COURSE STRUCTURE
This topic focuses on the relationship between sport, the nation, national identity, and nationalisms with contemporary America. The concept of the nation as an imagined community is developed, and the place of sport within the invention of national identity is highlighted. The context specific nature of the nation, national identity, and nationalisms is discussed, illustrated by the relationship between sport and the American nation in the post-9/11 context. Illustrates the close relationship between sport and the military as expressions of national identity within the contemporary context, and discusses various examples of contemporary sporting nationalisms.
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1. LECTURE
For six slides per page format (for printing) click : HERE
For one slide per page format (for viewing on computer) click: HERE
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2. REQUIRED READINGS
It is expected that you will complete these readings following Wednesday lectures and in preparation for discussion section tasks/assignments.
In addition, within the Module 3 exam, you should expect to be asked questions on the following readings:
Reading I: Butterworth, M. (2008). Fox Sports, Super Bowl XLII, and the Affirmation of American Religion. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 32(3), 318-323.
Reading III: Pierce, C.F. (2015, May 27). Veterans Affairs: The Uneasy Marriage of Military Money and the NFL. Grantland.
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3. VIDEO CLIPS
Some of these video clips will be viewed during lecture. However, you are expected to view those not shown in lecture in preparation for both the discussion section and exam related to this topic:
Video Clip 4: A version of the classic Chevrolet commercial "Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet."
Video Clip 5: Excerpt from an NFL Films interview with author Sal Paolantonio focused on his book “How Football Explains America”.
Video Clip 8: President George Bush’s ceremonial first pitch in Game 3 of the 2001 World Series.
Video Clip 11: Anheuser-Busch commercial played during coverage of the 2002 Super Bowl, illustrating the phenomenon of commercial nationalism.
Video Clip 12: Trailer for "The Tilman Story" documentary.
Video Clip 14: Invocation at the Nashville 300 NASCAR race at the Nashville Superspeedway, July 23, 2011.
Video Clip 16: The Sandy Hook Elementary School Chorus and Jennifer Hudson singing at the 2013 Super Bowl in New Orleans.
Video Clip 17: Neil Diamond singing “Sweet Caroline” prior to a Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park, April 20, 2013.
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4. KEY CONCEPTS
The following key concepts represent the core knowledge related to this topic, and you should ensure that you develop a thorough knowledge and understanding of them in preparation for both the discussion section and exam related to this topic:
The Nation as Imagined Community
The Multidimensional Nation
The Invention of National Traditions and Identity
National Sporting Traditions
Sport and Cohesive Communality: Sport as Collective Glue
Sport, Corporeality, and the Nation
Sport and the Military as Embodied National Representatives
The Positive and Negatives of Nationalism and National Belonging
International Sport and International Conflict
Ethnic (Exclusive/Absolutist) Nationalism
American Exceptionalism and the Frontier Ideology
Sport-Based American Exceptionalism
Sport as Metonym for the American Nation
Sport and American Insularity
Monumental National Sport Spectacle
Contextually Specific Sporting Nationalism
Hot, Cool, and Banal Nationalism
Sport and Cool American Nationalism
Sporting Nationalism and the 9/11 Moment
Spontaneous and Manufactured Communitas
Vulnerability, Freedom, and Unity
Commercial Nationalism
Commercially and Politically Manufactured Sporting Communitas
Hot Nationalism in the Post-9/11 Context
A Perpetual State of War, Fear, and Insecurity
The Heightened Intensity of Sporting Nationalisms
The Home and Defender of Freedom and the Militarization of Sport
National Unity and Consensus Through Militarized Sport
Dissent and Opposition within the Post-9/11 Context
Individual National Sporting Spectacles
Athletes as Metonymic Personifications of the Nation
American Rugged (Neo-Liberal) Individualism
Sport and Military National Heroes
Sporting Nationalism and Xenophobia
Southernization and Sporting America
The Monumental Sport Spectacle as National Unifier
Political Conformity and Popular Sporting Spectacles
The New Normal or Banal Sporting Nationalism
Sport and the Reinscription of the Christian Norm/Center
Sporting and Exclusionary Ethnic Nationalism
Sport, Rememberance, and Mourning
Communal Healing, Recovery, and Sport
The Effects of Sporting Nationalism
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5. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Following the lecture, and having read the assigned readings and watch relevant video clips, you are encouraged to answer a series of discussion questions related to this topic which can be accessed HERE.
These questions require that you engage and extend the information covered within each theme, in order to generate a better understanding of core concepts, knowledge, and issues.
These questions are intended as preparation for both the discussion section and exam related to this topic.
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6. ESSAY QUESTION #9 (this is an option for the Module 3 essay)
Critically examine sport’s role in the re-invention of the American nation as an “imagined community” (Anderson, 1983) within the post-9/11 context. More specifically, focus on the relationship between sport, the military, and American nationalism.
This essay should be a minimum of 1,500 words to answer it comprehensively.
You may find the following academic sources useful in completing this assignment. You do not have to use these sources, they are simply provided for you as an introduction to the literature, and you should use them where appropriate and/or relevant. Also, be warned, these readings do not count towards the THREE additional academic sources you are expected to use within your essays (however, they may direct you toward additional academic sources you could use):
Ingham, A. G., & McDonald, M. G. (2003). Sport and community/Communitas. In R. C.
Wilcox, D. L. Andrews, R. Pitter & R. L. Irwin (Eds.), Sporting dystopias: The making and meanings of urban sport cultures (pp. 17-34). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
Kusz, K.W. (2007). From NASCAR nation to Pat Tillman: Notes on sport and the politics of white cultural nationalism in post-9/11 America. Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 31(1), 77-88.
Schimmel, Kimberly S. (2012). Protecting the NFL/ militarizing the homeland: Citizen soldiers and urban resilience in post-9/11 America. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 47(3), 338-357.
Weedon, G. (2012). “I Will. Protect this House:” Under Armour, Corporate Nationalism and Post-9/11 Cultural Politics. Sociology of Sport Journal, 29(3), 265-282.
If you choose to complete this essay, and in addition to the sources provided on this page, you need to identify and use (either through paraphrasing or direct quotation) interpretations, insights, or information from a MINIMUM OF THREE appropriate academic sources (in addition to those provided for you on this website).
The deadline for submitting (via the ELMS/Canvas website) your Module 2 Essay is 11.59pm ET on Monday December 14.
Important: The ELMS/Canvas website will not accept essays after the due time and date.
Be sure to review the details on the module essay page. On that page you will find the EVALUATION CRITERIA for module essays (which you are strongly encouraged to read), you will also find links to the appropriate academic sources you should use when researching and writing your module essays, and the style and format guidelines you need to follow when completing module essays. All this information needs to be read, understood, and closely followed for you to succeed in this course.
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