African 202 (Section 2): Soccer and Popular Culture in Africa

This course explores the representation of soccer and popular culture in Africa. The readings highlight the complex nature of the game within postcolonial cities both as a form of leisure and popular culture. We trace the origin of soccer in African coastal cities, the evolution of the game from a leisure activity to a tool of resistance, fan participation, identity politics media and globalization. The question of social mobility, spatiality and urbanity as domain of youth culture will fundamentally dominate our conversation as we encounter the game and its conviviality in African streets.

The course utilizes films and literature to depict soccer as a fun sport and popular culture among African urban youth. Thus, students will learn fundamental literary and film analysis while deepening their understanding of the intersection of society, soccer, labor, media technology, modernity, migration, and global capital. We will explore how the city and the media structure the experience of soccer as popular culture among African youth. In addition, students will gain a deeper understanding of social and political issues in soccer and popular culture and make sense of contemporary Africans and their own society.

Along the way, students can apply theoretical concepts and tools like postcolonial theory and Marxist critique to analyze issues in Africa and their own societies. As popular sport and cultural touchstone, students will gain cultural awareness and global perspectives on how different cultures express identities through the game.

Primary Texts

Peter Alegi: African Soccerscapes: How a Continent Changed the World (2010)

Barber, Karin. A History of Popular Culture in Africa, 2018

Films

The Golden Ball, (Cheick Doukouré, Guinea, 1994)

La Pirogue, (Moussa Toure, Senegal, 2011)

Timbuktu, (Abderrahmane Sissako, Mali 2014)