POLS 497: Floor Class (Spring, 2006)
The Politics of International Sports
Class Time:
Mondays, 7:00pm-8:15pm
Location:
Big Blue
Instructor:
Blake Klinkner
E-mail:
(z125449@niu.edu)
Office
Hours: [Wednesdays 3:30pm-5:00pm] and [Thursdays 2pm-3pm] in the Poli Sci
Graduate Assistants Office (DU 476)
Class
Background: Beginning
in the 1800’s, national governments have realized the immense political
purposes which programs for sports can play. State-sponsored programs for mass
sports began as a way of building armies, preparing for war, and channeling the
powers of nationalism. Over time, as sports movements became internationalized,
they gained importance as vehicles for rewarding war victors and
punishing/humiliating war losers, gaining international recognition for
newly-formed states, and attempting to mislead world opinion and gain
international respect and recognition for controversial governments. The Cold
War catapulted international sports movements, primarily the Olympics, into the
role as a major tool for political propaganda and weaponry, as international
sporting events and organizations served as battlegrounds for “proxy wars”
between the world’s superpowers. Even after the end of the Cold War, the
Olympics and similar international sport movements still remain a tool of
national governments and non-state actors, used to manipulate public opinion,
as a world stage for delivering propaganda and political messages, ignite
feelings of nationalism and pride, and serve diplomatic purposes.
In this course, students will learn
how international sports and politics have gone hand-in-hand throughout the 19th
and 20th centuries, and how they still form a symbiotic relationship
today. The course will move in a chronological order, and along the way
students will learn many interesting facts, such as:
-How the
modern Olympics were created to prepare France for war in Europe, not out
of desires to promote international peace and understanding.
-How the
Olympics were used by the Allies after World War I to celebrate their triumph,
while at the same time punish and humiliate the losing powers.
-How the
Nazis used the Olympics and other sports movements to convince world leaders
that they were a tolerant, peaceful society, and gain international respect and
admiration for their political order.
-How the
Soviet Union and other communist nations used sports programs to gain
international respect and admiration for their political systems, embarrass the
United States, and how the Western nations sought to counter the communists in
the propaganda and political wars through sport.
-How
nations used boycotts of sporting events in order to punish nations (such as
the USSR for invasions of neighbors, and South Africa for its racist policies)
-Why
national governments are willing to invest huge amounts of money and resources
in promoting sports programs (even going to such extremes as secretly promoting
research into illegal performance enhancing drugs and distributing them to
their own athletes)
-Why
non-state actors have used international sports venues for political
mobilization and display, and will continue to use international sports as
political tools.
Students
will not only learn how international sports movements have been used for
political purposes, but also how international sports organizations themselves
have been able to play politics with national governments to win concessions,
and how sports occurrences can be used to explain, conceptualize, and represent
international relations at the times.
Class
Work and Grading
Students must obtain a copy of the
book, Power, Politics, and the Olympic Games, by Alfred E. Senn
(Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 1999). Before each class, students are to have
fully read the assigned chapters. Study questions for each week’s reading will
be distributed to the class in advance, in order to assist in reading
comprehension. Students are also to bring to each class an approximately
one-page (double-spaced, standard margins) homework assignment, in which
students provide answers to several of the study questions distributed prior to
class. Students are not required to answer all study questions in their weekly
assignment; they simply must select a few questions (of their choosing) and
then answer each question with roughly one or two paragraphs. Homework answers
will be worth 40% of the final grade. Homework assignments
must be properly labeled with your name, the date, and the week number. Make
sure you staple together multiple pages when handing in assignments!! Also, be
sure to use spell checkers, and proof-read your assignments for coherency and
grammar before handing them in. In order to receive an “A” for the weekly
homework assignments, homework must be completed on time. You must properly
label on your homework which of the study questions you are answering. When
providing your answers, insert the page numbers (in parentheses) of the book
which support your answers.
Class participation in the Monday
discussions is an important part of the overall class grade, and will count for
40% of the final grade. For each unexcused absence, an automatic
drop in letter grade will occur for this portion of the grade. During each
discussion, it is expected that students at all times respect the rights and
opinions of others, and will display civility in any debates and discussions.
In order to receive an “A” for your weekly participation grade, you must be an active,
voluntary participant in the discussions. This means providing thoughtful,
meaningful dialogue to the discussions throughout the entire class period. If
your participation is sporadic, non-existent, or only provided when called-upon
by the instructor, this will not be considered as active, voluntary
participation.
20% of your final
class grade will be based upon a final take-home exam. The exam questions will
be distributed in class on April 3rd, and will be due April 10th.
You will be given 10 short answer questions, and asked to answer 6 of them
(your choice). Each question should be answered in paragraph format, and
answered in approximately half a page. The same quality control assigned to
homework assignments (citing page numbers for references, checking for
spelling, grammar, and coherency, etc.) will be expected of the take-home
exam.
Students will receive grades based
solely upon the quality of their own work (i.e., the class will not be based
upon a curve). Academic dishonesty (including, but not limited to, plagiarism)
as defined according to NIU codes of conduct, will not be tolerated, and any
accounts of such will be taken very seriously.
It is very important that
students check their e-mail on a regular basis (preferably daily), since
communications will be done according to e-mail. By default, your NIU e-mail
address will be used for mailings, unless you provide the instructor with an
alternate e-mail address.
Course
Dates and Lessons
*Week 1 (January 23rd):
Introduction to the class
-Required reading for week 1:
pages x-xx (introduction of the book)
***Note: Homework assignments
are not due for Week 1, although you must come to class having read the
introduction to the book (pp. x-xx)***
*Week 2 (February 6th):
pp. 1-49
*Week 3 (February 20th):
pp. 50-110
*Week 4 (March 6th):
pp. 111-172
*Week 5 (March 20th):
pp. 173-232
*Week 6 (April 3): pp.
233-286
**April 10th final
paper is due by 5:00pm: hand in to Blake during his office hours**