Peter Alegi
Office: 315 Morrill Hall
Phone: (517) 432-8222 ext. 113
Email: alegi@msu.edu
Office Hours: M-W 1-2:30 and by appt.
Peter Alegi is an Associate Professor of History and a Core Faculty member of the African Studies Center at MSU. He is the author of _Laduma! Soccer, Politics, and Society in South Africa_ (University of KwaZulu-Natal Press, 2004).
Alegi's new book _African Soccerscapes: How a Continent Changed the World's Game_ is due out with Ohio University Press and Christopher Hurst in early 2010. It explores how Africans appropriated football—the leviathan of African sport—as an amateur pastime and how subsequent local and global dynamics have made football in Africa into a professional industry shaped by labor migration, transnational capital, and mass media. He is also co-editing, with Chris Bolsmann, a special issue of _Soccer and Society_ (2010) on "South Africa and the Global Game." Alegi's keen interest in the intersections between social history, gender history, labor history, and political history inform his new research on the history of community-based beauty pageants in South Africa.
Alegi teaches courses in South African and African history, comparative history of sport, and he supervises several doctoral students. He serves as Book Reviews Editor for _Soccer and Society_ and is a member of the Editorial Board of the _International Journal of African Historical Studies_. With Peter Limb, Alegi hosts the "Africa Past and Present" podcast (http://afripod.aodl.org/).
Research Keywords
- South Africa, Africa, Social, Sport, Popular Culture, Comparative History
Research Areas
- Comparative, Cultural, Social, Urban
Time Periods
- 20th Century/Contemporary
Affiliations
- African Studies Center
- MATRIX/H-Net
Recent or current courses
- HST 364 - South Africa and Its Neighbors (Spring 2010)
- HST 201 - Historical Methods and Skills (Spring 2010)
- HST 850 - Seminar in Comparative History (Fall 2009)
Significant Scholarly Activities
Books
- Peter Alegi, Laduma! Soccer, Politics and Society in South Africa. Pietermaritzburg: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press, 2004.
- Peter Alegi, African Soccerscapes: How a Continent Changed the World's Game. Ohio University Press, (March/April 2010).
Journal Articles
- Peter Alegi. ""Rewriting Patriarchal Scripts: Women, Labor, and Popular Culture in South African Clothing Industry Beauty Contests, 1970s-2005”." Journal of Social History 41.1 (2008): 31-56.
- P. Alegi. "The Political Economy of Mega-Stadiums and the Underdevelopment of Grassroots Football in South Africa." Politikon: South African Journal of Political Studies 34.3 (2007): 315-331.
- . "‘A Nation To Be Reckoned With’: The Politics of World Cup Stadium Construction in Cape Town and Durban, South Africa." _African Studies_ 67.3 (2008): 397-422.
Book Chapter/Articles
- Peter Alegi, "Sport, Race, and Liberation: A Preliminary Study of Albert Luthuli’s Sporting Life." In Sport and Liberation in South Africa: Reflections and Suggestions, edited by C. Thomas. Alice: University of Fort Hare Press, 2006: 66-82.
Website/Online Resources
- Peter Alegi, "Book Review of _Laduma!_ in _African Studies Quarterly_ (2006)": <http://www.africa.ufl.edu/asq/v8/v8i3a15.htm>.
"Alegi provides fresh insights which demonstrate just how significant soccer and leisure time are for understanding African history." - Peter Alegi, ""Sport, Race, and Liberation Before Apartheid: A Preliminary Study of Albert Luthuli, 1920s-1952"": <http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/library-resources/articles_papers/sports-race-liberation.htm>.
"Sport, Race, and Liberation Before Apartheid: A Preliminary Study of Albert Luthuli, 1920s-1952" [full text, SA History Online] - Peter Alegi and Peter Limb, "Africa Past & Present podcast": <http://afripod.aodl.org/>2008-.
Africa Past & Present is a podcast about history, culture, and politics in Africa and the diaspora. - Various Authors, "South Africa: Overcoming Apartheid, Building Democracy": <http://overcomingapartheid.msu.edu/>2008.
Presents first-hand accounts of South Africa's successful struggle for freedom and democracy--one of the most dramatic stories of our time. - Jessica Pritchard, "AHA Today": <http://blog.historians.org/resources/899/africa-past-and-present-podcast-qa-with-dr-peter-alegi>October 21, 2009.
American Historical Association blog on Afripod!
Edited Volumes
- South Africa and the Global Game: Football, Apartheid and Beyond. London: Routledge, 2010.
Awards, Fellowships & Grants
- MSU Internal Research Grant Program (spring 2009)
- Fulbright Scholar (2010)