The first half of the semester I would like to explore the influence of sports in Czechoslovakia as a means to get by in a communist regime. It has been portrayed in many films and stories of a sport having the ability to take the minds off of people living in a time of war, or hardship. I would like to compare how sports have united a community being able to take peoples minds off of challenges at home. I would set up my paper by identifying what the people of Czechoslovakia did to stay normal and have modern lives when they were under the communist rule through competition. I would then explore what other sports in history have made a time where people have felt their freedoms restricted, into a time where on the field they feel free. I would like to show how sports lead to living within the truth. I want to make connections from Havel to portray the truth in sports.
*By next week 2-16
*I would like to find examples of sports played in Czechoslovakia in the 1900s and find 2-3 other examples of sports as a way to get by a hard time
*Gone through The Miracle Game and highlight any references to sports or activities like chess
*Create comparisons to how sports can bring out truth in a way to unite a community
*By 2-23
*I want to have multiple examples of the sports or games drawn out and put into an outline by using sources outside of The Miracle Game and The Power of the Powerless. My idea for this project is to put a list of examples of how sports can bring people together in a time where their government is corrupted. I want to blog about different accounts from history of this happening. I would also like to tweet about any fictional stories about this happening through sports.
Working on the role of sports in Czechoslovakia during the communist years is an excellent topic, with lots of possibilities. I'll bring in my poster from one of the national youth sports competitions of the 1950s to show you. I think what you're going to have to do, though, is start with some research in order to focus your inquiry, because there are many ways this could go. Czechoslovakia was, for instance, a major Olympic force in several sports. There were many Czech athletes who "emigrated" and become very successful in America. So the first portion of your project might consist mostly of information gathering, and brainstorming.
ReplyDeleteCheck out this website for the story of Olga Fikotova, champion Czech discus thrower from the 1950s -- http://goo.gl/CuLgq
So perhaps you could revise your schedule somewhat, so that in the next two weeks you could arrive at knowledge sufficient to choose a particular sport, athlete, game, whatever on which to focus your work. Then you'll be able to draw much more clear connections.