The Soccer Conclave

There may not be any white smoke coming out of the soccer conclave this week at Hofstra University in New York, but little else will be missing from an unprecedented fútbological event featuring presentations by more than 100 scholars, journalists, authors, coaches, and the King of Soccer himself: Pelé.

Historians Brenda Elsey and Stanislao Pugliese are the presiding cardinals of Soccer as the Beautiful Game: Football’s Artistry, Identity and Politics , an international conference hosted by the Hofstra Cultural Center and the Hofstra Department of History. The gathering begins on Thursday, April 10, with concurrent panels, an opening ceremony, and two keynote addresses by David Goldblatt (“Brazil: The Curious Rise of the Futebol Nation”) and Jennifer Doyle (“Imagining a World Without a World Cup: An Abolitionist Perspective).

Friday’s menu serves up a plethora of panels on a dizzying range of topics and a ceremony honoring Pelé with the conferral of an honorary degree. Saturday’s focus is on journalists, coaches, philanthropy round-tables, followed by a concluding plenary session, and . . . a pickup game on the New York Cosmos home ground! (Note to self: remember to pack turf shoes.)

I’ll be presenting a paper comparing World Cup 2010 in South Africa to World Cup 2014 in Brazil (click here to listen to an earlier version of this talk) and also participating in the Football Scholars Forum on academic vs. journalistic writing about soccer (click here to watch my pre-conference video blog and here to read the other five posts by my fabulous co-panelists).

As I said in a recent SoccerNomad podcast, I’ll be like a kid in a candy store! So here are the panels, which I grouped under some common themes:

 

Arts and Culture

• Picturing The Game: Soccer in Art
• Football and Visual Culture in Historical Perspective
• Literature and Representation
• Fan Cultures
• Heroes and Anti-Heroes
• Philosophy of Football

 

Politics and Power: Global, National, and Local

 

• Propaganda and Authoritarianism
• Politics of the Mega Event
• Civic Associations, Class and Politics
• Professionalism and Fanaticism in the Development of Modern Football
• Populism, Politics and Football Clubs
• Exceptionalism vs. Globalization
• Political Mobilization: Reform and Revolution
• Researching Institutional Change and Governance

 

Social Dynamics and Identities

 

• Ethnic Identity, Racial Hierarchies, and Nationalism
• National Identity/Normative Identity
• Transnational Currents/National Manifestations
• Gender, Poverty and the Public Good
• Gender and Sexuality
• Soccer and Solidarity
• Empowerment, Social Integration And Soccer

 

Soccer in the U.S.A.

 

• The Past and Future of Soccer in the United States
• New York Cosmos
• Immigration, Exile and Diaspora
• Football, Pedagogy and Integration
• Research Trends In Health, Regulation and The “Mental” of Soccer

 

and more!

 

• Business of Football
• Media and Football
• Football Scholars Forum: Academic/Journalistic Fútbol Writing
• Journalists, Editors and Publishers Round-Table
• Coaches, Practitioners and Trainers Round-Table

 

Click here to visit the Hofstra Soccer Conference website. Follow me on Twitter (@futbolprof) for live tweets during the conclave and look for a conference round-up next week!