Sport and Globalization in London & Seville

ELIGIBILITY

Students who will have sophomore, junior, or senior status in the 2015-2016 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)
With their rich history and current success, English and Spanish sport will serve as a framework to examine the emergence of contemporary athletics and current issues facing participants, coaches, administrators, and spectators. The course will explore the world of sport and specifically football (soccer) from a generalist’s perspective.  London and Seville will provide rich and unique opportunities to learn how sport and society intersect. With classroom activities, site visits, field trips to matches, museums, and stadiums students will examine sport from an historical and cultural perspective while keeping in mind how our globalized world impacts sport. Lastly, we will seek to understand ways athletics can break down barriers and create understanding between others.
Instructor: Bob Carlson

POSC 238: GLOBALIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT: LESSONS FROM INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL (6 Credits)
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 centers on a service- learning project in Seville offering free sport clinics to a local school. No previous coaching experience required.
Instructor: Bob Carlson

PEAR 290: DIRECTED READING AND PREPARATION PROJECTS (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.  Students will also complete two short projects to prepare for observing, coaching, and examining sport abroad.
Instructor: Bob Carlson

 

VISITS AND EXCURSIONS
Students will attend professional matches, visit stadiums and athletic clubs, tour museums as well as meet with leaders in the sport industry. Cultural activities, speakers, other sporting events and excursions within and around each city will supplement course work. Classes will be scheduled to allow 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.