Discipline and Indulgence
College Football, Media, and the American Way of Life During the Cold War
Will be published approx. on 31. July 2013
Book
Hardback
188 pages
978-0-8135-6127-1 (ISBN)
Description
Winner of the 2014 North American Society for the Sociology of Sport (NASSS) Outstanding Book Award
The early Cold War (1947-1964) was a time of optimism in America. Flushed with confidence by the Second World War, many heralded the American Century and saw postwar affluence as proof that capitalism would solve want and poverty. Yet this period also filled people with anxiety. Beyond the specter of nuclear annihilation, the consumerism and affluence of capitalism's success were seen as turning the sons of pioneers into couch potatoes.
In Discipline and Indulgence, Jeffrey Montez de Oca demonstrates how popular culture, especially college football, addressed capitalism's contradictions by integrating men into the economy of the Cold War as workers, warriors, and consumers. In the dawning television age, college football provided a ritual and spectacle of the American way of life that anyone could participate in from the comfort of his own home. College football formed an ethical space of patriotic pageantry where men could produce themselves as citizens of the Cold War state. Based on a theoretically sophisticated analysis of Cold War media, Discipline and Indulgence assesses the period's institutional linkage of sport, higher education, media, and militarism and finds the connections of contemporary sport media to today's War on Terror.
The early Cold War (1947-1964) was a time of optimism in America. Flushed with confidence by the Second World War, many heralded the American Century and saw postwar affluence as proof that capitalism would solve want and poverty. Yet this period also filled people with anxiety. Beyond the specter of nuclear annihilation, the consumerism and affluence of capitalism's success were seen as turning the sons of pioneers into couch potatoes.
In Discipline and Indulgence, Jeffrey Montez de Oca demonstrates how popular culture, especially college football, addressed capitalism's contradictions by integrating men into the economy of the Cold War as workers, warriors, and consumers. In the dawning television age, college football provided a ritual and spectacle of the American way of life that anyone could participate in from the comfort of his own home. College football formed an ethical space of patriotic pageantry where men could produce themselves as citizens of the Cold War state. Based on a theoretically sophisticated analysis of Cold War media, Discipline and Indulgence assesses the period's institutional linkage of sport, higher education, media, and militarism and finds the connections of contemporary sport media to today's War on Terror.
Reviews / Votes
"This is an important, compelling, and cogently argued analysis of the complex relationship among sport, militarism, and American nationalism during the Cold War era."- David L. Andrews (Physical Cultural Studies, Department of Kinesiology, University of Maryland) "Theoretically grounded and empirically rich, this book breaks new ground: moving beyond traditional football histories, Montez de Oca investigates everyday engagements with popular social structures and meanings."
- Mary G. McDonald (Department of Kinesiology and Health, Miami University) "Montez de Oca analyzes the relationships between sport, militarism, and US nationalism in very compelling ways, breaking new ground in the understanding of everyday social organization and significance. Recommended."
(Choice) "Discipline and Indulgence is a superb illustration of how sport creates, maintains, and reinforces shared meanings, identities, norms, and other important aspects of culture. Filled with rich data from of a wide variety of primary sources, the author produced a theoretically sound and thorough analysis of college football and the American way of life during the early Cold War." (American Journal of Sociology) "The book is an accessible and well-written blend of history and sociology and contributes important new perspectives to the scholarly understanding of college football, masculinity, politics, and media during the Cold War." (Journal of American Culture) "Discipline and Indulgence is a concise, well-researched, and compelling work that highlights important themes of twentieth-century American history." (H-War) "Discipline and Indulgence provides an effective exploration of the way that seemingly mundane activities like football actually contain immense cultural significance ... Montez de Oca adds a valuable contribution to the growing body of Cold War scholarship by emphasizing the role of sport-particularly college football-in linking identities, bodies, and politics for Americans." (Gender & Society) "This is an important, compelling, and cogently argued analysis of the complex relationship among sport, militarism, and American nationalism during the Cold War era."
- David L. Andrews (Physical Cultural Studies, Department of Kinesiology, University of Maryland) "This is an important, compelling, and cogently argued analysis of the complex relationship among sport, militarism, and American nationalism during the Cold War era."
- David L. Andrews (Physical Cultural Studies, Department of Kinesiology, University of Maryland) "Theoretically grounded and empirically rich, this book breaks new ground: moving beyond traditional football histories, Montez de Oca investigates everyday engagements with popular social structures and meanings."
- Mary G. McDonald (Department of Kinesiology and Health, Miami University) "Theoretically grounded and empirically rich, this book breaks new ground: moving beyond traditional football histories, Montez de Oca investigates everyday engagements with popular social structures and meanings."
- Mary G. McDonald (Department of Kinesiology and Health, Miami University) "Montez de Oca analyzes the relationships between sport, militarism, and US nationalism in very compelling ways, breaking new ground in the understanding of everyday social organization and significance. Recommended."
(Choice) "Montez de Oca analyzes the relationships between sport, militarism, and US nationalism in very compelling ways, breaking new ground in the understanding of everyday social organization and significance. Recommended."
(Choice) "Discipline and Indulgence is a superb illustration of how sport creates, maintains, and reinforces shared meanings, identities, norms, and other important aspects of culture. Filled with rich data from of a wide variety of primary sources, the author produced a theoretically sound and thorough analysis of college football and the American way of life during the early Cold War." (American Journal of Sociology) "Discipline and Indulgence is a superb illustration of how sport creates, maintains, and reinforces shared meanings, identities, norms, and other important aspects of culture. Filled with rich data from of a wide variety of primary sources, the author produced a theoretically sound and thorough analysis of college football and the American way of life during the early Cold War." (American Journal of Sociology) "The book is an accessible and well-written blend of history and sociology and contributes important new perspectives to the scholarly understanding of college football, masculinity, politics, and media during the Cold War." (Journal of American Culture) "The book is an accessible and well-written blend of history and sociology and contributes important new perspectives to the scholarly understanding of college football, masculinity, politics, and media during the Cold War." (Journal of American Culture) "Discipline and Indulgence is a concise, well-researched, and compelling work that highlights important themes of twentieth-century American history." (H-War) "Discipline and Indulgence is a concise, well-researched, and compelling work that highlights important themes of twentieth-century American history." (H-War) "Discipline and Indulgence provides an effective exploration of the way that seemingly mundane activities like football actually contain immense cultural significance ... Montez de Oca adds a valuable contribution to the growing body of Cold War scholarship by emphasizing the role of sport-particularly college football-in linking identities, bodies, and politics for Americans." (Gender & Society) "Discipline and Indulgence provides an effective exploration of the way that seemingly mundane activities like football actually contain immense cultural significance ... Montez de Oca adds a valuable contribution to the growing body of Cold War scholarship by emphasizing the role of sport-particularly college football-in linking identities, bodies, and politics for Americans." (Gender & Society)
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New Brunswick NJ
United States
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
399 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8135-6127-1 (9780813561271)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Jeffrey Montez de Oca
Discipline and Indulgence
College Football, Media, and the American Way of Life during the Cold War
E-Book
07/2013
1st Edition
Rutgers University Press
€99.99
Available for download
Person
JEFFREY MONTEZ DE OCA is an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.
Content
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction
2. Fortifying the City upon a Hill: College Football and Cold War Citizenship
3. Duck Walking the Couch Potato: Exercise as Therapy for a Consumer Society
4. The Best Seat in the Ballpark: Lifestyle and the Televisual Event
5. Fordism in the Airwaves: The NCAA's Use of Market Regulations to Control College Athletics
6. From Neighborhood to Nation: Geographical Imagination of the Cold War in Sports Illustrated
7. Conclusion
Appendix: Note on Methodology
Notes
References
Index
1. Introduction
2. Fortifying the City upon a Hill: College Football and Cold War Citizenship
3. Duck Walking the Couch Potato: Exercise as Therapy for a Consumer Society
4. The Best Seat in the Ballpark: Lifestyle and the Televisual Event
5. Fordism in the Airwaves: The NCAA's Use of Market Regulations to Control College Athletics
6. From Neighborhood to Nation: Geographical Imagination of the Cold War in Sports Illustrated
7. Conclusion
Appendix: Note on Methodology
Notes
References
Index