ASIA 101NSports in Asia

3 credits · Asian Studies · Penn State

The history and contemporary practice of athletics in Asia shows that sports are much more than just games. Taking a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of sports in Asia, this course will examine what meanings have been attached to the participation in and planning of athletic events and institutions by Asian peoples and nations. The course will begin with a historical perspective, examining the place of traditional athletic practices, then tracing the introduction of Western-style athletics to various Asian countries in the 19th and 20th centuries and their incorporation into programs of national development. The second part of the course will focus on the international relations of sports mega-events like the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup. The third part will focus on the sociology of sports: what meanings do athletic activities and competitions hold in Asian societies, how does that shape people's behavior, and how does it compare to Western societies? Finally, the course will include an anthropological component that seeks to understand Asian societies in new ways by focusing on specific athletic activities, such as Japanese baseball and the Beijing Olympics, and by tracing the changing meanings of Asian sports like judo and karate as they spread to other parts of the world. The aim of this course is not only to build understanding of distant places and disparate peoples, but also to gain new perspectives on our own society through the shared activity of sports.