This summer program focuses on London as the site of three Olympics Games, as well as the Paralympics and their predecessor, the Stoke-Mandeville Games, both to study the legacy and impact of the Games themselves on London and to raise broader questions about the tradeoffs and consequences of hosting major sporting events. In examining these themes and topics, we will delve into sports both as important social and cultural practices in and of themselves and as reflective of larger social, cultural, economic and political forces.

At all times we will be scrutinizing carefully the construction of the arguments presented in the readings, the evidence used, and the underlying premises, economic, political, nationalistic or otherwise – that inform and influence the perspectives we’ll encounter, as well as our own understandings of the meaning of the games we watch and play, including who wins and who loses, both on and off the fields of play.

Summer 2027
May 15 - June 12