Rule Britannia: Nationalism, Identity and the Modern Olympic Games PDF Download

Author: Matthew P. Llewellyn
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317979761
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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Book Description
On 6 July 2005, the International Olympic Committee awarded the 2012 summer Olympic Games to the city of London, opening a new chapter in Great Britain’s rich Olympic history. Despite the prospect of hosting the summer Games for the third time since Pierre de Coubertin’s 1894 revival of the Olympic movement, the historical roots of British Olympism have received limited scholarly attention. With the conclusion of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the passing of the baton to London, Rule Britannia remedies that oversight. This book uncovers Britain’s early Olympic involvement, revealing how the British public, media, and leading governmental officials were strongly opposed to international Olympic competition. It explores how the British Olympic Association focused on three main factors in the midst of widespread national opposition: it embraced early Olympian spectacles as a platform for maintaining a sporting union with Ireland, it fostered a greater sense of imperial identity with Britain’s white dominions, and it undertook an ambitious policy of athletic specialization designed to reverse the nation’s waning fortunes in international sport. This book was previously published as a special issue of International Journal of the History of Sport.

Author: Bruce Kidd
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1315414279
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
The Pan-American Games, begun officially in 1951 in Buenos Aires and held in every region of the western hemisphere, have become one of the largest multi-sport games in the world. 6,132 athletes from 41 countries competed in 48 sports in the 2015 Games in Toronto, Canada. The Games are simultaneously an avenue for the spread of the Olympic Movement across the Americas, a stage for competing ideologies of Pan-American unity, and an occasion for host city infrastructural stimulus and economic development. And yet until this volume, the Games have never been studied as a single entity from a scholarly viewpoint. Historicizing the Pan-American Games presents 12 original articles on the Games. Topics range from the origins of the Games in the period between the world wars, to their urban, hemispheric and cultural legacies, to the policy implications of specific Games for international sport. The entire collection is set against the shifting economic, social, political, cultural, sporting and artistic contexts of the turbulent western hemisphere. Historicizing the Pan-American Games makes a significant contribution to the literature on major games, Olympic sport and sport in the western hemisphere. This book was previously published as a special issue of The International Journal of the History of Sport.

Author: Matthew P Llewellyn
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
ISBN: 0252098773
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
For decades, amateurism defined the ideals undergirding the Olympic movement. No more. Today's Games present athletes who enjoy open corporate sponsorship and unabashedly compete for lucrative commercial endorsements. Matthew P. Llewellyn and John Gleaves analyze how this astonishing transformation took place. Drawing on Olympic archives and a wealth of research across media, the authors examine how an elite--white, wealthy, often Anglo-Saxon--controlled and shaped an enormously powerful myth of amateurism. The myth assumed an air of naturalness that made it seem unassailable and, not incidentally, served those in power. Llewellyn and Gleaves trace professionalism's inroads into the Olympics from tragic figures like Jim Thorpe through the shamateur era of under-the-table cash and state-supported athletes. As they show, the increasing acceptability of professionals went hand-in-hand with the Games becoming a for-profit international spectacle. Yet the myth of amateurism's purity remained a potent force, influencing how people around the globe imagined and understood sport. Timely and vivid with details, The Rise and Fall of Olympic Amateurism is the first book-length examination of the movement's foundational ideal.

Author: Erik Nielsen
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317437624
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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Book Description
Prior to the outbreak of World War II, the British presided over the largest Empire in world history, a vast transoceanic and transcontinental realm of dominions, colonies, protectorates and mandates that covered over one-quarter of the world’s land mass and comprised a population of over 450-million subjects. Spanning Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania, over fifty modern nations—currently recognized by the International Olympic Committee—were governed and controlled by the British crown at some stage prior to the gradual dissolution of the Empire. The British World and the Five Rings seeks to explore the relationship between the former British Empire and the Olympic Movement. It pays due regard to the settler dominions, but it also addresses those territories who were less willing partners in the British imperial project. In doing so, the tendency of so-called ‘British World’ histories to promote an apologia for Empire is rejected in favour of a critical approach to imperialism. Combining thorough research with engaging and accessible writing, The British World and the Five Rings is applicable to many fields of Olympic scholarship making it a central work in the growing field of sports studies. This book was published as a special issue of Sport in Society.

Author: Kevin B. Witherspoon
Publisher:
ISBN: 1682260763
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 318

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Book Description
The Cold War was fought in every corner of society, including in the sport and entertainment industries. Recognizing the importance of culture in the battle for hearts and minds, the United States, like the Soviet Union, attempted to win the favor of citizens in nonaligned states through the soft power of sport. Athletes became de facto ambassadors of US interests, their wins and losses serving as emblems of broader efforts to shield American culture--both at home and abroad--against communism. In Defending the American Way of Life, leading sport historians present new perspectives on high-profile issues in this era of sport history alongside research drawn from previously untapped archival sources to highlight the ways that sports influenced and were influenced by Cold War politics. Surveying the significance of sports in Cold War America through lenses of race, gender, diplomacy, cultural infiltration, anti-communist hysteria, doping, state intervention, and more, this collection illustrates how this conflict remains relevant to US sporting institutions, organizations, and ideologies today.

Author: Sandy Nairne
Publisher: Unbound Publishing
ISBN: 1800182805
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 341

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Book Description
William Grenfell, Lord Desborough, was, for many, the epitome of the perfect English gentleman: an exceptional sportsman, a dedicated public servant and a devoted husband and father. Grenfell’s astounding sporting achievements, from climbing mountains to swimming the basin of the Niagara Falls twice, from rowing the English Channel and winning the Amateur Punting Championship for three years consecutively, to representing Great Britain in fencing, produced his deep-rooted belief in the importance of sport. It wasn’t surprising therefore that he became the driving force behind the 1908 London Olympic Games, an enormous success despite being staged with only two years’ notice. A surprisingly modern public figure, Grenfell was elected as an MP before going on to hold a prodigious array of local, national and international roles: mayor of Maidenhead, leading the London Chamber of Commerce, promoting aviation, establishing modern policing, and serving as chairman of the Thames Conservancy. Although Grenfell’s public life was successful, his family was struck by tragedy, aged six he lost his father and he and his wife Ettie suffered the loss of two sons in the First World War and their third in a motor accident. Despite this, their home, Taplow Court, was a place for entertaining and had been a focal point for the Souls, including notable politicians such as A. J. Balfour and the young Winston Churchill, as well as writers like H. G. Wells and Henry James. In Titan of the Thames, Nairne and Williams disentangle the myths surrounding this fascinating man who spans the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and have pieced together a compelling biography of a figure whose story should have been told many years ago.

Author: E. Nielsen
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137398515
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
This book provides a lively study of the role that Australians and New Zealanders played in defining the British sporting concept of amateurism. In doing so, they contributed to understandings of wider British identity across the sporting world.

Author: Linda J. Borish
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317662490
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 574

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Book Description
The Routledge History of American Sport provides the first comprehensive overview of historical research in American sport from the early Colonial period to the present day. Considering sport through innovative themes and topics such as the business of sport, material culture and sport, the political uses of sport, and gender and sport, this text offers an interdisciplinary analysis of American leisure. Rather than moving chronologically through American history or considering the historical origins of each sport, these topics are dealt with organically within thematic chapters, emphasizing the influence of sport on American society. The volume is divided into eight thematic sections that include detailed original essays on particular facets of each theme. Focusing on how sport has influenced the history of women, minorities, politics, the media, and culture, these thematic chapters survey the major areas of debate and discussion. The volume offers a comprehensive view of the history of sport in America, pushing the field to consider new themes and approaches as well. Including a roster of contributors renowned in their fields of expertise, this ground-breaking collection is essential reading for all those interested in the history of American sport.

Author: R. Scott Kretchmar
Publisher: Human Kinetics
ISBN: 171821295X
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 370

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Book Description
History and Philosophy of Sport and Physical Activity, Second Edition With HKPropel Access, seamlessly blends the historical and philosophical dimensions of the study of human movement. The text follows a chronology of human movement from our origins as hunter-gatherers to the present, offering philosophical and ethical analyses alongside explorations of cultural shifts that have emerged from different ethnic, racial, gender, and national traditions. The second edition of History and Philosophy of Sport and Physical Activity is ideal for instructors who teach history and philosophy in a single course. Each chapter provides a historical scaffolding that leads into philosophical discussions about the issues raised. The text eschews dense blocks of text in favor of accessible writing and an interactive student experience. Updates to the latest edition include expanded coverage of diversity, equity, and inclusion topics; a deeper exploration of epistemology; a discussion of alternate forms of physical activity; and new material about the ethics of research. Contemporary topics of discussion such as the Exercise Is Medicine (EIM) movement, athlete biodata collection, and transgender and nonbinary athletes in sport are thoroughly explored. Discussion questions and study questions at the end of each chapter challenge students to reflect on the course material and share their ideas. Historical profile sidebars throughout the chapters allow students to gain greater insight into historical figures and events. Throughout the text, students are prompted to access related online activities in HKPropel. These short exercises connect philosophical inquiry to historical events and modern-day issues and serve as important tools for improving students’ reasoning skills. Instructors are supported with a comprehensive instructor guide that includes sample responses to the downloadable student exercises, section references for the downloadable study questions, and sample discussion and assignment prompts related to the discussion questions. The instructor guide also includes ideas and instructions for semester-long student projects. History and Philosophy of Sport and Physical Activity, Second Edition, presents a thorough integration of philosophy and history, capitalizing on the strengths of both disciplines. Note: A code for accessing HKPropel is not included with this ebook but may be purchased separately.

Author: John Horne
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000049396
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 396

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Book Description
How did the Olympics evolve into a multi-national phenomenon? How can the Olympics help us to understand the relationship between sport and society? What will be the impact and legacy of the Olympics after Tokyo in 2020? Understanding the Olympics answers all these questions by exploring the social, cultural, political, historical, and economic context of the Games. This thoroughly revised and updated edition discusses recent attempts at future proofing by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in the face of growing global anti-Olympic activism, the changing geo-political context within which the Olympics take place, and the Olympic histories of the next three cities to host the Games – Tokyo (2020), Paris (2024), and Los Angeles (2028) – as well as the legacy of the London (2012) Olympics. For the first time, this new edition introduces the reader to the emergence of ‘other Games’ associated with the IOC – the Winter Olympics, the Paralympics, and the Youth Olympics. It also features a full Olympic history timeline, many new photographs, refreshed suggestions for further reading, and revised illustrations. The most up-to-date and authoritative textbook available on the Olympic Games, Understanding the Olympics is essential reading for anybody with an interest in the Olympics or the wider relationship between sport and society.