Co-founder Alex Galarza featured in FSF’s second session of the 2015-16 season. Alex shared the first chapter from his dissertation, “Dreaming of Sports City: Consumption, Urban Transformation, and Soccer Clubs in Buenos Aires.” Participants also watched a trailer for his collaboratively-produced documentary and (click to view) read a blog post on his broader project.
A number of questions focused on the broader connections that Alex’s research may shed on soccer in other Latin American cities, modernization and state formation, and notions of race, whiteness, and gender. The author and participants also discussed the politics of club governance and the project’s methodology.
Participants included: Andrew Guest, Brenda Elsey, Chris Brown, Chris Henderson, Christoph Wagner, Daniel Makagon, Danyel Reiche, Edward Murphy, Matt Hawkins, Martha Saavedra, Melissa Forbis, Javier Pescador, Alex Galarza, and Peter Alegi.
Listen to or download the audio recording here. (For educational/personal use only.)
On Thursday, November 12, at 3pm U.S. Eastern Time (-5 GMT), FSF co-founder Alex Galarza will discuss “Dreaming of Sports City: Consumption, Urban Transformation, and Soccer Clubs in Buenos Aires,” a chapter from his PhD dissertation in the History Department at Michigan State University. His advisor is Dr. Edward Murphy.
Galarza’s research in Buenos Aires was funded by Fulbright-IIE and FIFA Havelange scholarships. While in Argentina, he began working with Argentine journalists on a documentary film about the Ciudad Deportiva. As part of a Kickstarter campaign, the project produced a concise overview and trailer for the film (click to view).
Galarza has blogged about his doctoral research and the documentary on FSF member Manu Veth’s blog, Futebolcidade.com. The trailer and blog provide useful context on the research and help disseminate scholarly work beyond typical academic channels.
Please RSVP to galarza DOT alex AT gmail DOT com and send your Skype information if we don’t already have it.
Christoph Wagner got the 2015-16 season underway on Wednesday, October 14, with ten members on three continents discussing his DeMontfort University doctoral thesis entitled “Crossing The Line: The English Press and Anglo-German Football, 1954-1996.”
A number of points engaged with the rich detail Christoph provided in his thorough investigation of representations of Germany and Germans in the English press. Among the issues raised were the militarization of language in football press coverage; narratives of English decline; national stereotypes; media ownership, and xenophobia. The conversation also grappled with the study’s methodology and sources, how oral histories might have added to the analysis, and insights that could be gleaned from new and social media in contemporary times.
Participants included: Andrew Guest, Chris Brown, Chris Henderson, Danyel Reiche, Derek Catsam, Hikabwa Chipande, Steven Apostolov, Alex Galarza, and Peter Alegi.
The 2015-16 season of the Football Scholars Forum opens on Wednesday, October 14, at 2pm EST. Historian Christoph Wagner joins us to discuss his freshly completed DeMontfort University PhD thesis entitled: “Crossing The Line: The English Press and Anglo-German Football, 1954-1996.”
This meticulously researched, intriguing history focuses on representations of Germany and Germans in the sports pages of English newspapers from the mid-1950s to the mid-1990s. It explores the role of national stereotyping and analyzes shifting UK press attitudes towards Germany within a changing historical context.
This is the first time FSF engages with a doctoral dissertation so we’re excited to be making a little history ourselves. We also encourage you to visit Christoph’s blog: An Old International: Football, Culture, History. Follow him on Twitter @wagnerc23. He can also be reached by email: christoph(at)anoldinternational.co.uk
Please send an RSVP to Alex Galarza (galarza.alex AT gmail) to be included in the Skype call.
An impromptu FSF session took place on June 4 to discuss the impact and aftermath of Sepp Blatter’s announcement of his impending resignation as president of FIFA just four days after being reelected to a fifth term.
What are fútbologists saying and thinking about in relation to Blatter and the larger FIFA bribery and corruption scandal? Discussion topics ranged from institutional reform, global media coverage, and the role of Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean in the crisis to what may (or may not) happen at the world body in the coming months.
Participants: Chris Bolsmann, David Kilpatrick, Simon Kuper, Marcela Mora y Araujo, Dan Evans, Matt Hawkins, Rwany Sibaja, Steven Apostolov, Martha Saavedra, Agbenyega Tony Adedze, Chris Henderson, Alex Galarza, and Peter Alegi.
Download the audio of the session here. (For personal and educational use only.)
On March 26, Hikabwa Decius Chipande discussed a paper titled “Mining for Goals: Football and Social Change on the Zambian Copperbelt, 1940s to 1960s.” This study is part of Chipande’s doctoral dissertation at Michigan State University, which received research funding from the FIFA João Havelange Scholarship.
Among the topics of discussion were the changing structure of clubs on the Copperbelt; the place of sport in Africanist scholarship; situating Zambia in broader south-central and even southern African histories; fan culture; and using press sources and oral interviewing to represent multiple local voices and perspectives on the past.
Participants: Martha Saavedra, Andrew Guest, Chris Brown, Chris Henderson, Danyel Reiche, Sean Jacobs, Liz Timbs, Alex Galarza, and Peter Alegi
Audio of the session can be downloaded here. For educational/personal use only.
Join us on Thursday, March 26, at 3pm EDT for a session on football in Zambia. FSF member Hikabwa Decius Chipande will discuss his paper “Mining for Goals: Football and Social Change on the Zambian Copperbelt, 1940s to 1960s.”
Chipande is a doctoral candidate working with Peter Alegi in the Department of History at Michigan State University. His paper is the result of recent archival research and fieldwork in Zambia, which was funded by a FIFA João Havelange Scholarship.
(The paper was available for download by all confirmed participants.) Please note that the author asks readers not to quote from the paper without permission and not to circulate it beyond FSF circles.
Our first session of 2015 featured an engaging discussion of Joshua Nadel’s Fútbol!: Why Soccer Matters in Latin America. Thirteen participants chatted with Nadel about national narratives, how soccer in Latin America fits with the global game, and what kinds of lessons the book has for Latin American history. Joshua Nadel shared his experience of writing the book and suggested future directions for research on fútbol.
Participants: Alejandro Gonzalez, Andrew Guest, Chris Brown, Chris Henderson, Danyel Reiche, Edward Murphy, Javier Pescador, Matt Hawkins, Martha Saavedra, Melissa Forbis, Alex Galarza, and Peter Alegi.
Audio of the session can be downloaded here. For educational/personal use only.
“Here are the football cultures of Latin America in all their macho glory,” says David Goldblatt; “but here too is the story of women’s football and its challenge to Latino masculinities. Above all, here is an account of football and nationalism, erudite and engaged, that remains rooted in the realities of play.”
Please send an RSVP to Alex Galarza (galarza.alex AT gmail) to be included in the Skype call.
The following two gatherings in March and April will feature papers by Hikabwa Chipandeon football in Zambia and Alex Galarza on fútbol clubs in Buenos Aires, both based on doctoral dissertations in progress at Michigan State University.
FSF’s final session of the year featured a wide-ranging discussion of women’s soccer. Discussion focused on posts written by Jean Williams, Martha Saavedra, Gwen Oxenham, and a co-written piece by Brenda Elsey and Joshua Nadel.
The posts and conversations centered on local contexts for fútbol femenino, mixed football, a possible boycott of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, and strategies to connect our academic expertise on the women’s game to journalistic coverage.
Participants: Alon Raab, Brenda Elsey, Brian Bunk, Danyel Reiche, Gwen Oxenham, Hikabwa Chipande, Jean Williams, Joshua Nadel, Laurent Dubois, Lindsay Krasnoff, Martha Saavedra, Melissa Forbis, Roger Kittleson, Steven Apostolov, Liz Timbs, Peter Alegi, and Alex Galarza.
Audio can be downloaded here, for educational/personal use only.
The 2015-16 season of the Football Scholars Forum opens on Wednesday, October 14, at 2pm EST. Historian Christoph Wagner joins us to discuss his freshly completed DeMontfort University PhD thesis entitled: “Crossing The Line: The English Press and Anglo-German Football, 1954-1996.”
FSF action returns after the holiday break with Joshua Nadel’s Fútbol!: Why Soccer Matters in Latin America on Wednesday, February 11, at 2:30pm Eastern Time (-5 GMT)./cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/64010298/1155297137.jpg.0.jpg)
