Now, I'm a big sports fan, and many of my posts and blogs will no doubt refer to sports, sports events, sports people, etc etc, so brace yourself.
Sport in general is a huge part of cultures shifting towards the same likeness, and a constant source of cultures mixing and changing and picking up things from each other. "Sport is frequently referred to as a ‘global language’ and used to promote international awareness and cross- cultural understanding – two key themes inglobal citizenship literature" (Unknown, 2011).
Referring to sport as a global language may seem foolish to some, and in my opinion, those some are wrong. And that's my opinion, and opinions cannot be wrong.
Sport challenges all sorts of global boundaries, language being one of the most difficult ones to hurdle. But athletes love their sport, no matter where they are from, they all meet in an arena to do what they love, and through their sport, they are able to make friendships and share experiences that they would have never dared to dream of if they were not a professional athlete.
Every year the Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket tournament brings the best of the best from all around the world together to compete, and the players love it, they love the companionship of a new team, and learning the new culture of their home for 2 whole months of the year.
Whilst politics and the economy make the world go around, and are heavily featured in reasons for a Globalised world, its unfair to ignore on an academic level, the contribution sport makes.
Phew.
Reference:
Third World Quarterly, Vol. 32, No. 3, 2011.
Article Sourced from http://cdnglobalcitizenship.wordpress.com/2011/05/09/global-subjects-or-objects-of-globalisation/ after being presented at a conference.
Interesting blog, you're quite right in saying globalisation is a broad term and it does carry a lot of various aspects. But whats interesting is that they all have a sort of interconnectiveness! Great example, using sport especially with the olympics. You are definitely on a good track, this is a really good blog. You are absolutely correct when saying that opinions can't be wrong. Its your own state of mind, keep up the great work!
ReplyDeleteJake, I’m so pleased to find another sport lover amongst the list of blogs! I totally agree that sport is a great leveller that can break down many of the social or communication barriers that exist between different groups or cultures. Despite the cynics out there, I still hold this idealistic belief that international competition (i.e. the Olympics), epitomises so many positive characteristics in humanity, and is a wonderful celebration of all we have to offer. The IPL’s a great example of globalisation, specifically the cultural and media flows we discussed in week two. I enjoyed reading your perspective, although I came across a few syntax/grammar errors that hurt the flow of your post – nothing that an extra read-through can’t fix. Thanks mate, and I hope you continue down the sport theme with your posts.
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