIALISM

• repressive vs PROGRESSIVE

• much of what we’ll explore stems from philosophical positions of PROGRESSIVE COLONIALISM

• critique of perspectives, including anthropological approaches

IF THIS IS THE HISTORY…

Does that mean Development is GOOD or BAD?

GOOD BAD

improving infrastructure, health, & living conditions

reinforcing global power relationships, in favor of “West”

empowering people creating new hierarchies

stabilizing political systems limiting access to resources (controlled/rationed)

addressing systemic abuse and inequality

destabilizing/ losing ways of life & damaging cultural heritage

HMMM

So, does this bode well for Sport and International Development??

The Answer: “It’s Complicated…”

That’s what we’re here to critically analyze, study, and address - through

our discussions and research

GLOBALIZATION & SPORT

• What kinds of sport do we mean?

• amateur, local, national, professional, Olympic

• with intersecting gender, racial(ized), ethnic, and national identities

• Globalization of sport invents, reinforces, and exposes relationships between nations, regions, and political-economic approaches

• Actors include media, marketing, politics, economic interventions, social exchange, and of course THE SPORTS THEMSELVES

ALWAYS CONSIDER• Questions to Ask:

• Who benefits and how?

• Who brings which resources?

• What happens after?

• In all projects, there are social actors grounded perspectives, historical patterns, and cultural contexts

• WHY is this important?

• Because the ways we understand and interact with each other and the world, plus our actions and activities - including sport - are socially constructed … it can change!

THINKING IN THIS WAY…

Allows us

• to question what we think is normal, natural, or obvious and

• challenge our assumptions by problematizing power relations

NEXT WEEK

On 03 February, we’ll discuss issues & debates surrounding:

The Global Economy and the Concept of “Development.”

Reading: Gibbs, T., & Leech, G. (2009). The Failure of Global Capitalism.