OVERVIEW

The teaching aims to provide interpretative tools to understand the role of sport in modern society, favoring the anthropological perspective. The course aims to observe sport as a "total social fact", i.e. as an essential element of culture. Anthropology offers intellectual and thematic postures - identity, race, body, religion, myth, ritual - suitable for deciphering the dynamics concerning sport and the perception that public opinion has of the phenomenon.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the course, students will acquire the notion of sport as a "total social fact"; they will be able to decipher the importance of sport in building local, national and transnational identities; they will be able to develop the ability to read the connections between sport and culture as well as the main social transformations which have taken place in the course of contemporary history, and conveyed by sport. The teaching also aims at developing the ability to analyze the playful aspect of sport and travelling as a factor of knowledge of diversity, in relation to the diffusion of the various sports disciplines.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the course, students will know the role of anthropology in identifying the dynamics that concern sport and that contribute to the construction of local, national and transnational identities. They will also develop
- ability to read the connections between sport and culture
- ability to understand the main social transformations conveyed by sport, considering the latter as a factor in the creation and change of national identities
- ability to reflect on issues related to the body, ethnicity, prejudice, exclusion that concern the world of sport;
- ability to evaluate the importance of the "field" understood as a place of research and, at the same time, as a "place where events take place"
- ability to reflect on cultural hybridization as a factor generating new panoramas.
- ability to use the tools of the anthropological discipline in order to be able to face further paths in the disciplinary field and in professional life.

PREREQUISITES

No prerequisites required

TEACHING METHODS

The mode is in presence; attendance is not mandatory.
The teaching consists of frontal lessons, for a total of 54 hours, delivered by the teacher.
During the lessons, the topics indicated in the "Program/Content" section will be covered; the lessons will be enriched by guests who will deal with some specific topics covered by the teaching.
During the lessons, slides and power points will be shown, which will then be uploaded to Aulaweb, available to attending and non-attending students.
There is a non-mandatory in itinere test, which will constitute a final evaluation tool

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Tools, questions, contents of the Anthropology of Sport
Anthropology and sport: a recent history
From ritual to record: the transition from ancient sport to modern sport
Sport as a total social fact
Building identity: the role of sport
Football and national identities: the case of Brazil
Ritual, myth, cult of sport
The black athlete: body, class and gender
Sport, perceptions and prejudices
Communicating sport: globalization vs. localization
Sport and culture, today.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Three texts, two of which are mandatory:
Mandatory:

-Barba Bruno, Il corpo, il rito, il mito. Un'antropologia dello sport, Einaudi, Torino, 2021.
- Uyangoda Nadeesha, Corpi che contano, 66THAND2ND, Roma, 2024.

A text of your choice between:

Arpino, Giovanni, 2007 Azzurro tenebra, Spoon River, Torino.
Augé, Marc, 2016 Football. Il calcio come fenomeno religioso, EDB, Bologna.
Bayer, Osvaldo, 2020 Fútbol. Una storia sociale del calcio argentino, Edizioni Alegre, Roma.
Barba, Bruno, Calciologia. Per un’antropologia del football, Mimesis, Milano 2016.
Barba B. Ma quale DNA? Il calcio, l’Antropologia e le trappole dell’identità, Battaglia, Imola, 2023.
Bausinger, Herman, 2008 La cultura dello sport, Armando, Roma.
Bavastro, Danila, Sport e social media. Strumenti e strategie di comunicazione per le società sportive, Maggioli, Sant’Arcangelo di Romagna 2022.
Berruto Mauro, Capolavori. Allenare, allenarsi, guardare altrove, ADD, Torino 2019.
Besnier N., Bronwell S., Carter T.F., Antropologia dello sport: corpi, confine e potere nel mondo contemporaneo, Ledizioni, Milano, 2024. 
Bifulco, Luca, Tirino, Mario, a cura di, Sport e Scienze Sociali. Fenomeni sportivi tra consumi, media e processi globali, Rogas, Roma 2019.
Bromberger, Christian, 1999 La partita di calcio. Etnologia di una passione, Editori Riuniti, Roma.
Canepa, Daniele, Fino a che punto? Il traffico internazionale di giovani atleti, Infinito Edizioni, Formigine 2021.
Currò, Enrico, Mario Fossati e la Storia del giornalismo sportivo in Italia, Bolis, Azzano San Paolo 2028.
Dal Lago, Alessandro, 1990 Descrizione di una battaglia. I rituali del calcio, il Mulino, Bologna.
Gherpelli, Lamberto, 2018 Che razza di calcio, Gruppo Abele, Torino.
Lupo, Maurizio, Emina, Antonella (a cura di), Visioni di gioco. Calcio e società da una prospettiva interdisciplinare, il Mulino, Bologna 2020.
Lupo, Maurizio, Emina, Antonella, Igor Benati (a cura di), Visioni di gioco. Calcio e società da una prospettiva interdisciplinare, Volume secondo, il Mulino, Bologna 2022.
Lupo, Maurizio, Emina, Antonella, Igor Benati (a cura di), Visioni di gioco. Calcio e società da una prospettiva interdisciplinare, Volume terzo, il Mulino, Bologna 2024.
Marani, Matteo, 2007 Dallo scudetto ad Auschwitz. Vita e morte di Árpád Weisz, allenatore
Morris, Desmond, 1981 La tribú del calcio, Rizzoli, Milano 2016.
Riva, Gigi, 2016 L’ultimo rigore di Faruk. Una storia di calcio e di guerra, Sellerio, Palermo.
Pivato, Stefano, 2019 Storia sociale della bicicletta, il Mulino, Bologna.
Petrognani, Claude, Quando Dio entra in gioco. Riflessioni su calcio, religioni, società di un antropologo in Brasile, Rogas, Roma.
Selvestrel, Greta, Irlanda, calcio e rivoluzione, Rogas, Roma
Tranquillo, Flavio 2020 Lo sport di domani. Costruire una nuova cultura, add editore, Torino.
Valeri, Mauro, 2005 La razza in campo. Per una storia della rivoluzione nera nel calcio, Edup, Roma.
Zoletto, Davide, 2010, Il gioco duro dell’integrazione. L’intercultura sui campi da gioco, Cortina, Milano.

Further suggestions for bibliographical additions will be provided during the lessons. Any other proposals provided by the student and related to one of the chosen texts will be evaluated.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

First semester, September 2025, starting from the first available week (September 15)
Timetable and classrooms of lessons and exams on Easyacademy Unige Portal: https://easyacademy.unige.it/portalestudenti/

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Mandatory oral interview and written test (optional).
The grade of those who take the written test in progress will be averaged with the oral.

The aforementioned in itinere written exam, lasting one hour, will consist of a theme that will focus on one of the topics covered during the lessons and the materials provided and indicated in the "Program/Content" section of this teaching sheet.

For cases with certification of DSA, disability or other special educational needs, the University legislation and regulations on disability and DSA apply.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The oral exam will allow to verify the analytical ability of the student. The ability of exposition, the correct use of anthropological terminology, the critical reasoning ability developed during the course will be evaluated.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Students are invited to consult the materials periodically inserted in the web classroom. Information on this will be provided during the lessons.
Students who have regularly filed a
certification of DSA, disability or other special educational needs
are advised to contact both the contact person Prof. Aristide Canepa
(aristide.canepa@unige.it) and the teacher at the beginning of the course, to
agree on teaching and exam methods that, in compliance with the
teaching objectives, take into account individual learning methods and provide suitable compensatory tools.