The Modern Olympics: Power, Politics, and Performance

KINESIOLOGY 383
THE MODERN OLYMPICS:
POWER, POLITICS AND PERFORMANCE
Dates: January 6 – April 9, 2014
Location: War Memorial Gym, 206-8
Time: Tues/Thurs: 2 - 3:30pm
Instructor: Victoria Felkar, Instructor, Kinesiology
Office: War Gym 37
Email: victoria.felkar@ubc.ca
Teaching Assistant: Alex Strauss
Office: TBA
Email: straussa@mail.ubc.ca
Description of the Course:
Very few cultural phenomena attract as much attention as the Olympic Games.
This course examines the Modern Olympics as they have emerged over the past
century to become one of the most pervasive sporting festivals and mega events in
the world. From the earliest efforts of Baron Pierre de Coubertin to re-establish the
ancient Olympic Games in 1896, through the Nazi Olympics and the Cold War, to
the emergence of China as an Olympic power, the awarding of the 2010 Olympic
and Paralympics Winter games to Vancouver and Sochi 2014, to future games in
Brazil we will explore international conflicts, organizational power struggles,
gender, race and disability debates, sites of corruption, Olympic symbols, and
athletic issues around access, drugs and performance enhancement associated with
various Summer and Winter Olympic Games. The course will include lectures,
films, videos, visiting experts, and group projects. Students will be expected to
participate fully and reflect critically upon past, current and future issues affecting
the global role of the Olympics and its wide ranging effects upon sport, culture
and the environment.
Course Requirements:
Final grades will be based upon a combination of participation, debates, minipapers, group project and paper. Because it is a seminar course which highlights
discussion, regular attendance and participation in class and group work is
important. Students will be expected to maintain notes on the classes’ assigned
readings and be capable of initiating discussion of the readings as well as the topic
more generally. Students may also be called upon to prepare specific presentations
to the group based on the readings or other Olympic-related participatory activities.
1
Course Assessment:
1. 10% - Article Review. Students will be given a choice of one article to review
from the course reading list. This review will be a maximum of 500 words
double spaced (APA format and referencing), and will be due any time before
the start of class on March 26, 2015. More details to come.
2. 20% - Midterm Paper. Prior to reading week (February 16-20) students will
be assigned a short paper to complete and hand in on February 24, 2015. This
paper will act as a take home exam and pertain to topics discussed prior to
reading week. More details to come.
3. 15% - Debates. Over the course of the semester there are 2 scheduled debates
(March 5 and 19) that students will complete within their semester groups.
Marks will be awarded for post-debate reflection journals (5% each) as well as
participation (2.5% each). More details to come.
4. 10% - Participation. Students will be awarded participation marks based on
attendance, group discussions, in class participation and online discussion
(Connect groups). More details to come.
5. 45% - Group Projects. Students will be divided by the instructor into semester
groups of around 6 early in the course and will remain intact for the whole
semester. Within these groups students will contribute to ongoing group
discussions, debates and other key activities.
Each group will be responsible for preparing and presenting a final group
project and submitting a summary paper on a specific ‘theme related’
Olympic ‘game-changer’ to be decided upon in conjunction with the instructor
and TA. Students will be given in-class time throughout the semester to work
on these assignments. Strategies for completing group work will be given
within the first few weeks of the term. Students will be granted both an
individual and group mark. More details to come.
Course Policies:
Attendance:
Regular attendance at lecture is expected. Students who neglect their academic
work and assignments risk the possibility of not passing the course. Students
who are unavoidably absent because of illness or disability should report to
their instructor upon return to classes.
2
Students are expected to be on time. Late students may wait for the break to
join the class. Students who know in advance that they will be unavoidably
absent should apply for special accommodation from the instructor as soon as
possible to determine how course requirements will be met and how missed
graded work will be completed. Supportive documentation must be submitted to
the Undergraduate Advising Centre, as early as possible. The School will not
normally take into account untimely notification and a minimum of two weeks
notification is expected.
Where prior consultation is not possible, students should contact the instructor
as soon as possible and submit supportive documentation to the Undergraduate
Advising Centre. Students also have the right to request Academic Concession
from the Undergraduate Advising Centre.
Students whose attendance or performance may be severely affected by medical,
emotional or other disabilities, should consult with the instructor early in the
term to discuss any special accommodations that might be needed in order to
complete course requirements. Supportive documentation from either the
Disability Resource Centre or a physician must be submitted to the
Undergraduate Advising Office.
The University accommodates students with disabilities who have registered
with the Disability Resource Centre. The University accommodates those
whose religious obligations conflict with attendance, submitting assignments, or
completing scheduled tests and examinations. Please let your instructor know
in advance, preferably in the first week of class, if you will require any
accommodation on these grounds. Students, who plan to be absent for varsity
athletics, family obligations, or other similar commitments, cannot assume they
will be accommodated, and should discuss their commitments with the
instructor before the drop date.
Academic Dishonesty: Please review the UBC calendar “Academic Regulations”
for the university policy on cheating, plagiarism, and other forms of academic
dishonesty.
Course Readings:
There is no course pack for this class – all readings are available through the
library website. Readings are expected to be completed PRIOR to each class.
Additional readings may be distributed in class. The schedule is subject to
change at any time. The readings and discussions are crucial to the integration of
the material. Students are expected to contribute to class discussions.
3
Week 1: INTRODUCTION
January 6
Introduction to the Course – scope of course, learning objectives,
requirements, and evaluation procedures.
January 8
Introduction to the Olympics – overview lecture, group activity (current
events).
Readings:
Nigel Crowther, “The State of the Modern Olympics: Citius, Altius,
Fortius,” European Review 12 no. 3 (2004): 445-460.
John Hoberman, “The Olympics,” Foreign Policy 167 (2008): 22-28.
_____________________________________________________________
Week 2: FROM ANCIENT TO MODERN – THE EMERGENCE OF
THE MODERN OLYMPICS
January 13
Critical issues around amateurism and professionalism Pierre de Coubertin
and the Modern Olympics
Readings:
Richard Gruneau, “‘Amateurism’ as a Sociological Problem: Some
Reflections Inspired by Eric Dunning,” Sport in Society: Cultures,
Commerce, Media, Politics 9 no.4 (2006): 559-582.
January 16
Media: Chariots of Fire; *Introduction to article review assignment
Readings:
Ellis Cashmore, “Chariots of Fire: Bigotry, Manhood and Moral Rectitude
in an Age of Individualism,” Sport in Society 11 no.2 (2008): 159-173.
Week 3: THE OLYMPICS AND THE ABORIGINAL ATHLETE
January 20
The Anthropology Games
Readings:
Susan Brownell, “America’s and Japan’s Olympic Debates: Lessons for
Beijing 2008,” Japan Focus, (May 16, 2008).
Patricia Vertinsky, “Review of Susan Brownell, The 1904 Anthropology
Days and Olympic Games,” in Sport in History (2012): 350-352.
4
January 22
Olympic displays of “Others”: Reflecting on issues of aboriginality,
human rights, professionalism and racism; *Introduction to group work.
Readings:
Ellen Staurowsky, “Getting Beyond Imagery: The Challenges of Reading
Narratives about American Indian Athletes,” International Journal of
History of Sport 23 no.2 (2006): 190-212.
Lia Paradis, “Manly Displays: Exhibitions and the Revival of the Olympic
Games,” The International Journal of the History of Sport 26 no.15-18
(2010): 2710-30.
_____________________________________________________________
Week 4: THE OLYMPICS, POLITICS AND IDEOLOGY
January 27
Berlin 1936: The Nazi Olympics, anti-semitism, and the invention of
traditions; Media: Olympia (The film of Leni Reifenstahl, Adolph Hitler’s
Nazi film-maker)
Readings:
Alan Klein, “Anti-Semitism and Anti-Somatism: Seeking The Elusive
Sporting Jew,” Sport in Society 10 no.6 (2007): 1120-1137.
January 30
Global Conflicts and the Olympics: Black September at the Munich
Olympics; Group work.
Readings:
Jonathan Grix, “Sport Politics and the Olympics,” Political Studies Review
11 no.1 (2013): 15-25.
Week 5: THE WINTER OLYMPICS
February 3
Communism, Cold War and the Olympics – Reflecting on Sochi 2014
Readings:
Jim Riordan, “The Rise and Fall of Soviet Olympic Champions,”
Olympika 11 (1993): 25-44.
Jim Riordan, “The Impact of Communism on Sport,” Historical Social
Research 32 no.1 (2007): 110-115.
February 5
Gender and Whiteness: fairness and the case of the female ski jumpers
*TA mini-lecture
Readings:
Ann Travers, “Women’s Ski Jumping, the 2010 Winter Games, and the
Deafening Silence of Sex Segregation, Whiteness and Wealth,” Journal
of Sport and Social Issues 35 (2011): 126-145.
5
_______________________________________________________________________
Week 6: RACE, HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE OLYMPICS
February 10 Mexico 1968 - Tommy Smith, Juan Carlos and the Black Fist
Readings:
Steven Jackson, “A Twist of Race: Ben Johnson and the Canadian Crisis
of Racial and National Identity," Sociology of Sport Journal 15 no.1
(1998): 21.
John Hoberman, “The Price of “Black Dominance,” Society 37 no.3
(2000): 49-56.
February 12 Critical writing tutorial – hand out of midterm paper
**************************************************************************************
Week 7: READING BREAK - February 16- 20
**************************************************************************************
Week 8: GENDER, SEX TESTING AND THE OLYMPICS
February 24 Who is a woman: Sex testing at the Olympics?
Readings:
Jaime Schultz, “Caster Semanya and the Question of Too: Sex Testing in
Elite Women’s Sport and the Issue of Advantage,” Quest 63 (2011): 228243.
Katrina Karkazis, R. Jordan-Young, G. Davis, & S. Camporesi, “Out of
Bounds? A Critique of the New Policies on Hyperandrogenism in Elite
Female Athletes,” The American Journal of Bioethics: AJOB 12 no.7
(2012): 3-16.
February 26 Group discussions; Media: TBA
Readings:
Lindsay Pieper, “Opening Pandora’s Box?: Transgender Athletes and the
Fight for Inclusion,” Sport in American History, October 2014. Retried
from: http://ussporthistory.com/2014/10/09/opening-pandoras-boxtransgender-athletes-and-the-fight-for-inclusion/
_____________________________________________________________
6
Week 9: DISABILITY AND THE PARALYMPICS
March 3
What’s normal? What’s disability?; Media: TED Talk
Readings:
Lesley Swartz and B. Watermeyer, “Cyborg Anxiety: Oscar Pistorious and
the Boundaries of what it Means to Be Human,” Disability and Society 23
no.2 (2008): 187-190.
P. David Howe, “The Tail is Wagging the Dog: Body Culture,
Classification and the Paralympics Movement,” Ethnography 9 no.4
(2008): 499-517.
CLASS DEBATE 1: ‘Disability and the Paralympics’
March 5
_____________________________________________________________
Week 10: PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT
March 10
Thinking critically about performance enhancement.
Readings:
J. Savulescu, B. Foddy and M. Clayton, “Why We Should Allow
Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sport,” Br J Sports Med 38 (2004): 666670.
Ivo van Hivoorde, Rein Vos and Guido de Wert, “Flopping, Klapping and
Gene Doping: Dichotomies between Natural and Artificial in Elite Sport,”
Social Studies in Science 37 (2007): 173-200.
Jason Mazanov and Vanessa McDermott, “The Case for a Social Science
of Drugs in Sport,” Sport in Society: Cultures, Commerce, Media, Politics,
12 no.3 (2009): 276-295.
March 12
Continued discussion on drugs, technology and sport.
_____________________________________________________________
Week 11: GOING EAST: ASIA AND THE OLYMPICS
March 17
The Rise of Asia in the Modern Olympics: East-West movement
philosophies and efforts to include non-Western countries and sports
7
Readings:
Xin Xu, “Modernizing China in the Olympic Spotlight: China’s National
Identity and the 2008 Beijing Olympiad,” Sociological Review (2006): 90107.
Udo Merkel and Misuk Kim, “Third Time Lucky!? PyeongChang’s Bid to
Host the 2018 Winter Olympics- Politics, Policy and Practice,” The
International Journal of History of Sport 28 no.16 (2011): 2365-2383.
March 19
CLASS DEBATE 2: ‘Sport Inclusion’
Week 12: FROM BUILDINGS TO BROKEN ATHLETES
- OLYMPIC LEGACIES
March 24
Evaluating Olympic Legacies; Group work
Readings:
Mark Dyreson, “Athletic Clashes of Civilizations, or Bridges over
Cultural Divisions: The Olympic Games as Legacies and the Legacies of
the Olympic Games,” International Journal of the History of Sport 25
no.14 (2008): 2117-2129.
Nancy Theberge, “We have all the Bases Covered: the Construction of
Professional Boundaries in Sport Medicine,” International Review for the
Sociology of Sport 44 no.2 (2009): 265-281.
March 26
Group Work; *Last day to hand in article reviews
_____________________________________________________________
Week 13 & 14: MINI-CONFERENCE:
GAME CHANGERS AT THE OLYMPICS
March 31, April 2, April 7, April 9
*Attendance in Mandatory*
8