The Olympics: Rich in Ideas
What did you think about that opening ceremony; was it a masterpiece or a mess? Either way the Olympics are happening now and quite spectacular. And with an eye toward the upcoming Fall semester the Olympics are also rich in ideas for research. It can be connected to everything – politics, culture, economy, the environment – you name it!
In the past, members of the GSU Faculty have published articles with an Olympics theme, such as Dr. Louis Ruprecht of the Department of Religious Studies and Dr. Hongmei Li of the Communications Department, their articles are:
- Li, H. (2011). The gendered performance at the Beijing Olympics: The construction of the olympic misses and cheerleaders. Communication Theory, 21(4), 368-391.
- Ruprecht, L. A. (2008). Greek exercises: The modern Olympics as hellenic appropriation and reinvention. Thesis Eleven, 93(1), 72-87.
The Olympics impact everyone in some way – were you living in Atlanta in ‘96? If you were, I can almost guarantee you have a story about it, even if it was just about navigating downtown traffic during that time (Or not navigating it)! Bringing the Olympics to Atlanta is an amazing story and our Special Collections Department has several oral histories that examine that exciting time in Atlanta history.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has also made a lot of documents available through The Olympic Studies Centre. The Centre includes documents such as, information on the impact of the Olympics; the Youth Games; sport medicine; Olympic anthems; and so much more.