Markovits Examines Sport’s Cultural Role

Last Friday afternoon, Andrei S. Markovits, a former research associate at the Center for Euopean Studies, came back to Harvard to discuss his new book “Gaming the World: How Sports Are Reshaping Global Politics and Culture.”

Exchanging jokes and amused looks with long-time friends in the audience, Markovits presented the main ideas of his most recent work, which looks at global sports and the effect they have both locally and worldwide.

“The power of sports lies in their cultural, not financial, capital,” said Markovits, a professor of comparative politics and of German studies at the University of Michigan, who co-wrote his book with Political Science Professor Lars Rensmann, also at the University of Michigan.

Taking New England—“The Red Sox Nation”—as an example, Markovits stressed that local teams can play a crucial role in the development of one’s regional identity. Yet he insisted that sports are also paradoxically cosmopolitan and globalized—games are increasingly broadcast around the world and players often come from outside of their team’s country.

Comparing sports to languages, Markovits predicted that as sports become more widely broadcast, and people learn the rules of some sports, they will be able to more easily learn the rules of others, as may be the case in learning languages.

“People will become increasingly multinational sports speakers,” said Markovits.

The event drew a crowd of about twenty students, faculty, alumni and friends.

Andres D. Uribe ’12, who plays soccer, said he attended because of his interest in the relationship between professional and college sports. Martkovits compared the effect of college sports in the US to professional ones in Europe, in terms of their impact on community identities.

Markovits, who was at the Center from 1976 to 1999, is known for being cultivated, enthusiastic and cheerful, said Center Staff Assistant Anna Popiel.

“Andy is the kind of person everybody wants at a dinner party,” said Popiel.

In spite of his enthusiasm for the topic, Markovits said that sports are still not perceived as serious research subjects today.

“But it moves billions of people,” he said. “How could you not care about it?”