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Soccer Politics
Spring 2014, Duke University
History 266-01/ Romance Studies 204-01/ French 362-01
Lectures: Tuesdays 10:05-11:20 in 209 East Duke Building
Discussion Sections: Thursdays 10:05-11:20 in Different Locations according to
Language:
English: 209 East Duke (Laurent Dubois)
French Section 1: 107 Social Sciences (Sandie Blaise)
German: 306 Allen (Corinna Kahnke)
Spanish: 207 Languages (Sylvia Serrano)
Lecture and English Section taught by Laurent Dubois
Departments of History and Romance Studies
laurent.dubois@duke.edu
Foreign Language Pedagogy & Digital Work Coordinator: Deborah Reisinger
(debsreis@duke.edu)
French Section Taught by Sandie Blaise (sandie.blaise@duke.edu)
German Section Taught by Corinna Khanke (corinna.kahnke@duke.edu)
Spanish Section Taught by Silvia Serrano (silvia.serrano@duke.edu)
This course explores the history of soccer and of its premier competition, the World Cup,
in order to understand how and why it has become the most popular sport in the world.
We will examine the development and spread of the game, the institutions that have
grown up around it (such as F.I.F.A.), and the economics of the sport. We will also study
the biographies of legendary players and the return to legendary World Cup games
stretching from the 1930s to 2006. Throughout the course, we will focus particularly on
the way in which soccer condenses, channels, and at times transforms politics. Our
examples will be drawn from Europe, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. We
will read works of history, anthropology, literature, journalism, as well as memoirs and
biographies, and watch several documentary and feature films as well as clips of classic
games.
The writing for the class will focus on producing material for the Soccer Politics Blog
(sites.duke.edu/wcwp), which already includes many materials and is widely read as well
as cited by media outlets. In anticipation of the 2015 Women’s World Cup, we will focus
particular attention on the history of women’s football, and students will work
collectively to create a set of online resources aimed at increasing the visibility and
attention paid to the competition and to players from throughout the world. The course
will include class visits and culminate in a symposium on the 2015 Women’s World Cup.
Students can take the course either in English or in one of several foreign languages –
French, German, and Spanish. In the foreign language sections, students will work with
instructors to gather journalistic and literary materials in the language and prepare
portions of the Soccer Politics website in that language with the goal of dialoguing with
fans and constituencies in the relevant countries.
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Required Books
Available at the Duke University bookstore in the Bryan Center.
David Goldblatt, The Ball is Round: A Global History of Soccer (New York: Riverhead,
2008). ISBN: 1594482969
Edouardo Galeano, Soccer in Sun and Shadow (New York: Verso Press, 2003). ISBN: 185984-423-5. (Note: Students in the Spanish section will read this book in the original).
John Turnbull, Thom Satterlee and Alon Raab, eds., The Global Game: Writers on
Soccer (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2008). ISBN: 978-0-8032-1078-3
Peter Alegi, African Soccerscapes: How a Continent Changed the World’s Game (Ohio
University Press, 2010). ISBN: 0896802787
Chris Gaffney, Temples of the Earthbound Gods: Stadiums in the Cultural Landscape of
Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2008) ISBN: 978-0292-72165-4
Gail Newsham, In A League of Their Own! The Dick, Kerr Ladies, 1917-1965 (London:
Paragon Publishing, 2014) ISBN: 1782221832
Jean Williams, A Beautiful Game: International Perspectives of Women’s Football
(London: Bloomsbury Academic, 1996) ISBN: 1845206754
Additional Required Books for English Section
Jere Longman, The Girls of Summer: The U.S. Women’s Soccer Team and How It
Changed the World (New York: Harper, 2001) ISBN: 0060934689
Paul Cuadros, A Home on the Field: How One Championship Soccer Team Inspires Hope
for the Revival of Small Town America (New York: IT Books, 2007) ISBN: 0061120286
Additional Required Books for French Section
Fatou Diome, Le Ventre de l’Atlantique (Paris: Anne Carrière, 2003) ISBN: 9782843372384
Lilian Thuram, 8 Juillet 1998 (Paris: Anne Carrière, 2004) ISBN: 2-84337-241-0
Additional Required Books for Spanish Section
Edouardo Galeano, El futbol a sol y sombra (Madrid: Siglo XXI Editores, 2006). ISBN:
843231255X (Instead of English version)
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Eduardo Sacheri, La vida que pensamos: Cuentos de futbol (Buenos Aires: Alfaguara,
2013) ISBN: 6071127661
Adolfina Janson. Se acabo ese juego que te hace hacia feliz. Buenos Aires: Aurelio
Rivera, 2008. ISBN: 3848478811
Additional readings are available on the Sakai Site for the course.
Syllabus
January 8: Introductions and Welcome
January 13/15
What is Soccer? Why is it the “Global Game”?
Reading:
The Global Game # 22, 35, 41, and 49.
Sakai:
Christian Bromberger, “Football as World-View and Ritual,” French Cultural Studies 6
(1995): 293-311
Andrei S. Markovits, “The Other ‘American Exceptionalism’: Why Is There No Soccer
in the United States?” Praxis 2 (1998), 125-150.
January 20/22
The Origins and Travels of Football: A Historical Overview
Reading:
Goldblatt, The Ball is Round, Foreword, Introduction and Part I (Chapters 1-3)
Galeano, Soccer, 1-54
The Global Game #7
January 27/29
The Consolidation of Football and the Origins of the World Cup
Reading:
Goldblatt, The Ball is Round, Part II (Chapters 4-7)
Galeano, Soccer, 54-85
Global Game #47
February 3/5
The Early History Women’s Football
Reading:
Gail Newsham, In A League of Their Own! The Dick, Kerr Ladies, 1917-1965
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Jean Williams, The Beautiful Game, Introduction and Chapter 3
February 10/12
Media, Politics and the Changing Face of Football in Europe: 1950s-1960s.
Reading:
Goldblatt, The Ball is Round, Chapters 9 and 11
Galeano, Soccer, 85-133
Global Game, #16 and 52
Sakai:
Alistair Reid, “The World Cup,” The New Yorker, September 10, 1966
February 17/19
Empire and Football in Africa
Reading:
Alegi, African Soccerscapes, Introduction and Chapters 1-3
Goldblatt, The Ball is Round, Chapter 12
February 24/26
Football and Decolonization in Africa
Reading:
Alegi, African Soccerscapes, Chapters 4 and 6
Goldblatt, The Ball is Round, Chapters 16 and 20
Global Game, #4
French Section: Fatou Diome, Le ventre de l’Atlantique
March 3/5
Society and Football in Brazil and Argentina
Reading:
Goldblatt, The Ball is Round, Chapter 10
Gaffney, Temples of the Earthbound Gods
Spanish Section: Eduardo Sacheri, La vida que pensamos: Cuentos de futbol (Buenos
Aires: Alfaguara, 2013) ISBN: 6071127661
March 17/19
Football and Dictatorship in Latin America
Reading:
Goldblatt, The Ball is Round, Chapter 15
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Galeano, Soccer, 133-168.
Global Game # 23, 39, and 48
Sakai:
Grant Farred, Long Distance Love: A Passion for Football (Philadelphia: Temple
University Press, 2008), 60-81.
March 24/26: Global Football and Immigration
Reading:
English Section: Paul Cuadros, A Home on the Field
French Section: Lilian Thuram, Le 8 Juillet 1998
Spanish Section: Find and report on materials from Spanish language U.S. media.
March 31/April 2: The Global Politics of Women’s Football (Part 1)
Reading:
Global Game # 32
Laurent Dubois, “The Hijab on the Pitch” http://thefeministwire.com/2012/08/the-hijabon-the-pitch/
Jean Williams, A Beautiful Game, Chapters1, 2 and 4
Sakai:
Houchang E. Chehabi, “The Politics of Football in Iran,” Soccer and Society
7: 2–3 (April–July 2006), 233–261.
April 7/9: The Global Politics of Women’s Football (Part 2)
English Section: Jere Longman, The Girls of Summer: The U.S. Women’s Soccer Team
and How It Changed the World (New York: Harper Collins, 2000)
Spanish Section: Adolfina Janson. Se acabo ese juego que te hace hacia feliz.
French Section: Find and report on materials from French media on women’s football.
Friday, April 10: Symposium on the Women’s World Cup
April 14/16
Presentations on 2015 Women’s World Cup Pages
April 21:
Presentations on 2015 Women’s World Cup Pages
Final Pages Due April 25th