Olympics

<p><em>The Olympics: A Critical Reader</em> represents a unique, critical guide to the definitive sporting mega-event and the wider phenomenon it represents – Olympism. Combining classic texts and thoughtful editorial discussion with challenging new pieces, including previously unseen material, the book systematically addresses the key questions in modern Olympism, including:</p><ul> <p> </p> <li>what does studying Olympism entail?</li> <p> </p> <li>how do historical accounts create and challenge Olympic myths?</li> <p> </p> <li>how do different theoretical perspectives inform our understanding of Olympism?</li> <p> </p> <li>which socio-political processes influence personal, collective and imagined Olympic identities?</li> <p> </p> <li>how do we experience and make sense of Olympism?</li> <p> </p> <li>who owns Olympism and why does it matter?</li> <p> </p> <li>how do cities compete for and celebrate the Olympics?</li> <p> </p> <li>How are the Olympic values promoted?</li> <p> </p> <li>why is it important to protect the ethical principles and properties of Olympism?</li> <p> </p> <li>what are the grounds for contesting Olympism?</li> <p> </p> <li>how can Olympism be taught?</li> <p> </p> <li>how can the principles and practices of Olympism be sustained in the future?</li> </ul><p>Each thematic part has been designed to include a range of views, including background treatment of an issue as well as critical scholarship, to ensure that students develop a well-rounded understanding of the Olympic phenomenon. <em>The Olympics: A Critical Reader</em> is essential reading for students of the Olympics and Olympism, the sociology of sport, sport management and cultural studies.</p> <p>Introduction <strong>Part 1: Studying Olympism</strong> 1. Studying Olympism <strong>Part 2: Documenting Olympism </strong> 2. Post-Olympism: Questioning Olympic historiography 3. From Olympia 776 BC to Athens 2004: The Origins and Authenticity of the Modern Olympic Games 4. Olympic Games and Historical Imagination <strong>Part 3: Theorising Olympism</strong> 5. A Never-Ending Story: The Philosophical Controversy Over Olympism 6. Olympic Games and the Theory of Spectacle in Modern Societies 7. The Olympics and ‘Global Citizenship’ <strong>Part 4: Negotiating Olympic Identities</strong> 8. Hellenism and Olympism: Pierre de Coubertin and the Greek Challenges to the Early Olympic Movement 9. Staging the Nation: Gendered and Ethnicized Discourses of National Identity in Olympic Opening Ceremonies <strong>Part 5: Imagining Olympism</strong> 10. Meet the "Framers": the Olympic Producers 11. Olympic Museum 12. Paralympic "Lived History": Reflections of a Participant-Observer <strong>Part 6: Owning Olympism</strong> 13. A Brief Overview of the Olympic System 14. Who Owns the Olympics? Political Economy and Critical Moments in the Modern Games 15. On Seizing the Olympic Platform <strong>Part 7: Staging the Olym</strong>pics 16. Financing of the Games: Interests, Winners and Losers 17. Olympic Cities: Regeneration, City Rebranding and Changing Urban Agendas <strong>Part 8: Promoting Olympism</strong> 18. ‘Celebrate Humanity’ or ‘Consumerism’: A Critical Evaluation of a Brand in Motion 19. Symbolism and the Effectiveness of Olympic Mascots <strong>Part 9: Safeguarding Olympism</strong> 20. Why Olympic Athletes Should Avoid the Use and Seek the Elimination of Performance-Enhancing Substances and Practices From the Olympic Games 21. Mega Events, Fear and Risk: Terrorism at the Olympic Games 22. Faster, Higher, Stronger: The Protection of Olympic Marks Leading up to Vancouver 2010 <strong>Part 10: Contesting Olympism </strong>23. Does One-World Olympic Ideology Lead to Multiculturalism? 24. Olympic Impacts on Bid and Host Cities <strong>Part 11: Teaching Olympism</strong> 25. "Olympism" Revisited as Context for Global Education: Implications for Physical Education 26. Didactic Approaches to Teaching Olympic Education <strong>Part 12: Sustaining Olympism</strong> 27. The Making of the IOC environmental Policy as the Third Dimension of the Olympic Movement 28. A Sustainable Sports Legacy: Creating a Link Between the London Olympics and Sports Participation</p>