In the third instalment of swimming week here on the pod, Johanna and Derek are joined by Matt Hodler, Assistant Professor of Sports Media & Communications at the University of Rhode Island and former D1 swimmer at the University of Miami (Ohio), to discuss racialized nationalism in swimming, representations of hegemonic masculinity in cultural images and discourses surrounding Michael Phelps, and, as always, even a little bit of “amateurism” in college athletics. The first part of this wide-ranging interview focuses on Matt’s recent work on racialized nationalism within the sport before we shift our attention to his work on representations of Michael Phelps. Then we get Matt’s thoughts on amateurism in swimming and how the sport may be an important part of the brilliant labor mobilization taking place in the athletic world.
Matt Hodler is an Assistant Professor of Sports Media & Communications in the Harrington School of Communication and Media at the University of Rhode Island. As a sport scholar, his wide-ranging research interests include racialized nationalism, gender, the Olympics and international sport structures, mediated representations of sport, internet memes, and swimming. He was also a D1 swimmer at the University of Miami (Ohio).
You can follow Matt on Twitter and check out Matt’s work here:
“Real Men Stand for Our Nation”: Constructions of an American Nation and Anti-Kaepernick Memes in the Journal of Sport and Social Issues
The $100-Million Dollar Man: Michael Phelps, the Olympic System, and USA Swimming’s Shifts in “Eligibility” in Sports History Review
“The Mother of All Comebacks”: A Critical Analysis of the Fitspirational Comeback Narrative of Dara Torres in Communication & Sport
For a transcription of this episode, please click here. (Credit @punkademic)
After listening to the episode, check out our most recent pieces:
“Red-Scare Rhetoric Isn’t Gone From Histories of American Sport” in Jacobin Magazine
"Canceling the College-Football Season Isn't Enough" published in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
“'We are being gaslit': College football and Covid-19 are imperiling athletes” in The Guardian
“Canceling the college football season is about union busting, not health” also in The Guardian
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As always, please like, share, and rate us on your favorite podcast app, and give follow us on Twitter or Instagram.
@Derekcrim
@JohannaMellis
@Nkalamb
@EndofSportPod
Episode 121: Anti-trans Discourse, Sport, and our Fascist Moment
Episode 120: Another College Sport Apocalypse
Episode 119: The End of College Football (A Preview)
Episode 118: What is Hockey Culture? with Kristi Allain
Episode 117: Decoding Racist Representation in Sport with Kelly Wright
Episode 116: A Football Life with Zack Furness
Episode 115: The Sport Management Episode, Part Two
Episode 114: The Sport Management Episode, Part One
Episode 113: Political Transphobia and Sport in New Brunswick with Susan Holt
Episode 112: Black Ball with Theresa Runstedler
Episode 111: How Women’s Swimming Got So Transphobic
Episode 110: Floridian and national athletic anti-fascist resistance with Joel Anderson
Episode 109: On The End of Sport, College Sports, Labor, and Exploitation
Episode 108: On Racism in Canadian Sport with Ian Kennedy
Episode 107: Abuse and Harm in Canadian Sport with Jennifer Fraser and MacIntosh Ross
Episode 106: Historicizing and Theorizing Harm in Youth Sport w/ Dionne Koller
Episode 105: Racial Capitalism and Football with Joshua Myers
Episode 104: We’re back!
Episode 103: Sport and Empire
Episode 102: On Critical Sports Fandom
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