Sports And Society Initiative

The Vanderbilt Sports and Society Initiative will host a panel discussion featuring five of the most compelling voices in Native American sports on Friday, Nov. 19, beginning at noon CT. Read More

Memoir writing, steel drums, China’s revolutions and topics related to race, gender and sports are among the diverse Osher Lifelong Learning classes to be offered this fall. Read More

Interim Chancellor and Provost Susan R. Wente announced today new appointments for the 2019-20 Sports and Society Committee, which will provide oversight to the Sports and Society Initiative. In addition, the committee will review applications for Sports and Society Micro-Grant funds, the second round for which launches today. Read More

"Bowling for Beginners," a new play based partly on experiences of the Vanderbilt women’s bowling team—which has won two national titles—opens Friday at Neely Auditorium. Read More

Athlete, actor and activist Terry Crews shared his personal story as part of the Chancellor’s Lecture Series Monday evening, encouraging increased respect and compassion for others. Read More

U.S. Olympic Committee General Counsel Chris McCleary is the featured speaker at the next program in the yearlong Sports and Society Initiative series. His talk is set for April 2 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the McGugin Center. Read More

Vanderbilt's Sports and Society Initiative will host “The Legacy of the Rio Olympics: Was it Worth it?” on Thursday, March 28, featuring Distinguished Professor of History Marshall Eakin and Chris Gaffney, clinical associate professor at the Tisch Center for Hospitality at New York University. Read More

Attorney Charlie Battle will share the inside story of how Atlanta became the first Southern U.S. city to host the Olympics in his March 12 talk, “The World Came to Atlanta; And What it Left Behind.” Read More

What role did the Olympic ban on South Africa play in the demise of Apartheid? What made the U.S. movement to boycott the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin unsuccessful? Visiting author Andrew Maraniss will examine these questions at the next Sports and Society Initiative event on Thursday, Feb. 28. Read More

Muhammad Ali, one of the most recognizable figures of the 20th century, is the subject of the next Sports and Society Initiative program, “Muhammad Ali and the Olympics,” on Tuesday, Feb. 12, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the McGugin Center’s Football Meeting Room. Read More

Exploring the intersection of the Olympics and Judaism is the focus of a Jan. 31 lecture hosted by the Sports and Society Initiative and featuring Bruce Oppenheimer, professor of political science. Read More

The Vanderbilt University Sports and Society Initiative continues its yearlong series “A World of Possibilities: Examining the Olympics from Diverse Angles” on Jan. 15 with Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair in German and Professor of Cinema and Media Arts Lutz Koepnick. Read More

Vanderbilt Writer-In-Residence Alice Randall, a best-selling author and award-winning songwriter, will lead a Sports and Society lecture on “Flags and Anthems" Thursday, Nov. 29. Read More

The Sports and Society Initiative will provide a behind-the-scenes look at media coverage of the Olympics on Thursday, Nov. 15, at the First Amendment Center. Read More

Vanderbilt’s Sports and Society Initiative will host a program centered on former Tennessee State University track and field coach Ed Temple and the famed TSU Tigerbelles on Thursday, Oct. 18. Read More

Anjali Forber-Pratt, an elite wheelchair racer and Peabody College professor, will discuss "The Paralympic Movement" Oct. 9 as part of a new series sponsored by Vanderbilt's Sports and Society Initiative. Read More

Vanderbilt’s Sports and Society Initiative hosted best-selling author Howard Bryant for a lecture at the McGugin Center Sept. 11. Bryant’s talk centered on the heritage of the black athlete and the intersection of politics and patriotism from the perspective of black athletes. Read More

The Vanderbilt University Sports and Society Initiative will host best-selling author Howard Bryant on Tuesday, Sept. 11, as part of its new series, “A World of Possibilities: Examining the Olympics from Diverse Angles.” Read More

“A World of Possibilities: Examining the Olympics from Diverse Angles” encompasses 14 thought-provoking, educational and entertaining events, including film screenings, panel discussions and presentations by scholars, journalists and authors. Read More