General Information

Symposium Poster (pdf)

The Department of Health and Sport Studies is convening an international Symposium and Town Hall Meeting on the topic "Building Global Understanding of Race and Sport" to be held October 12-14, 2006 at the Iowa Memorial Union. The purpose of this conference is to examine the intersections between race and sport from a global perspective. A fundamental underpinning of this conference is the analysis of contemporary issues that influence the intersections between race and sport for racial groups across the globe (e. g. Aboriginal Peoples, Asians, Africans). Scholars will identify particular issues in their session papers, and then make projections about which direction this complex phenomenon is heading. Session commentators will critique the session papers and make suggestions for future scholarly inquiries. These scholarly papers will serve as a foundation for an anthology to be published by an academic press. A second aspiration of this symposium is to conduct a town hall meeting, open to the public. Scholars and contemporaries in the sport industry will discuss the current state of race and sport from a global perspective, and wrestle with the question “where do we go from here?” A moderator will draw his or her questions from the previous sessions to serve as the foundation for the discussion. The town hall meeting will conclude with the scholars and professionals fielding questions from the audience. 

The symposium is the first conference that attempts to examine the intersection between race and sport from a global perspective. It will provide a public forum in which its fundamental objective is to enhance public awareness regarding the ways in which globalization has influenced the intersection between race and sport. The combination of both academic sessions and a town hall meeting will bring scholars, professionals, and community members together to discuss this complex phenomenon among themselves, and engage the public to show how these issues affect them, particularly those within the sporting community.

Both the academic sessions and town hall meeting is free and open to the public.  The events will take place in the Iowa Memorial Union in both the Illinois Room and the Richey Ballroom.  Join in the powerful discussion!  Don’t miss a chance to be a part of this cutting edge symposium!