Race, Sport, and the American Dream

Race, Sport, and the American Dream PDF

Author: Earl Smith

Publisher:

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 298

ISBN-13:

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"Race, Sport and the American Dream is the culmination of a five-year research project investigating the scope and consequences of the deepening relationship between African American males and the institution of sport. It examines how sport has changed the nature of African American civil society and has come to be a major influence on economic opportunities, schooling, and the shaping of African American family life. The book probes the broader socio-cultural milieu surrounding the dialectic of African American athletes and mainstream American society. Smith examines the colonizing and exploitative nature of intercollegiate sports and the special arrangements that universities have with the world of sport through the lens of Immanuel Wallerstein's "World-Systems Paradigm." He also analyzes the world of professional sports, from NASCARto the NBA. All of the topics in this book, from youth violence, to sport as big business, to incivility and criminal behavior by athletes, to the lack of leadership and management opportunities in their sports for African American athletes who retire from play, to the question of the biological superiority of African American athletes verses white athletes, are addressed within the context of the history of racial oppression that has dominated race relations in the United States since its inception as a nation-state in the 1620s."--BOOK JACKET.

The Soul of Basketball

The Soul of Basketball PDF

Author: Ian Thomsen

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Published: 2018-04-17

Total Pages: 478

ISBN-13: 054774689X

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“A fascinating, thorough look at pro basketball’s continuing evolution to becoming the ‘sport of the American Dream.’”—Publishers Weekly The Soul of Basketball tells the story of an NBA prodigy, his league, and their sport in the throes of crisis during the pivotal 2010-11 season. It began with The Decision, that infamous televised moment when uber-star LeBron James revealed that he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers—thereby distancing himself from his role model Michael Jordan—to pursue his first championship with his former opponents on the Miami Heat. To the great fortune of LeBron, the NBA, and basketball itself, the mission didn’t work out as planned. In this book, veteran NBA writer Ian Thomsen portrays the NBA as a self-correcting society in which young LeBron is forced to absorb hard truths inflicted by his rivals Kobe Bryant, Doc Rivers, and Dirk Nowitzki, in addition to lessons set forth by Pat Riley, Gregg Popovich, Larry Bird, David Stern, Joey Crawford, and many more. Brimming with inside access, The Soul of Basketball tells the inspiring story of LeBron’s loneliest year, insecure and uncertain, when his ultimate foe was an unlikely immigrant who renewed the American game’s ideals. From Miami to Boston, Los Angeles to Dallas, Germany to the NBA’s Manhattan headquarters, the biggest names in basketball are driven by something more valuable than money and fame—a quest that would pave the way for Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and future generations to thrive. “Ian Thomsen provides an antidote to the fast-food, twitter feed of instant information consumption…deft prose and snappy anecdotes…Great, great stuff.”—Leigh Montville, New York Times-bestselling author of Sting Like a Bee “A fine work of sports journalism.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Soccer and the American Dream

Soccer and the American Dream PDF

Author: Ian Lawrence

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-09-30

Total Pages: 172

ISBN-13: 9780367664626

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The American Dream is founded upon the ideological belief that 'you can be anything you want to be', regardless of your current class position, and is one of the most emotive, pervasive and ideologically embedded concepts championed by American citizens. Providing contemporary insight into the American Dream via the critical lens of soccer - the world's pre-eminent sport but still a minority interest in the US - this book challenges the notion that America is different, exceptional or unique in the global order, either in real socio-economic-political terms or in perceived cultural terms. Soccer and the American Dream offers an overview of soccer in the US and uses case studies to explore the motives of American university students in undertaking a soccer scholarship, considering the impact of family, social class and career development upon social mobility and upon the game itself. Providing a fascinating new insight into the nexus of sport, education, culture and society, this is a topical resource for students, scholars and practitioners across the fields of soccer, higher education, youth sport, sports development, sports coaching and sport management.

By the Grace of the Game

By the Grace of the Game PDF

Author: Dan Grunfeld

Publisher: Triumph Books

Published: 2021-11-30

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 1641257008

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A multi-generational family epic detailing history's only known journey from Auschwitz to the NBA When Lily and Alex entered a packed gymnasium in Queens, New York in 1972, they barely recognized their son. The boy who escaped to America with them, who was bullied as he struggled to learn English and cope with family tragedy, was now a young man who had discovered and secretly honed his basketball talent on the outdoor courts of New York City. That young man was Ernie Grunfeld, who would go on to win an Olympic gold medal and reach previously unimaginable heights as an NBA player and executive. In By the Grace of the Game, Dan Grunfeld, once a basketball standout himself at Stanford University, shares the remarkable story of his family, a delicately interwoven narrative that doesn't lack in heartbreak yet remains as deeply nourishing as his grandmother's Hungarian cooking, so lovingly described. The true improbability of the saga lies in the discovery of a game that unknowingly held the power to heal wounds, build bridges, and tie together a fractured Jewish family. If the magnitude of an American dream is measured by the intensity of the nightmare that came before and the heights of the triumph achieved after, then By the Grace of the Game recounts an American dream story of unprecedented scale. From the grips of the Nazis to the top of the Olympic podium, from the cheap seats to center stage at Madison Square Garden, from yellow stars to silver spoons, this complex tale traverses the spectrum of the human experience to detail how perseverance, love, and legacy can survive through generations, carried on the shoulders of a simple and beautiful game.

Soccer and the American Dream

Soccer and the American Dream PDF

Author: Ian Lawrence

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-11-12

Total Pages: 172

ISBN-13: 1315519070

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The American Dream is founded upon the ideological belief that ‘you can be anything you want to be’, regardless of your current class position, and is one of the most emotive, pervasive and ideologically embedded concepts championed by American citizens. Providing contemporary insight into the American Dream via the critical lens of soccer – the world’s pre-eminent sport but still a minority interest in the US – this book challenges the notion that America is different, exceptional or unique in the global order, either in real socio-economic-political terms or in perceived cultural terms. Soccer and the American Dream offers an overview of soccer in the US and uses case studies to explore the motives of American university students in undertaking a soccer scholarship, considering the impact of family, social class and career development upon social mobility and upon the game itself. Providing a fascinating new insight into the nexus of sport, education, culture and society, this is a topical resource for students, scholars and practitioners across the fields of soccer, higher education, youth sport, sports development, sports coaching and sport management.

Chasing the American Dream

Chasing the American Dream PDF

Author: Thomas M. Tarapacki

Publisher:

Published: 1995

Total Pages: 168

ISBN-13:

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Some of the greatest figures in American sports were Polish Americans, including Stan Ketchel, two-time middleweight boxing champion; Stella Walsh, a Polish-born Olympic sprinter; and Stan 'The Man' Musial, one of baseballs all-time greats who played in 24 All-Star games and set numerous major league records. Chasing the American Dream examines the impact of sports upon the lives of Polish-Americans, the unprecedented economic and social opportunities it created, and the enormous changes it brought about to Polonia.

Hollywood Sports Movies and the American Dream

Hollywood Sports Movies and the American Dream PDF

Author: Grant Wiedenfeld

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2022

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 0197624928

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"Through the heart of Hollywood cinema runs a surprising current of progressive politics. Sports movies, a genre that has flourished since the mid-seventies, evoke the American dream and represent the nation to itself. Once considered mere credos for Reaganism, on closer view, movies from Rocky (1976) to Ali (2001) dream of democratic participation and recognition more than individual success. In every case, off-field relationships take precedence over on-field competition. Arranged chronologically, this critical study of six major sports films also tells the story of multiculturalism's gradual adoption. The mainstream's first minority heroes are paradoxically white ethnic, rural, working-class men, exemplified by Rocky, Slap Shot (1977) and The Natural (1984); Black, brown, and women characters follow in White Men Can't Jump (1992), A League of Their Own (1992), and Ali. But despite their insistence on community and diversity these popular dramas show limited faith in civic institutions. Hannah Arendt, Jeffrey Alexander, and others inform original analysis and commentary on the political significance of popular culture. Reading these familiar movies from another angle paints a fresh picture of how the United States has imagined democracy since its bicentennial"--

Proud

Proud PDF

Author: Ibtihaj Muhammad

Publisher: Hachette Books

Published: 2018-07-24

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 0316518956

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THE FIRST FEMALE MUSLIM AMERICAN TO MEDAL AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES NAMED ONE OF TIME'S 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE Growing up in New Jersey as the only African American Muslim at school, Ibtihaj Muhammad always had to find her own way. When she discovered fencing, a sport traditionally reserved for the wealthy, she had to defy expectations and make a place for herself in a sport she grew to love. From winning state championships to three-time All-America selections at Duke University, Ibtihaj was poised for success, but the fencing community wasn't ready to welcome her with open arms just yet. As the only woman of color and the only religious minority on Team USA's saber fencing squad, Ibtihaj had to chart her own path to success and Olympic glory. Proud is a moving coming-of-age story from one of the nation's most influential athletes and illustrates how she rose above it all.

Gambling with the Myth of the American Dream

Gambling with the Myth of the American Dream PDF

Author: Aaron M. Duncan

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-03-02

Total Pages: 191

ISBN-13: 1317512472

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This book explores the rise and increased acceptance of gambling in America, particularly the growth of the game of poker, as a means for examining changes to the American Dream and the risk society. Poker both critiques and reinterprets the myth of the American Dream, putting greater emphasis on the importance of luck and risk management while deemphasizing the importance of honesty and hard work. Duncan discusses the history of gambling in America, changes to the rhetoric surrounding gambling, the depiction of poker in the Wild West as portrayed in film, its recent rise in popularity on television, its current place in post-modern America on the internet, and future implications.