SPORTS ARCHITECTURE · European sports architecture during the interwar period: reflect of European political systems; The British example
FP6 — Marie Curie Actions (Human Resources and Mobility)
- Duration
- 2006-10-18 → 2008-04-17
- EU contribution
- €114,465
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- EIF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Final Activity Report Summary - SPORTS ARCHITECTURE (European sports architecture during the interwar period: reflect of European political systems. The British example.)
This research aimed to compare the policies concerning the construction of sports facilities and aestheticism in sports architecture in Great Britain during the inter-war period. The project studied how sport served to define a collective identity in Europe. The main research question focussed on the politicisation of sport, i.e. on the specificity of British sport in relation to other European countries. From the study of sports facilities it was shown that they expressed the particular meaning given to sport in Britain. The study showed that in the inter-war context, while countries such as Italy and Germany deliberately used sport as a means of propaganda, Britain found herself torn between her national tradition of sport, which implied that sport was considered to be a private matter, and the international tendency of the time, which pushed the state to promote sport and physical education for the peoples health and states diplomatic wealth.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
This post-doctoral project aims to compare the policies concerning the construction of sports facilities and aestheticism in sports architecture in Great Britain during the interwar period. It constitutes an important element of our scientific career plan: studying sports architecture in Europe during this period (my PhD deals with sports architecture in fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). The project studies how sport permitted, in Europe, to define a collective identity. During the interwar period this identity is particularly national and sport is used to present the efficacy of the national political systems (Italian fascism, national-socialism, liberalism, etc.), rather than universal values. Great Britain is an interesting case, because sport is essentially organised by the private sphere, be it for the educational sport of for the important sports meetings. My questioning focuses on the politicisation of sport: what is the specificity of British sport in relation to the other European countries? The approach to the problem by studying sports facilities is very appropriated because the substructure are the material basis which determines the meaning given to sport, that is practised there. As for architecture, it needs to use inter-disciplinar knowledge and methods (history, sociology, architecture, etc.)
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- DE MONTFORT UNIVERSITY · LEICESTERCoordinatorUnited Kingdom
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union