Over the last century, the impact of football on German-speaking cultures has been manifold. The game has influenced the arts, political debates on topics such as sexual identity, national pride, and race, and has contributed to the construction of cultural memories and national narratives. Moreover, (theatrical) performance has become crucial to football’s aesthetics as an event sport that involves fans, media, players, and coaches. While clubs are critical to local economies and regional identities, the commercialization of professional football has provoked criticism and impacted its perception from the perspective of fans, journalists, and scholars. Football’s fascination lies in the multiple interpretations of the game which has been dubbed an art form, a surrogate for war, and an allegory of life and times.
This seminar investigates football’s role in discourses on culture, history, and politics in connection to topics such as aesthetics, gender roles, disability, religion, class, economics, and collective identities. We are particularly interested in applications from a broad range of disciplines and perspectives related to football. We also encourage proposals from participants at all career stages.
To apply submit a 300-word abstract of your research project along with a brief bio by January 26, 2019. The GSA seminar application portal will open on January 5, 2019. You must be an active GSA member in order to apply. Please submit your proposal electronically through the GSA website: https://www.xcdsystem.com/gsa
Participants will be informed about acceptance on 31 January.
Seminar participants will be asked to submit a short paper (10 pages max) on their research project or on their approach to the role of football in German Studies three weeks prior to the conference. The conveners will organize the papers into three thematic clusters and circulate them in advance of the sessions to serve as the basis for discussion. Each participant is expected to give a short presentation on their project during the seminar.
Please contact the seminar conveners if you have questions:
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- Bastian Heinsohn: bh021@bucknell.edu
- Oliver Knabe: knabeo@miamioh.edu
- Bess Dawson: bessdawson@uky.edu
