Academics

HNRS 390 │ The Olympics and Major Sporting Events, 3 UNC Credits

Professor Jonathan Weiler, UNC Department of Global Studies

In this course, we will explore the relationships between sport and globalization, using London’s three Olympic Games (1908, 1948, and 2012), as well as the Paralympic Games and their predecessor, the Stoke-Mandeville Games, as a lens through which to examine the social, cultural, economic, and political forces shaping the modern world. On the one hand, this is a course about sport as a social and cultural practice, one in which we will consider how athletics construct, reinforce, and challenge social norms and identities, as well as how sport reflects broader debates about nationalism, inequality, and global interconnectedness.

But this is also a course about globalization and its consequences. By examining London as a host city, we will explore the legacies of major sporting events, including their effects on local communities, urban development, accessibility, and the movement of capital and labor. Through site visits, archival research, walking tours, and conversations with local historians and policymakers, students will investigate the consequences of hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games, including questions about redevelopment, displacement, and disability rights. Visits to Wembley Stadium, Wimbledon, the British Olympic Association archive, and areas of East London transformed by the 2012 Olympics will provide opportunities to connect historical perspectives with contemporary debates about sport and society.

Throughout the program, we will critically examine the arguments and evidence used to understand the meaning and impact of sport, paying attention to the economic, political, and nationalistic assumptions that shape these perspectives. We will consider who benefits from major sporting events and who bears their costs, both on and off the field, while asking how sport shapes our understanding of identity, inequality, and the increasingly interconnected world.