Hello all,
well, i guess it is time to be disclosed. I am a PhD Student in Geography at th
e U. of Kentucky, writing up dissertation research on discussions of immigrati
on at the US-Mexico border. In particular, I am exploring the ways in which
certain concepts of the border as a "problem region",have been utilised by var
ious groups, and the ways in which these groups (e.g., Border Patrol, immigrant
advocates, etc) and media have constructed specific images of "illegal" and
"legal" residents (particularly in relation to nationalism, gender and ethnicit
y).
I am also generally interested in depictions of nationalism and gender in cinem
a.
I have found the discussion of sports interesting, somewhat jovial, and
a different way to "mark" turf?- i lived mid-way between a whole bunch
of teams so it was kind of hard to claim one all for my own ;-)
However, I would like to respond to Jon's comments below:
a Thu, 29 Jan 1998 22:42:05 GMT you said:
>
>"critical' or not? Is it impossible to like public sports and still
>have a sense of social responsibility? Is public sports necessarily
>about nationalism, racism, and patriachy? Please explain the success
>of the WNBA along these lines. Is the good feeling of watching your
Actually, the WNBA is a perfect example of the ways in which race, gender
and nationalism are integral to discussions of sport :
as a women's league this was developed as a filler fo the default NBA, and
gets much less sponsorship, media attention, and legitimation in sports
circles than the male equivalent - along with the usual tv commentary of
"well, it's not really as exciting as the men's game.." The documentary "Hoop
Dreams" does a very thoughtful examination of the ways in which young black
youths are scouted out in low-income US cities, put in a private school, pushed
for a few years as potential star players, then promptly "dropped", when they
don't meet their coaches' expectations (and also left with huge loans to pay of
f). As for nationalism, well the "star system" in sports, in the US, certainly
buys into the individualist dream of, if you try-you can succeed ( the only
trouble is you may have to be 6ft 7, and go to a good school).
Certainly, this is not to say that sports are inherently "bad," however, I thin
k that it is useful to examine the way that we use these terms. Perhaps, a
discussion about how we use metaphors-or interests- such as these to "place"
or "disclose" ourselves will in fact encourage more "young critical geographers
" to join the debate.
>feeling of demolishing your opponent in a scholarly debate? Is being
>a "critical geographer" incompatible with being happy for the ordinary
>people in Denver that are out enjoying themselves a little this week?
>
hmmm, I'm not sure how you define "ordinary" here? Are we all ordinary?Plus,
I guess there's also the issue of how you define a "little enjoyment" : when
Kentucky won the college basketball - it could have been quite easily described
as a riot(in fact if it had been predominantly black - several people commented
that it would have been)- it included loads of people blocking traffic,
lighting fire to a news van, damaging gardens, etc. From what has gone before,
however, it doesn't seem as if anyone is particularly against people being abl
e to celebrate.
>As a student I've always been glad to hear my teachers express an
>interest in sports, music, film, or anything else outside the domain
>of their academic interests. It makes them far more interesting. As a
I agree,
and, that's why sometimes it's also useful to make them part of one's academic
interests.
>Jon Taylor
>ABD, Geography
>University of Kentucky
>
Looking forward to hearing other's thoughts.
>> Cheers, Susan Mains.
>>
>
*************************=2A************************=2A**********************
SUSAN MAINS
DEPT. OF GEOGRAPHY
UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
LEXINGTON, KY 40506-0027
U.S.A.
TEL: (606) 257 6992/2931
FAX: (606) 323 1969
*************************=2A************************=2A**********************
SUSAN MAINS
DEPT. OF GEOGRAPHY
UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
LEXINGTON, KY 40506-0027
U.S.A.
TEL: (606) 257 6992/2931
FAX: (606) 323 1969
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