A Critical Review of “the Ambiguities of Football, Politics, Culture, and Social Transformation in Latin America” by Tamir Bar-on.

A Critical Review of “The Ambiguities of Football, Politics, Culture, and Social Transformation in Latin America” by Tamir Bar-On.

Introduction:

In Latin America, soccer is not a game; it is a way of life. It is mixed in with politics and nationalism. It defines social classes. How politically influential is soccer in Latin America? It is used by “various Latin American socio-economic elites in order to retard the acceleration of working class and popular discontent” (Bar-On 1997:1.8). Is it then not intriguing that women play no part in the scheme of things? I can immediately off the top of my head name at least 5 male professional soccer players… and not a single female player.

Tamir Bar-On discusses in detail the influence of soccer in Latin America in great detail, yet makes little reference to female athletes and their influence, if there is any.

Statement of Sociological Problem:

Soccer, also known as “football” in some parts of the world has become much more than a sport. In fact, in some parts of the world, largely Latin America and Europe, soccer has become a symbol of nationalism, politics, and class… that is, when it is played by men. Little or no attention is given to females. As powerful as the sport is in Latin America and Europe, its power is exclusively bigoted towards the women, who take the sport just as seriously as the men, but rarely, if ever, get the kind of representation men receive in the media industry. They also get no political influence and little national recognition.

Defence:

The problem is worth researching for several reasons. Although soccer is the central sport discussed in Bar-On’s research, the gender issue is the same for most if not all professional sports: women never get the same recognition men receive for their achievement. The research problem is beyond doubt a social problem. When it comes to soccer, the most recognized event is the FIFA (Federation of International Football Association) World Cup, in which a

References: ANDERSON, Benedict (1983) Imagined Communities. London: Verso Books. ARBENA, Joseph (editor) (1988) Sport and Society in Latin America. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. ARBENA, Joseph (editor) (1989) An Annotated Bibliography of Latin American Sport: Pre-Conquest to the Present. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. ARBENA, Joseph (1990) 'Generals and Goles: Assessing the Connection between the Military and Soccer in Argentina ', The International Journal of the History of Sport, vol. 7. ARBENA, Joseph. (editor) (1992) 'Sport and the Promotion of Nationalism in Latin America: A Preliminary Interpretation ', Studies in Latin America Popular Culture, vol. 11. BAUDRILLARD, Jean (1993) The Transparency of Evil: Essays in Extreme Phenomena. London: Verso Books. BAUDRILLARD, Jean (1996) The Perfect Crime. London: Verso Books. BEY, Hakim (1994)Immediatism. San Francisco: AK Press. BLATTER, Joseph, S. (1997) 'Football 's Popularity ', June 1997, . BUFORD, Bill (1990) Among the Thugs. London: Secker and Warburg. CAPPA, Angel (1996) La Intimidad del futbol. San-Sebastian: Tercera Prensa Hirrugarren. CHOMSKY, Noam (1994) The Prosperous Few and Restless Many. Berkeley, California: Odonian Press. DEL BURGO, Maurice Biriotti (1995) 'Don 't Stop the Carnival: Football in the Societies of Latin America ' in Stephen Wagg (editor) Giving the Game Away: Football, Politics and Culture on Five Continents. London: St. Martin 's Press. DUNNING, Eric and Norbert ELIAS (1986) Quest for Excitement: Sport and Leisure in the Civilizing Process. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. DUNNING, Eric and J. WILLIAM (1988) The Roots of Football Hooliganism. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. DURHAM, William (1979) Scarcity and Survival in Central America: Ecological Origins of the Soccer War. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. GALEANO, Eduardo (1981) Open Veins of Latin America. London: Monthly Review GALEANO, Eduardo (1995) Football in Sun and Shadow GLANVILLE, Brian (1993) The Story of the World Cup. London: Faber. GRANT, George (1969) Technology and Empire. Concord, Ontario: Anansi Press Limited. HASSNER, Pierre (1991) 'Culture and Society ', International Spectator. HENSHAW, Richard (1979) The Encyclopedia of World Soccer. Washington, D.C.: New Republic Books. HOBSBAWM, Eric (1990) Nations and Nationalism Since 1780: Programme, Myth, Reality. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. HUXLEY, Aldous (1932) Brave New World. London: Granada Publishing Limited. KING, John (1997) The Football Factory. London: Vintage. KAPUSCINSKI, Ryszard (1990) The Soccer War. London: Granta Books. LEVER, Janet (1983) Soccer Madness. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. LEVER, Janet (1988) 'Sport in a fractured society: Brazil under military rule ', in Joseph Arbena, (editor), Sport and Society in Latin America, Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. MARKOVITS, A.S. (1990) 'The other 'American exceptionalism ' - Why is there no soccer in the United States? ', International Journal of the History of Sport, vol. 7, no. 2. McLUHAN, Marshall (1964) Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. New York: McGraw-Hill. MCLUHAN, Marshall and Q. FIORE (1967) The Medium is the Massage. New York: Bantam Books. MONTALBAN, Manuel Vasquez (1996) Un Polaco en la corte del Rey Juan Carlos. Madrid: Alfaguara. MONTALBAN, Manuel Vasquez (1997) 'Le Futbol, Religion Laïque en quête d 'un nouveau dieu ', Le Monde diplomatique, August. OXHORN, P. (1995) 'From Controlled Inclusion to Coerced Marginalization: The Struggle for Civil Society in Latin America ' in J. Hall (editor) Civil Society: Theory, History and Comparison. Cambridge, England: Polity Press. PAZ, Octavio. (1977) 'Spanish-American Literature ', The New Republic, vol. 176, no. 15 (9 April, 1977). PETRAS, J. and S. VIEUX (1984) 'The Transition to Authoritarian and Electoral Rule ', Latin American Perspectives, vol. 21, Fall. SHIRTS, Mathew (1988) 'Sócrates, Corinthians and Questions of Democracy ', in Joseph Arbena, ed., Sport and Society in Latin America. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press,. TAGUIEFF, Pierre-Andre (1994) Sur La Nouvelle Droite: Jelons d 'une Analyse. Paris: Descartes and Co. TODOROV, Tzvetan (1984) The Conquest of America. New York: Harper Collins. VALENZUELA, Arturo and VALENZUELA, J. Samuel (1978) 'Modernization and Dependency: Alternative Perspectives in the Study of Latin American Underdevelopment ', Comparative Politics, July. VELIZ, C. (editor) (1968) Latin America and the Caribbean. London: Anthony Blond. VIRILIO, Paul (1990) Popular Defense and Ecological Struggles. New York: Semiotexte Foreign Agents Series. WAGG, Stephen. (editor) (1995) Giving the Game Away: Football, Politics and Culture on Five Continents. Leicester, England: Leicester University Press. WALDSTEIN, David and Stephen WAGG (1995) 'An Un-American Activity? Football in US and Canadian Society ' in Stephen Wagg (editor) Giving the Game Away: Football, Politics and Culture on Five Continents. Leicester, England: Leicester University Press. WEINER, Myron (1992) 'Security, Stability and International Migrations ', International Security, vol. 17, no. 3, Winter. YUVAL-DAVIS, Nira (1997) Gender and Nation. London: Sage Publications. ZIPES, Jack (1994) 'Adorno May Still Be Right ', Telos, no. 101. [pic][pic]Copyright Sociological Research Online, 1997