Tag: colosseum

Summer anthropologies #2: Leslie White goes to a baseball game (Part 3)

By Ryan | October 13, 2023

In the last post of this installment of the summer anthropologies series, I ended with the point that major league baseball (MLB) is an annual demonstration of autocratic corporate power. If that’s the case, I asked, why would anyone go? Well, humans are complicated. Take my case. I grew up playing baseball since I was about four or five years old. I played it all the time, went to MLB games when I had the chance, collected baseball cards, played {+}

Summer anthropologies #2: Leslie White goes to a baseball game (Part 2)

By Ryan | August 16, 2023

In part one of this installment, I mentioned Leslie White’s call to expand the purview of anthropology and take a closer look at things like baseball. I agree. White’s preliminary theory was that baseball, as a cultural institution, promoted national solidarity and unity: “No matter who you are, what you are, or where you are, if you are a fan you ‘belong.’” Nope. If you look at the history of baseball at that time, and before, White’s argument about the {+}