IPE 111

      The Beautiful Game

      Essay #1  Spring 2010

       The Meanings of Football

 

What does it mean to be a soccer fan, to be a support a particular team? It is fun to follow an athletic team, of course, just as it is fun to go to the movies or follow celebrity hijinx, but there must be something more than this or else soccer would not be as important as it seems.

 

It is easy to generalize about the meaning of soccer and the motives of soccer fans, but for this assignment I would like you drill down into the specifics of a given team and its rival (much as Foer does in the chapters we read early in the course) to probe what particular meaning fans attach to their support of your team (and opposition to its rival) and how and why that meaning has evolved over time. In this way I hope that you will develop a deeper understanding of the roots of soccer and its impact on various communities -- and how that meaning is changing.

 

 Our readings have provided several ways of thinking about the meaning of football and our association with it.  Your job is to apply these ideas to a particular case, your football identity.

 

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The first step for this assignment is to choose your football identity.  Click here to read about this part of the assignment. 

 

A brief "elevator speech" about your soccer identity choice will be due on Friday, January 29, 2010. Your job is to write a one paragraph essay that explains which soccer club you have decided to identify with, why and why this is interesting or important to you.

 

Research is the next  step.  You need to find out as much as you can about your football club and national team. 

 

The final step is to write your essay, which should answer the questions at the top of this page by making an argument drawing especially upon both the intrinsic meaning of supporting your team and the defining aspect of rivalry and opposition as it applies to your rival. In the end, I am looking for an analysis of the social meaning of being a supporter of your particular club taking into account the ideas and examples we have read and seen in class.

 

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Guidelines for this assignment:

·        Length: no more than four single-spaced pages (approx 2000 words) plus required bibliography.

·        Format:  Single-spaced with an extra line between paragraphs.  Academic papers like this one need to include proper citations.  The preferred format for this class is the Chicago footnote/bibliography style (you can find information about this reference style here ). Goldblatt uses the Chicago format, so use his reference technique as a model.

·       Deadline:  This assignment is due at Professor Veseth’s office in Mc213M by 5 pm on Friday February 12, 2010. Late papers are penalized 5 points per day (this penalty may be waived under exceptional circumstances at the professor's discretion).

 

 

Grading information:  My standard grading framework for essays is:

 

• Argument (40%).  This grade is based on the strength and clarity of your thesis and the argument that you mobilize to advance your thesis.

 

• Evidence (30%).  This grade is based on your ability to support your argument with supporting evidence.  Hint:  When you use direct quotes, be use to use them to support your argument (as evidence) do not use them to make your argument (that is your job).

 

• Writing (30%).  Writing should be clear and free of writing errors or mistakes in making academic citations.  The paper should be well organized, which means it should be organized around your argument.  You may use either first person or third person.

 

 

These materials are intended for the exclusive use of my students at the University of Puget Sound.  No other use is authorized.