Sports, Culture, and Gender in Comparative Perspective

Theory and history of mass spectator sports and their role in modern societies. Comparisons with U.S., Britain, and France; the peculiarities of sports in German culture. Body and competition cultures, with emphasis on the entry of women into sports, the modification of body ideals, and the formation and negotiation of gender identities in and through sports. The relationship between sports and politics, including the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. The Course includes live attendance of sports events and students' personal participant observation of sporting with Germans in Berlin. Usually, this course is taught in German with the prerequisite of completion of GERLANG 3 or equivalent. The Berlin Center's Language Resource Person is available to work with students on writing (mandatory) and reading (optional) assignments. If there are no students who can take the course in German it will be taught in English.