1. How have intellectuals viewed the political impact of soccer and the tango in Argentine popular culture?
2. How does Tobin discuss the difference between “Big P” politics and “small p” politics, and how is this related to a cultural analysis of soccer?
3. For Tobin, what are the counter hegemonic possibilities of soccer?
4. What is the relationship between conspiracy theorizing and soccer for working class spectators?
5. What is Tobin’s argument regarding “the stadium and the street?”
Please cite book “Tobin, Jeffrey. “Soccer Conspiracies: Maradona, the CIA, Popular Crituque” in Joseph L. Arena and David G. LaFrance (Eds) Sport in Latin Anerican and the Caribbean. Jaguar books on Latin America; no.23, Scholarly Resources Inc. Wilminton, DE. 2002, 51-73.
Michael Messner: Taking the Field
1. What does Messner mean by the “center of sport” and how do core and peripheral institutions reinforce a male gender regime in sports?
2. How does Messner analyze children’s sports at a structural, cultural, and interactional level?
3. What is the triad of violence in men’s sport and why is it so significant for the center of sport?
4. What are four factors that enable male athletes’ violence against women?
5. How do men’s violence against other men and against themselves reinforce the male center of sports?
6. How are the three forms of violence linked?
7. Explain what Messner means by gendered organizations and the “gender regime of sports.”
8. What role does the football lobby play in sports equity between men and women, and between men and other men in college sports?
9. What does Messner mean by the “sport-media-commercial” complex?
10. What is Messner’s argument regarding the sport-media-commercial complex and a) the beer industry, b) Extreme sports, and c) Nike?
11. Clearly explain four ways that the media has responded to the rapid growth of female athleticism.
12. What are ten themes that Messner identifies in media coverage of sports and sporting events?
13. What does Messner mean by the “televised sports manhood formula” and how is this related to the rise and fall of the XFL?
14. How does the media deal with problems at the center of sport? (ie, athletes and violence off the field, drugs, illness).
15. What are the three trends pulling at the center of sport? Be able to explain the main aspects of each and Messner’s arguments regarding each.
Please cite from book “Taking the Field, Women Men And Sport, Michael A. Messner”
