120109 AR Advanced Cultural Studies Course = Cultural/Media Studies 1/2 (Cultural/Media Studies) Literatures (2010S)

When, in 1992, Nick Hornby published Fever Pitch, his autobiographical novel about the trials and tribulations of an Arsenal London supporter, soccer finally became an acceptable, if not fashionable, topic with literary/cultural critics and audiences alike. One might also instance here David Beckham, who is an icon of pop and has even been made the subject of serious academic studies (e.g. University of Staffordshire).
As it is and as the run-up to the 2010 World Cup will prove yet again, soccer has become so much part of our everyday lives that it warrants a study of its complexity as a phenomenon of popular culture. In a figurative sense, soccer has become an arena in which central issues of contemporary society and culture, politics even, are being negotiated (viz. the Anglo-German rivalry of "Two World Wars and one World Cup").