History of Sport Seminar

Description
This seminar analyzes the sports historical transformations in industrial and postindustrial societies from an interdisciplinary perspective. The goal of the seminar is to create a place for the study of the multidimensional history of sports, not merely as physical competitions, but also as spaces for the formation of specific leisure cultures, as transnational commercial enterprises for the global entertainment industry, as symbolic fields for the construction of gender boundaries and masculinity ideals. The seminar will also focus on the connections between sports and socially constructed notions of body fitness, physical beauty and personal health care, as well as the intersections between global sports competitions and the formation of ethnic, national and transnational identities.

Format
The seminar is designed to provide a space for the free exchange of ideas among faculty, graduate students and scholars in the area. It will feature both ongoing research projects and published materials. The inclusion of non historians from MSU and external institutions is considered critical for the establishment of a truly interdisciplinary space for discussion, analysis and intellectual commerce.

Calendar
The seminar will feature one presentation every 3 or 4 weeks with a balanced combination of recognized scholars, department faculty members and graduate students. Readings will be assigned and distributed in advance to create a more efficient interchange of ideas and perspectives.

Long Term Goals
The seminar will identify and concentrate a critical mass for the formation of a formal field and specialization on sports history in the department, to be consolidated and advertised for the 2006-2007 incoming class. Moreover, the seminar will identify and secure resources for a transnational conference on sports history in the fall of 2007.

Faculty
Javier Pescador, Peter Alegi, Sayuri Shimizu, Ben Smith