Understand the social, cultural and economical issues that shape football as a key Catalan, Hispanic and European phenomenon.

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1 Course title: GLOBAL CULTURE OF FOOTBALL CLUB BARCELONA Language of instruction: English Professor: Dr Mar Guerrero Pico Professor s contact: mariadelmar.guerrero@upf.edu Course contact hours: 45 Recommended credit: 3 US credits-6 ECTS credits Course prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this course Keywords: Sport, Football, Cultural Studies, Marketing, Barcelona Language requirements: None Course focus and approach: This is a course that analyzes the key role of football in the European context within the framework of cultural studies, focusing on the historical, sociological and political issues tied to a specific case study: Football Club Barcelona. The course develops critical tools to interpret the significance of sport in the modern era, by highlighting the implications a brand like FCB has in social, cultural and media contexts. Course description: 1 European football (soccer) has become a major cultural vehicle in the global world, both in terms of economical impact and social influence. This course focuses on the links between the game and the different dimensions that surround it: media coverage, symbolic value, political targeting, public and corporate policies FC Barcelona is a unique example that embodies the representation of Catalonian national identity while arguably being the most accomplished team of the 21 st century: its significance goes beyond the game itself, blending with global marketing strategies and transnational fandom. We will make the best of being in Barcelona, an evolving and differential city, in order to better understand football as a controversial issue within contemporary popular culture. Learning objectives: By the end of the course, students will be able to: Understand the social, cultural and economical issues that shape football as a key Catalan, Hispanic and European phenomenon. Develop a critical view of the game s media coverage and the different communication strategies involved. Get to know the game s aesthetics in a deeper level, learning to interpret the styles and structures of football along with its inner symbolism. Grasp the links between Barcelona as a contemporary global city and FC Barcelona as a unique team and club- in football s history.

2 Course workload: The course combines required readings with specific viewing assignments and field-studies related to how football is experienced in the city. Teaching methodology: The course is based on theoretical classes the content of which will be further developed in a series of task assignments, such as reporting on the media coverage, writing critical essays and making interviews. Other activities involve an on-site class in a FCB penya. After a brief introduction to the cultural differences of American sports and European football, two themes will guide a comparative approach to the subject: the cultural, aesthetic and symbolical aspects of FC Barcelona combined with the historical, marketing and media perspectives on it. Researcher Hibai López will teach a midterm seminar on sport research in digital media. Assessment criteria: The course s assessment will evaluate three inputs: a midterm paper (45%), a final exam (45%), and class participation (10%). Absence policy: After the add/drop, all registrations are considered final and HESP Absence Policy begins to apply. 2 Attending class is mandatory and will be monitored daily by professors. Missing classes will impact on the student s final grade as follows: Absences Penalization Up to two (2) absences No penalization Three (3) absences 1 point subtracted from final grade (on a 10 point scale) Four (4) absences 2 points subtracted from final grade (on a 10 point scale) Five (5) absences or more The student receives an INCOMPLETE ( NO PRESENTAT ) for the course The PEHE/HESP attendance policy does not distinguish between justified or unjustified absences. The student is deemed responsible to manage his/her absences. Emergency situations (hospitalization, family emergency...) will be analyzed on a case by case basis by the Academic Director of the HESP. Classroom norms: - No food or drink is permitted in class - Students will have a ten-minute break in the middle of the standard two-hour sessions.

3 Weekly schedule: Week 1 27 September Introduction to FC Barcelona and European Sport Culture Class discussion: CBS Sixty Minutes Report on FCBarcelona Week FC Barcelona: History & Identity Reading and class discussion: F. Foer on the social and cultural meaning of FCB La Masia: values, methods, output Reading and class discussion: Perarnau (2011) in Senda de Campeones Week Barcelona-Madrid El Clásico Reading and class discussion: Fitzpatrick (2012) on contrasting identities + Hunter (2012) on the greatest rivalry in the world Total Football and The FCB Style Reading and class discussion: Wilson (2008) on possession-passing style. Week Film: Messi (De la Iglesia, 2014) Reading and class discussion: Hunter (2012) on the origins and making of L. Messi The Marketing of FC Barcelona Reading and class discussion: On The Blue Elephant group, a PPT generation Week Week 6 30 Visit to a FC Barcelona Penya On-site class presentation in a classical Social Club of FC Barcelona supporters MIDTERM PAPER 30 th The Meaning(s) of Gameplay Reading and class discussion: Vazquéz Montalbán (2006) on football as religion + Verdú (1981) on mythologies Holiday: 1st 3 Week Sports Research in the Digital Era Reading and class discussion: H. López- González on sport, time, media Fans, Supporters, Hooliganism Reading and class discussion: Sandvoss (2003) on football fandom Week Celebrities and Social Media Reading and class discussion: Guerrero, López & Haynes (2014) on media narratives Football and Crisis Management Reading and class discussion: On the in/efficiency of institutional crisis strategy Week Football as Human Bonding reading of Nick Hornby (2010) + watching of Looking for Eric (Loach, 2009) Main Archetypes and Narratives reading of D. Torres (2014) and G. Balagué (2016) + watching of Zidane, a 21 st century portrait (documentary, Gordon & Parreno, 2006) Week Playing for Hope: Kids and Bullies reading of Meneses (2013) + watching of Bend It Like Beckham (Chadha, 2002) Football, Conflict and Totalitarism reading of S. Kuper (2003) + watching of Escape to Victory (Houston, 1981) Week 11 4 December Final Exam Prep. Session Recap quiz Week December FINAL EXAM December 11 th

4 Required readings: Course reading pack prepared by the professor and available on-line at Aula Global Required watchings: DVDs distributed by the professor to each reading group in class Recommended bibliography: Ball, Phil. Morbo. The Story of Spanish Football. London, WSC Books, Balagué, Guillem. Pep Guardiola. Another Way of Wining. London, Orion Publishing, Bale, John. Landscapes of modern sport. New York: Leicester University Press, Barthes, Roland. Mythologies. London, Vintage Classics, Boyle, Raymond and Haynes, Richard. Power Play. Sport, the Media and Popular Culture, Edinburgh University Press, Burns, Jimmy. La Roja: How Soccer Conquered Spain and How Spanish Soccer Conquered the World, New York, Nation Books, Crolley, Liz and Hand, David. Football and European Identity: Historical Narratives Through the Press, New York, Routledge, Elias, Norbert and Dunning, Eric. Quest for excitement: Sport and leisure in the civilizing process, Oxford, Basil Blackwell, Fitzpatrick, Richard. El Clasico. Barcelona vs. Real Madrid: Football s Greatest Rivalry. London, Bloomsbury, Franco, Antonio. El Camp Nou. Barcelona, Barcanova, Foer, Franklin. How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization. New York, Harper Collins, Gargallo, Santiago. De Samitier a Ronaldo. Barcelona, Barcanova, Goldblatt, David. The Ball is Round: A Global History of Soccer. New York, Penguin, Guttmann, Alan. A whole new ball game: An interpretation of American sports. Chapel Hill, The University of North Carolina Press, Hoch, Paul. Rip off the big game. New York, Anchor Books, Hornby, Nick. Fever Pitch. London, Penguin, Huizinga, Johan. Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play Element in Culture. London, Routledge, Hunter, Graham. Barça: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World. London, BackPage Press Limited, Jenkins, Henry. Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York, New York University Press, Kuper, Simon. Football Against the Enemy. London, Orion Books, Kuper, Simon and Szymanski, Stefan. Soccernomics. New York, Nation Books,

5 López-González, Hibai and Guerrero-Sole, Frederic and Haynes, Richard. Manufacturing conflict narratives in Real Madrid versus Barcelona football matches, International Review for the Sociology of Sport, Meneses, Juan Pablo. Niños futbolistas. Barcelona, Blackie Books, Perarnau, Martí. Senda de Campeones. De La Masia al Camp Nou. Barcelona, Grup 62, Torres, Diego. The Special One: The Dark Side of Jose Mourinho. London, Harper Sport, Sandvoss, Cornel. A Game of Two Halves: Football, television and globalization. London, Routledge, Valdano, Jorge (ed). Cuentos de Fútbol. Madrid, Alfaguara, Vázquez Montalbán, M. Fútbol: Una religión en busca de un dios. Barcelona, Debate, 2006 Verdú, Vicente. El fútbol. Mitos, ritos y símbolos. Madrid, Alianza, Villoro, Juan. Dios es redondo. Barcelona, Anagrama, Wahl, Grant. The Beckham Experiment: How the World s Most Famous Athlete Tried to Conquer America. New York, Random House, Wangerin, David. Soccer in a Football World: The Story of America s Forgotten Game. Philadelphia, Temple University Press, Wilson, Jonathan. Inverting the Pyramid: The History of Football Tactics. London, Orion Books,