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 62: Covid-19 and College Basketball with Jordan Bohannon
Episode 61: Klete Keller, Sport Media, and The Whiteness Problem in Swimming with Christienna Fryar and Matt Hodler
Episode 60: Sport and Politics on the Field and in the Academy with Lucía Trimbur, Part II
Episode 59: Ethnography of a Gridiron Concussion Crisis with Lucía Trimbur, Part I
Episode 58: “A Horrific Canadian Soccer Story” with Ciara McCormack, Part II
Episode 57: “Our Passion Was Used Against Us” with Ciara McCormack, Part I
Episode 56: Raging Against the (College Sports) Machine with David West and Ricky Volante
Episode 55: Constructing New Rooms with Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò
Episode 54: Anthropology of an American Pandemic with Adia Benton
Episode 53: Georgia On My Mind with Amanda Mull
Episode 52: Fascism, Spectacle, and Politics with Maximillian Alvarez and Sina Rahmani
Episode 51: Racialized Organizations, Politics, (and Sports) with Victor Ray
Episode 50: Harm and Hockey with Rick Westhead
Episode 49: Sport and COVID-19 Special with Gavin Yamey and Zachary Binney
Episode 48: #WeAreUnited with Otito Ogbonnia
Episode 47: Talking Gymnastics with Jessica O’Beirne of GymCastic
Episode 46: Swimming While Black with Jamal Hill
Episode 44: The Culture of Abuse in Swimming with Katherine Starr
Episode 43: The Golden Age of Black Swimming with Kevin Dawson
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