Instruction
-Politics/Nationality and Sports
The authors cite Chantal Mouffe’s definition of “politics.” What is it, and how is it different from “political”?
The authors use the tradition of presidential invitations to sports teams to make the point that presidents use sports (victors) for what purpose?
What are the two reasons that football plays “a vital role in political language” in the United States?
What is a criticism against the use of sports metaphors in reference to war, and what does the general use of sports metaphors in U.S. political discourse risk, according to the authors?
National identity can be understood as an “imagined community.” What does that term mean, according to the authors? Explain.
“Narrative frames” around sports events can make them seem more important than they really are by doing what?
What is “globalization” and how does it threaten the reinforcement of “national identity” in sports?
-Sport, New Media, and National Identity
Summarize the definition of “invented traditions.” How are they related to “national characteristics”?
How do the authors argue that media around the Olympics stoke “fervent nationalism” rather than “peaceful competition”?
Media coverage of international sporting events tends to subordinate what threats to images of national unity?