The History and Culture of Soccer
Instructor: Alon Raab, Department of Religious Studies, College of Letters and Science
Description: For as much as there is a great noise in the city caused by hustling over large balls, from which many evils may arise, which God forbid; We command and forbid on behalf of the king, on pain of imprisonment, such game to be used in the city in future.
King Edward the Second, King of England, 1314.
For, after many years in which the world has afforded me many experiences, what I must surely know in the long run about morality and the obligations of men, I owe to sport.
Albert Camus, Goalie for the University of Algiers Football team and winner of the Nobel Prize for literature.
From its roots in religious rituals among the Aztecs and the Chinese and up to its present global popularity, Football (Soccer) is the game most played, written about, watched, and dreamed about, in the world. This class will examine the nature and history of the game and will look at its intersections with issues of class, gender, nationalism, and globalization.
The literature about the subject, both popular and scholarly, is extensive and in 4 weeks we can only address several manifestations. We will become acquainted with research done by sociologists and their explorations of the game’s appeal in different cultures, its various representations and character, how the game is organized, and what social and commercial forces shape it and are shaped by it.
Our goals are to learn about the game’s history and culture and study several of its aspects. We will bring to the task the precision of a David Beckham or Roberto Carlos free kick and treat it with the same loving care that Zinadene Zidane employs when distributing the ball. We will approach our subject with a critical lens but also with the sense of fun and wonder that the game provides so generously to all.
Format and Grading Plan: The grade will be comprised of 3 equal parts:
* Participation in class discussion and coming to class with the readings prepared and willing to share your knowledge and love of the game.
* Final exam on Wed. July 19th. The test will cover the readings, lectures including by our guests, and films.
* 2 papers, each 3 pages in length.
Please submit all work on the due date. Late work will result in a grade being deducted for every late day. (If your grade was A and you handed the work one day late it will be A-, and so on.) If there are "circumstances beyond your control" please let me know.
Integrity, respect for your fellow students and instructor, and handing in original work are expected. All work that you submit must be your original work and written only for this class. If you use sources (quotations, ideas, paraphrases) that you did not generate, you must acknowledge them. Cheating and plagiarism will result in failing the class. If you are unsure about any of these, please consult the Student Conduct Code or come talk with me.
Attendance is required. After 4 missed hours, a grade will be deducted from your final grade for the term, one letter grade for each hour missed.
About the Instructor: Besides being a bike rider all my life (and having no car) I am also the author of “Under the Sign of the Bicycle.” (I am enclosing a recent review of it from the Czech based magazine “Car-busters.” www.carbusters.org) I have been involved in bicycle culture and activism for over a decade, including as a current member of the “Davis Bicycles” Steering Committee. For the past 2 summers I have taught this class, as an expanded 4-unit class, at Portland State University. Currently I teach in the Religious Studies Department, classes on The Israeli-Palestinian Encounter through Film and Literature and Hebrew. I have also taught classes on soccer, and will propose such a class for the spring. In addition, I am co-editing an anthology of global literary writings about soccer, to be published by the University of Nebraska Press, 2008.