Course Syllabus

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EUS3930 Soccer Culture Europe

Felix-Reidenbach-Adidas-Fresco-Cologne 2006-1.jpg  

Instructor

Emrah Sahin, Ph.D.

Cell Number

(352) 642-5091

Email

emrahsahin@ufl.edu

Office Hours

11am-12pm & by appointment @zoom room

Group-Me

GroupMe address here

 

Course Information

This is a course about how soccer reflects and shapes the continental, national, political, and social culture of modern Europe. Its three parts focuses on soccer i) as a traditional, political, and national game, ii) through the lens of migration and business, and iii) as an experience relating to identity, gender, and fanaticism. Students interested in International Studies and Europe are even more encouraged to join this course. Sophomore standing or the instructor’s approval is a prerequisite.

 

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, you should be able to:

  • Understand and reflect on the significance of soccer in the larger discussions about European culture and history,
  • Present an informed understanding of a specific European country, its national soccer team and its players,
  • Discuss specific developments that correlate soccer to political, social, economic, and other developments in the European Union, and,
  • Reconsider the behind-the-scenes dynamics that create and transform the soccer culture in Europe and the wider world.

 

Course Requirements

Required textbook

One of the required texts is [will be] available for borrowing from the library and for purchasing at UF Bookstore or online. All other readings and recommended materials will be posted on the canvas website. There are no additional fees for the course. The following databases can also be consulted for group projects throughout the semester.

BBC Podcasts

European Commission Stats

Reading Soccer

Soccer Europa Statistics

Soccer from Left

Soccer Politics

UEFA official website

 

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course. 

 

Minimum technology requirements

The University of Florida expects students entering an online program to acquire computer hardware and software appropriate to his or her degree program.  Most computers are capable of meeting the following general requirements.  A student’s computer configuration should include:

  • Webcam
  • Microphone
  • Speakers or headphones
  • Broadband connection to the Internet and related equipment (Cable/DSL modem)
  • Microsoft Office Suite installed (provided by the university)

Individual colleges may have additional requirements or recommendations, which students should review prior to the start of their program.

 

Minimum technical skills

To complete your tasks in this course, you will need a basic understanding of how to operate a computer, how to use Zoom, how to use iClicker, and how to use word processing software.

 

Materials/Supply Fees

There is no supply fee for this course.

 

Honorlock

Honorlock is an online proctoring service that allows students to take exams on-demand 24/7. There are no scheduling requirements or fees.

You will need a laptop or desktop computer with a webcam, a microphone, and a photo ID. The webcam and microphone can be either integrated or external USB devices.

Honorlock requires that you use the Google Chrome (Links to an external site.) browser; furthermore, the Honorlock extension (Links to an external site.) must be added to Chrome.

For further information, FAQs, and technical support, please visit Honorlock.

 

Zoom

Zoom is an easy to use video conferencing service available to all UF students, faculty, and staff that allows for meetings of up to 100 participants.

You can find resources and help using Zoom at https://ufl.zoom.us.

Our zoom ID for class and office-hour meetings are 943 8605 6195; you can also clik on this address right here. 

 

Course Policies

Requirements for make-up exams, assignments, and other work in this course are consistent with university policies that can be found at here.

Requirements for make-up exams, assignments, and other work in this course are consistent with university policies that can be found at catalog.ufl.edu/UGRD/academic-regulations/attendance-policies/

As this is an online class, you are responsible for observing all posted due dates, and are encouraged to be self-directed and take responsibility for your learning.

Be on time. If you join the class session remotely, try and join the session at least 5 minutes before the class starts. Before your very first class session, try joining about 10-15 minutes to make sure that everything works.

 

Coursework and Assignments

This course includes reading and writing assignments alongside lecture and group projects. Be willing, engaged, and punctual: attend the lectures, participate in group projects, and complete your reading/writing assignments on time. 

  • Take-home final examination (35 points). The final examination will be drawn from lectures and select readings. A review class will provide guidelines and questions and the examination will be due on Friday, June 18th.
  • Mid-term examination (25 points). The mid-term examination is scheduled in class-time on Friday May 28th (on honor-lock; Week 3). Professor will address questions about this exam.
  • Attendance, taken randomly in 10 class meetings, will register 10 points toward your final grade.
  • Team project (30 points). In this interesting and interactive project, the teams will study specific countries by focusing on national and local teams. The instructor will mentor each team on weekly assignments. The teams will have an opportunity for a longer presentation during our Panel event: “Soccer Europa” (June 7-8-9, Week 5)

Worth noting is that the readings, assignments, and examinations must be completed by the date and time recorded on this syllabus. Though Professor Sahin reserves the right to make changes to this syllabus with an in-advance warning if deemed necessary, the assignment schedules and UF regulations will stand at all times.

 

Grading Policy

Course Grading Policy

Assignment Points
 Attendance 10
 Midterm  25
 Team project  30
 Final take-home 35

 

Grading Scale

Percent

Grade

Grade Points

93 – 100.0

A

4.00

90.0 – 92.9

A-

3.67

87.0 – 89.9

B+

3.33

83.0 – 86.9

B

3.00

80.0 – 82.9

B-

2.67

77.0 – 79.9

C+

2.33

73.0 – 76.9

C

2.00

70.0 – 72.9

C-

1.67

67.0 – 69.9

D+

1.33

63.0 – 66.9

D

1.00

60.0 – 62.9

D-

0.67

0 – 59.9

E

0.00

See the current UF grading policies for more information.

 

UF Policies

University Policy on Accommodating Students with Disabilities: 

Students with disabilities requesting accommodations should first register with the Disability Resource Center (352-392-8565, https://disability.ufl.edu/) by providing appropriate documentation.  Once registered, students will receive an accommodation letter that must be presented to the instructor when requesting accommodation.  Students with disabilities should follow this procedure as early as possible in the semester.

 

University Policy on Academic Conduct:

UF students are bound by The Honor Pledge which states, “We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honesty and integrity by abiding by the Honor Code.  On all work submitted for credit by students at the University of Florida, the following pledge is either required or implied: "On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment."  The Honor Code (http://www.dso.ufl.edu/sccr/process/student-conduct-honor-code/) specifies a number of behaviors that are in violation of this code and the possible sanctions.  Furthermore, you are obligated to report any condition that facilitates academic misconduct to appropriate personnel.  If you have any questions or concerns, please consult with the instructor or TAs in this class.

 

Netiquette and Communication Courtesy: 

All members of the class are expected to follow rules of common courtesy during, before, and after class, in all email messages, threaded discussions, and chats. 

 

Getting Help

Technical Difficulties:

For issues with technical difficulties for Canvas, please contact the UF Help Desk at:

Any requests for make-ups due to technical issues should be accompanied by the ticket number received from the Help Desk when the problem was reported to them. The ticket number will document the time and date of the problem. You should e-mail your instructor within 24 hours of the technical difficulty if you wish to request a make-up.

 

Health and Wellness

  • U Matter, We Care:  If you or someone you know is in distress, please contact umatter@ufl.edu, 352-392-1575, or visit umatter.ufl.edu to refer or report a concern and a team member will reach out to the student in distress.
  • Counseling and Wellness Center:  Visit counseling.ufl.edu or call 352-392-1575 for information on crisis services as well as non-crisis services.
  • Student Health Care Center: Call 352-392-1161 for 24/7 information to help you find the care you need, or visit shcc.ufl.edu.
  • University Police Department: Visit police.ufl.edu or call 352-392-1111 (or 9-1-1 for emergencies).
  • UF Health Shands Emergency Room/Trauma Center: For immediate medical care in Gainesville, call 352-733-0111 or go to the emergency room at 1515 SW Archer Road, Gainesville, FL 32608; ufhealth.org/emergency-room-trauma-center.

 

Academic and Student Support

 

Course Evaluations

Students are expected to provide professional and respectful feedback on the quality of instruction in this course by completing course evaluations online via GatorEvals. Guidance on how to give feedback in a professional and respectful manner is available at https://gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/students/. Students will be notified when the evaluation period opens, and can complete evaluations through the email they receive from GatorEvals, in their Canvas course menu under GatorEvals, or via https://ufl.bluera.com/ufl/. Summaries of course evaluation results are available to students at https://gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/public-results/.

 

Tips for Success

Taking an online class -- especially one on Soccer! -- can be a lot of fun! Here are some tips that will help you get the most of this course while taking full advantage of this format:

  • Read ALL of the material contained on this site. There is a lot of helpful information that can save you time and help you meet the objectives of the course.
  • Do not procrastinate. 
  • Respect others, work hard, and repeat. 
  • Print out the Course Schedule located in the Course Syllabus and check things off as you go.
  • Ask for help or clarification of the material if you need it.
  • Do not wait to ask questions! Waiting to ask a question might cause you to miss a due date.
  • Do your work well before the due dates. Sometimes things happen. If your computer goes down when you are trying to submit an assignment, you'll need time to troubleshoot the problem.
  • To be extra safe, back up your work to an external hard drive, thumb drive, or through a cloud service.

 

Privacy and Accessibility Policies

For information about the privacy policies of the tools used in this course, see the links below.

 

COVID-Related Practices

Our class sessions may be audio-visually recorded for students in the class to refer back and for enrolled students who are unable to attend live. Students who participate with their camera engaged or utilize a profile image are agreeing to have their video or image recorded.  If you are unwilling to consent to have your profile or video image recorded, be sure to keep your camera off and do not use a profile image. Likewise, students who unmute during class and participate orally are agreeing to have their voices recorded.  If you are not willing to consent to have your voice recorded during class, you will need to keep your mute button activated and communicate exclusively using the "chat" feature, which allows students to type questions and comments live. The chat will not be recorded or shared. As in all courses, unauthorized recording and unauthorized sharing of recorded materials is prohibited.

 

COURSE SCHEDULE

Specific daily/weekly content is available (e.g., homepage/week 1) 

Week 1 (May 10-11-12-13)

Part A:  Kickoff; and, How Soccer Means

Regular Time

  • Franklin Foer, How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization. NY: HarperCollins, 2004, 1-6, 235-248
  • Christian Bromberger, “Football as world-view and ritual,” French Cultural Studies, 6 (1995): 293-331

Half Time

Team selection (country, team, player)

Extra Time

  • Why Soccer Matters: A Look at More Than Sixty Years of International Soccer, by legendary player Pelé. New York: Penguin, 2015, 1-52 (chapters 1-16 up to Sweden 1958)

Part B. Soccer is Tradition

Regular Time

  • “Did a Europe of Football Exist in the 1930s?” In Origins and Birth of the Europe of Football. Paul Dietschy ed. NY: Routledge, 2017, 515-530
  • “Football and Politics: Traditions and Modernities.” In Gary Armstrong and Jon P. Mitchell, Global and Local Football: Politics and Europeanisation on the Fringes of the EU. NY: Routledge: 2009, 52-66

Second Half

Team Discussion: “Our Country” (UEFA 1960-92)

 

Week 2 (May 17-18-19-20-21)

Part A: Soccer is War

Regular Time

  • Tamir Bar-on, “Three Soccer Discourses,” Soccer and Society, 18 (2017): 188-203
  • “The Jewish Question” In Franklin Foer, How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization. NY: HarperCollins, 2004, 65-88

Second Half

Team Discussion: “Our Question” (UEFA 1996-2016)

Part B: Lectures. Soccer is Nation

Regular Time

  • “The Discreet Charm of Bourgeois Nationalism.” In Franklin Foer, How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization. NY: HarperCollins, 2004, 193-216
  • Frank Lechner, “Imagined Communities in the Global Game: Soccer and the Development of Dutch National Identity,” Global Networks 7, no. 2 (2007): 215-29
  • Sanders, A., Heys, B., Ravenscroft, N., & Burdsey, D., “Making a Difference: The Power of Football in the Community,” Soccer & Society, 15, no. 3 (2014): 411-429

Second Half

Team Discussion: “Our Nation” (UEFA 1996-2016)

Extra Time

  • M. Doidge, “The Birthplace of Italian Communism: Political Identity and Action among Livorno Fans.” Soccer & Society, 14, no. 2 (2013): 246-261

Part C: Soccer is Migration; and, In Focus: Mesut Özil

Regular Time

  • “Getting into Europe: Global Flows of Talent.” In Gary Armstrong and Jon P. Mitchell. Global and Local Football: Politics and Europeanisation on the Fringes of the EU. NY: Routledge: 2009, 144-162
  • Sine Agergaard and Christian Ungruhe, “Ambivalent Precarity: Career Trajectories and Temporalities in Highly Skilled Spots labor Migration from West Africa to Northern Europe,” Anthropology of Work Review, 37 no. 2 (2016): 67-78

Half Time

Green Street Hooligans (2005)

Second Half

Team Discussion: “Our Émigrés” (2nd generation players)

 

Week 3 (May 24-25-26-27-28)

Part A: Soccer is Corporation

Regular Time

  • “The Bigger They Come,” and “All the Presidents’ Man? Follow the Money.” In Gary Armstrong and Jon P. Mitchell. Global and Local Football: Politics and Europeanisation on the Fringes of the EU. NY: Routlegde: 2009, 108-143

Second Half

  • Grafts and Bribes (statistics and court cases in progress)
  • Team Discussion: “Our Team Budget”

Part B: Review; and, Soccer is Identity

Match Day, Mid-Term, No Team Discussion

  • S. Dmowski, “Geographical Typology of European Football Rivalries,” Soccer & Society, 14, no. 3 (2013): 331-343
  • F. Checchinato, M. Disegna, and P. Gazzola, “Content and Feedback Analysis of YouTube Videos: Football Clubs and Fans as Brand Communities,” Journal of Creative Communications, 10, no. 1 (2015): 71-88

Part C: Soccer is Derby

Regular Time

  • Mariann Vaczi, Soccer, Culture and Society in Spain: An Ethnography of Basque Fandom. New York: Routledge, 2015, Chapters 2 and 3 (pp. 37-74)
  • A. Testa, G. Armstrong, Football Fascism and Fandom: The UltraS of Italian Football.” London: Black, 2010, Chapters 8-10 (pp. 105-152).

Second Half

Team Discussion: “Our Nemesis”  

MATCH DAY -- Midterm available between 5pm-6:30pm on honor-lock

 

Week 4 (May 31, June 1-2-3-4)

Part A: You Will Never Walk Alone; and, Case of Ultra Fans II

Regular Time

Half Time

Untold Story of Racism: Hooligans (2013)

Second Half

Team Discussion: “Our Bad Boys”  

Part B. Is Soccer Alpha?

Regular Time

  • A. Radmann, “Hooligans: Nice Guys or the Last Alpha Males? A Study of Football Supporters' Self-Image,” Soccer & Society, 15 no. 4 (2014): 548-563
  • I. Erhart, I, “Ladies of Besiktas: A Dismantling of Male Hegemony at Inonu Stadium,” International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 48, no. 1 (2011): 83-98
  • S. Pope, “‘The Love of My Life’: The Meaning and Importance of Sport for Female Fans,” Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 37 no. 2 (2012): 176-195

Second Half

Team Discussion: “Our Ladies”  

Part C. Soccer is Religion; and, In Focus: Arabs, Islam, and Soccer

Regular Time

  • “Islam’s Hope.” In Franklin Foer, How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization. NY: HarperCollins, 2004, 217-234
  • “Sakhnin – Between Soccer and Martyrdom.” In Tamir Sorek, The Arab Soccer in a Jewish State: The Integrative Enclave. UK: Cambridge University Press, 2007, 150-182
  • J.M. Dorsey, “Pitched Battles: The Role of Ultra Soccer Fans in the Arab Spring,” Mobilization: An International Journal, 17, no. 4 (2012):

Half Time

Mo Salah: A Football Fairytale (2018)

Second Half

Team Discussion: “Our Gods or Martyrs”  

 

Week 5 (June 7-8-9-10-11)

*** START READING Robinson’s Book the Club – we will discuss it next week **

Part A. Panel: “Soccer Europa” (MTW, June 7-8-9)

Teams discuss their countries, nations, migrants, budgets, and fans               

Part B: Soccer is Europe

Regular Time

  • “Europeanisation and Football.” In Gary Armstrong and Jon P. Mitchell. Global and Local Football: Politics and Europeanisation on the Fringes of the EU. NY: Routlegde: 2009, 1-18
  • Arne Niemann, et al., “The Europeanization of Football: Germany and Austria Compared.” In Sport and the Transformation of Modern Europe: States, Media, and Markets, 1950-2010. Alan Tomlinson, et al. eds. NY: Routledge, 2011, 187-205

Second Half

Team Discussion: “We’re Europe”  

Extra Mile

  • “The Black Carpathians.” In Franklin Foer, How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization. NY: HarperCollins, 2004, 141-166
  • Witness: “Football, Faith, and Flutes” (Sectarianism and Celtic vs Rangers)

 

Week 6 (June 14-15-16-17)

*** TAKE-HOME instructions will be provided; EXAM will be due FRIDAY (June 18th)

Part A: Soccer is the European Union

Regular Time

  • Xavier Breuil and P.N. Constantin, “The Balkan Cups as a vector of European Integration.” In Origins and Birth of the Europe of Football. Paul Dietschy ed. NY: Routledge, 2017, 101-113
  • Ryan Kelly, “How Brexit Will Affect Premier League Football”

Second Half

Team Discussion: “We’re EU”  

Part B. Soccer is Live; and, concluding remarks

Reading and discussion: Robinson’s Book The Club         

Regular Time

  • “Britain’s New Empire.” In Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg, The Club: How the English Premier League Became the Wildest, Richest, Most Disruptive Force in Sports. NY: Houghton, 2018, 219-311

** GO WATCH THE REST OF THE EURO 2020 GAMES, FOLKS! ** 

Course Summary:

Course Summary
Date Details Due