GEO 3200 SOCCER AND GLOBALIZATION
Soccer is the world’s most popular sport. Globally, over 250 million people actively play and over three billion people watch the World Cup. This course uses soccer as a case study to better understand the breadth, magnitude, and dynamism of globalization in the modern world. Based on the perspectives of cultural geography, economic geography and political geography, the class explores how soccer both informs and reflects our changing world. Students will study how the modern game has evolved at both club and national levels, particularly in relation to immigration and economics, and will examine how soccer variably infuses cultural development and political systems around the world. Built upon readings, videos, individual research, and discussion forums, students will prepare multiple essays on theoretical aspects of globalization using soccer examples. Students should have a general understanding of club and national team structures or be prepared for additional background reading.
Course Types
Society; Advanced Studies; Geography Minor
- Gain a fuller understanding and appreciation of the breadth and diversity of globalization around the world.
- Identify and evaluate multiple ways in which global soccer reflects and is a tool of political trends including supranationalism, devolution, nationalism, tribalism, neocolonialism, and soft power.
- Study different leagues around the world to better understand globalized economic trends in labor migration and wealth inequalities.
- Examine the role of soccer in cultural development in different areas of the world, including the concepts of glocalization, particularization, and universalization.
- Improve critical analysis, written communication, and research skills