- Wednesday, October 18, 2017
- 3:30 PM–5:00 PM
- Commons Annex Alumni Association Board Room
"'A Blue-collar Sport Played by White-collar Kids': Hockey and the Social History of Contemporary Youth Sports"
In 1980, a team of American college students from working-class towns stunned the hockey world at the Lake Placid Olympics, and the son of a Bell Canada repairman was breaking records in the NHL. Four decades later, elite players in Canadian and American hockey, both men and women, tend to come from more affluent backgrounds. Like other sports, youth hockey has become increasingly costly, in terms of both time and money. What brought these changes, and what effect are they having on the game – not only in North America but around the world?
Bruce Berglund recently received a Fulbright Global Scholar grant to research the history of world hockey. In this lecture, he will discuss some of his preliminary findings.
About the speaker
Bruce Berglund's research has focused on Eastern Europe and the Communist world, but he also has a growing interest in global sports history. He hosts the weekly podcast New Books in Sports, which has featured episodes on Taiwanese baseball, Japanese sumo, Indian cricket, Scottish soccer, Canadian hockey, and American football. And he is editor of the online journal The Allrounder, which offers essays on global sport by academics and journalists.
This is the annual lecture for the Mellema Program in Western American Studies. It is also part of the monthly history colloquia series. These lectures are open to the Calvin community - students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends - and all are welcomed and encouraged to attend. Come early to enjoy refreshments and conversation, and feel free to ask questions or join the discussion at the end.
