Football in Europe - Political and Social Aspects

elective courses
elective monographs
foreign languages
general courses

No basic knowledge about football is expected from participating students, however basic interest in general sport would be an advantage. The course is designed to accommodate students of different background and origin, including diverse socio-cultural approaches towards football and experiences with it.

Classroom

This course offers the in-depth analysis of football as a socio-cultural and political phenomenon in both historical and contemporary perspective. The main aim of the course is to introduce students to football understood not only as a discipline of sport nor entertaining game, but also as a very powerful and symbolic social institution with its cultural and political contexts. During the course football is presented as an area of academic research within the field of social sciences.

Due to the number of hours and ECTS points allocated to the course, it is limited to the socio-political and cultural aspects of European football.

Researching Football:

- Football as an area of academic research in social sciences

- Theory and methodology of social sciences applicable for football studies

- Football as an interdisciplinary sub-discipline of political science

- Comparative politics as a framework for studying football

- Football as an institution

Football and Politics:

- Political history of football

- Football in relation to state, power and political regime

- Football, nation and nationalism

- Politicisation of football

- Football fandom as a political phenomenon

Football and International Relations::

- International football organisations

- Football as a factor in international relations

- Football diplomacy

- FIFA World Cup and UEFA EURO as Sport Mega-Events

- Globalisation of football

Football, Society and Culture:

- Social and cultural history of football

- Football fandom as a socio-cultural phenomenon: communities, groups and rivalries

- Football as an area for expression of collective identities

- New dimensions of football studies: gender, race, inclusion/exclusion

Gary Armstrong, Richard Giulianotti (eds.), Football Cultures and Identities, Palgrave Macmillan 1999

Tamir Bar-On, Beyond Soccer: International Relations and Politics as Seen through the Beautiful Game, Rowman & Littlefield 2020

Ellis Cashmore, Kevin Dixon (eds.), Studying Football, Routledge 2016

Jamie Cleland, A Sociology of Football in a Global Context, Routledge 2015

Heather L. Dichter (ed.), Soccer Diplomacy: International Relations and Football since 1914, University Press of Kentucky 2020

Seweryn Dmowski, Geographical typology of European football rivalries, "Soccer & Society" 2013, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 331-343

Richard Giulianotti, Football: A Sociology of the Global Game, Polity Press 1999

Richard Giulianotti, Ronald Robertson, Globalization and Football, SAGE 2009

David Goldblatt, The Age of Football: Soccer and the 21st Century, W.W. Norton & Company 2020

Anthony King, The European Ritual: Football in the New Europe, Routledge 2003

Ramon Spaaij, Understanding Football Hooliganism: A Comparison of Six Western European Football Clubs, Amsterdam University Press 2006

Knowledge

Student should:

- know and understand the socio-political and cultural impact of European football in both historical and contemporary perspective (K_W02)

- know and understand the historical, economic, social and cultural aspects of European football (K_W04)

Skills

Student should:

- be able to recognise and analyse the structural and cultural aspects of contemporary European football (K_U01)

- be able to watch and interpret the key socio-political and cultural aspects of European football, as well as to analyse it using both theoretical and practical apparatus (K_U02, K_U03)

- be able to use English at least on B1 level to analyse and explain the main features of European football (K_U09)

Social competences

Student should:

- be ready to observe and critically analyse socio-political and cultural features of European football, as well as to spot mutual interdependencies between them (K_K03)

Final test

The final grade of the course will result from the % of points earned at the final test consisting of set of different types of questions related to the substance of the course:

100% of points: 5!

91-99% of points: 5

81-89% of points: 4+

71-79% of points: 4

61-69% of points: 3+

51-59% of points: 3

50% of points and below: 2

Make-up test:

Any student who fail to meet the requirements to pass the course will receive the grade of 2 in first term and will be allowed to take the make-up written test consisting of set of different types of questions related to the substance of the course. The final grade of the course in second term will also result from the % of points earned at the make-up test:

100% of points: 5!

91-99% of points: 5

81-89% of points: 4+

71-79% of points: 4

61-69% of points: 3+

51-59% of points: 3

50% of points and below: 2

Important note: any kind of academic dishonesty (especially intellectual property infringement) will be immediately reported to the disciplinary bodies of the University of Warsaw and will result in a final course grade of 2.

Important note: Attendance throughout the semester is required. Maximum 3 absences are allowed. Every next unjustified absence results in deduction of 5% of points out of the total number of points earned at the final test.