Sport and Globalization in London & Seville

ELIGIBIILTY

Students who will have sophomore, junior, or senior status in the 2013-14 academic year are encouraged to apply.

COURSE OF STUDY: 18 CREDITS

Students enroll in three regular courses and an additional independent reading course for a total of 18 credits. POSC 238 counts as POSC elective, POSI elective (POSI-DSS).

 

PEAR 338: Global Athletics (6 credits)
Given their deep history and current success on the world stage, English and Spanish soccer teams will serve as a framework to examine the emergence of contemporary sport and current issues facing participants, coaches, administrators, and spectators. With classroom activities, site visits, field trips to matches as well as practices and field sessions, students will develop an understanding of the relationship between soccer tactics, coaching philosophies, and club and national team traditions that influence each society's sporting and soccer culture. A special emphasis is placed on understanding the motivating factors behind sport and developing a philosophy of sport that will help students evaluate current sporting issues facing each society.
Instructor: Professor Carlson

POSC 238: Globalization and Development: Lessons from International Football (6 credits)
POSC Elective, POSI Elective (POSI-DSS)
This course uses international football (soccer) as a lens to analyze topics in globalization, such as immigration and labor, inequality, foreign investment, trade in services, and intellectual property. Students will be presented with key debates in these areas and then use cases from international football as illustrations. Focusing on the two wealthiest leagues in Europe, the English premier League and the Spanish Liga, students will address key issues in the study of globalization and development, and in doing so enhance their understanding of the world, sports, and sport's place in the world.
Instructor: Ken Shadlen, London School of Economics

PEAR 340: Introductory Coaching Practicum (4 credits) / PEAR 174 PE activity credit
Designed for students who may or may not have any previous playing or coaching experience, this course will cover introductory methods of coaching and teaching young athletes. Specifically, students will practice methods of teaching skills, structure, and strategies of team-oriented sports. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the coaching profession at different levels, developing coaching skills and creating a philosophy of coaching in a cross-cultural setting.

The practicum will culminate with a service-learning project in Seville offering free sport clinics to local schools. No previous coaching experience required.
Instructor: Professor Carlson

PEAR 290: Directed Reading and Volunteer Coaching Project (2 credits S/CR/NC)
Prior to departure, students will read selected works that highlight the sporting and cultural history of Great Britain and Spain. Understanding of these readings will be evaluated through discussion and written work in London and Seville. In addition, in order to introduce students to coaching youth, part of the pre-trip preparation will include a community service project where students will conduct a practice session with a youth group.
Instructor: Professor Carlson

 

LEARNING GOALS

• To understand the impact history and culture have on current tactics, coaching philosophies, and spectator affiliations in Spanish and English soccer through meeting with coaches, teachers, fans, and participants, as well as observing first hand matches and practices
• To understand key issues in the study of globalization and development by applying case studies from the world of football
• To use new methods of teaching skills, structure, and strategies of team-oriented sports in a cross-cultural setting to conduct a free clinic for Seville school children
• To grow personally and further appreciate life in an interconnected world by being immersed in different cultures throughout the program

 

VISITS AND EXCURSIONS

Students will attend professional matches as well as local club soccer games and observe practices. Cultural activities, speakers, other sporting events and excursions within and around each city will supplement course work. Classes will be typically scheduled over four days each week, allowing students ample opportunity to explore each city and its rich cultural resources. In addition, the group will make one or two excursions outside of London and Seville.