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Williams Sports
Course Description
Football, or, as erroneously called in the USA, soccer, is the most popular sport in the world. In many countries the sport goes beyond playing the game; it becomes part of your daily life. After losing the European cup, the fan's passion for the local or national teams has been criticized for the aggressive behavior in the stands and the rioting in the streets. Is this behavior part of football or just our human nature? The course looks at the women's NCAA basketball final four tournament and the riots by Purdue fans to answer the question.In this course we explore the beauty, fanaticism, ethics and social change that football brings with it, and the differences
and similarities of the culture of football in several parts of the world. Students learn of the culture through the assigned
readings. Some of the readings include: The Miracle of Castel di Sangro, by J. McGinniss; Ethnic and Religious Identity in
Modern Scotland: Culture, Politics
and Football, by J.M. Bradley; Passion of the People? Football in South America (Critical Studies in Latin American
and Iberian Culture), by Tony Mason; British Football and Social Change: Getting in to Europe, by J. Williams
; The Culture of Fear: Why Americans are Afraid of the Wrong Things, by B. Glassner; and Soccer Madness: Brazil's Passion
for the World's Most Popular Sport, by Janet Lever. Finally, students explore th erole of gender and the differences and simlarities between
football in the USA and other countries.
Format: lecure/discussion. Evaluation is based on two short papers (2 pages) relating to assigned readings, a third paper on a topic of personal
interest and participation in class discussions.
No Prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 30.
Meeting time: afternoons. The course will meet three times a week with occasional extra meetings for special projects.
Cost to student: $100 for books.
ENRIQUE PEACOCK-LOPEZ
Thompson Chemistry Laboratory: Room 123.
VOICE: (413) 597-2434
