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Anthems and Activism: Mediating the Politics of the NFL
October 11, 2017 @ 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Dr. Michael L. Butterworth (The University of Texas at Austin) // October 11th, 2017 // 1:00pm-2:00pm // Jesse H. Jones Communication Center (CMA) 5.136
In recent months, professional football players have used the national anthem ceremony as a stage for political protest. Such moments of activism have sparked significant conversation and controversy, and they have also received substantial media coverage. This talk examines the ethical and historical context for political protest in sports, considers the relationship between the NFL and sports media, and speculates about the future of activism during the national anthem and beyond.
Dr. Michael L. Butterworth is a Professor in the Department of Communication Studies and Director of the Center for Sports Communication & Media at the University of Texas at Austin. His research explores the connections between rhetoric, politics, and sport, with particular interests in national identity, militarism, and public memory. He is the author of Baseball and Rhetorics of Purity: The National Pastime and American Identity during the War on Terror, co-author of Communication and Sport: Surveying the Field, and editor of Sport and Militarism: Contemporary Global Perspectives.
Free and open to the UT community and general public