This interdisciplinary course is about the emergence and growing notoriety of soccer in France, the Francophone world, and the rest of the planet. While the British invented "football" (as soccer is known around the world) and professional football, the French were key players in structuring it worldwide. Following in the steps of Pierre de Coubertin who revived the Olympic Games at the end of the 19th century, French compatriots Jules Rimet, Robert Guérin, Henri Delaunay, Jacques de Ryswick, Gabriel Hanot, Jacques Goddet, and Jacques Ferran were central figures in the creation of the most important soccer institutions as of today: Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) in 1904, the FIFA World Cup Soccer in 1930, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) in 1954, the UEFA Coupe d'Europe des Clubs Champions Européens (Champions League) in 1955, and the Ballon d'Or (Golden Ball Award) in 1956. The course provides a strong foundation in the history and development of soccer in France, the Francophone world, and as a worldwide global phenomenon through explorations in the following areas: cultural and global studies, philosophy, history, institutions, the arts, and language.
The course presents several important themes that will allow us to understand the popularity and identification of the populations with soccer worldwide, as well as the human values it represents: olympism, pacifism, imperialism, colonialism, national identities, race, politics, gender, and globalization.
Students will read and discuss some of the most important scholarly texts dealing with soccer.