University of British Columbia Peter Wall Institute of Advanced Studies PHYSICAL CULTURE, POWER, AND THE BODY

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RACE AND ATHLETICISM IN THE 21ST CENTURY

John Hoberman

Abstract: Race and Athleticism in the 21st Century The racial dimensions of sport consist of related biological and social spheres. In the sphere of biology, anatomical, physiological and psychological traits can be presented as elements of a racial athletic aptitude that supposedly accounts for racial differences in athletic performance. The idea of racial aptitude developed during the period of European imperial and colonial expansion and such observed differences have often been presented in the context of an evolutionary narrative that has traditionally distinguished between the 'savage' and the 'civilized' races. Today, legitimate scientific work on racial athletic aptitude , eg the work of Saltin and his colleagues on East African runners, is moving the focus away from the racial anthropological categories of 19th century origin and into the realm of genetic science that can undermine rather than confirm the traditional racial categories. This development is analogous to other (non-racist) developments in racial biology that are now appearing in the medical literature. In the social sphere the phenomenon of black dominance in some high-profile sports has catalyzed a new phase in the century- long history of interracial sportive competition . This study will focus upon these issues and the process of adaptation to black dominance that is generating a number of new social phenomena