Course lecturer: Prof. Dr. Yvette Sánchez
Course outline: This Latam Compact takes students to Medellín for a block seminar about social, cultural, political, and economic contexts of football and covers a wide range of topics, from social mobility and inclusion through sports, the managerial strategy of a big club to working with fans. The direct partnership with a local club will allow to interview and discuss with players, managers, trainers, fans, and visit iconic football sites in Medellín.
Football per se serves as a model of interpreting the world by transferring and sublimating existential situations to the 90 minutes on the turf. Soccer acts as a motor of social mobility and integration all over Latin America, on the one hand and, on the other, it is subject to a massive mercantilization. The course also takes a cultural perspective as shown in rituals, myths, idolatry, chants, sacralization, transfiguration, nostalgia, creativity, simulation, staging, projections, which all echo the dynamics, unpredictability, and complexity of the soccer spectacle, but also nationalism, racism, and homophobia.
Dates and Special Application Procedure
Dates: From October 28 to 31, 2019
Registration: From July 1 to September 10, 2019
Special application procedure: Please submit your motivation letter (one page) and CV (max. 2 pages) to GIMLA with the headline "Football"
Fees and Further Information
3 ECTS in Contextual Studies (Cultures)
Open to all HSG bachelor students; Students, currently in their exchange semester in Medellín, are most welcome to participate.
Limited number of seats;
There are no pre‑requirements for this course; however, some knowledge of Spanish might be helpful.
Fees: The course is free, but students must bear the costs of an international flight and local accommodation during the trip (around CHF1'300).
Each student is responsible for verifying VISA and other travel requirements.