Abstract
The relationship between sports, economics, and labor is well documented throughout various academic disciplines. Migration studies, while broad, have covered numerous topics and areas. Still, as the world continues to become more connected through globalization, a focus on human mobility and the factors that impact decisions to move would contribute to the intersections of migration and athletic participation. This paper uses the culture of migration to analyze amateur athletic sports participation in the USA and Mexico. First, it demonstrates how the culture of migration influences basketball in households with a history of migration from Oaxaca, Mexico. Next, Oaxacan youths’ experience offers insights into how their household creates, develops, and maintains basketball over generations within the Oaxacan communities in the USA. Finally, a critical analysis of human and athletic mobility builds on models of transnational migration to describe Oaxacan youths’ exposure to basketball in the USA and the cultural factors that influence their decision to participate in an annual invitational tournament in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Presenters
Bernardo Ramirez RiosAssistant Professor, Anthropology, Skidmore College, New York, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Sporting Cultures and Identities
KEYWORDS
USA, Mexico, Migration, Basketball, Culture
