Burch Fellows explore hidden side of Olympic Games
Led by historian Matt Andrews, 20 undergraduates will travel to London and Paris to study the event’s cultural impact.
A group of UNC-Chapel Hill students will explore more than just sports during a trip to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
This month, historian Matt Andrews will take the Burch Fellows on a trip to London and later Paris to witness the Games and to study their cultural impact. The group will not only enjoy the festivities of the Paris Olympics, but also get a history of the Games themselves by visiting stadiums that housed prior Olympic ceremonies in London.
“As someone who teaches a course on the global history of the Olympic Games, I thought London was a good place to focus on,” said Andrews, a teaching associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ history department. “They’ve hosted the games three times, and we’ll be talking to a lot of locals who believe that the Games were such a vital part to the revitalization of East London.”
As part of exploring Olympic history, the students will tour the two remaining London stadiums that hosted the Games. They will also take a day trip to Oxford University, visit the Lord’s Cricket Ground — which hosted the 2012 Olympics archery competition — and even play a game of cricket.
The Burch Fellows trip, however, is an academic seminar, not a vacation. Carolina students receive a Burch Fellowship because they have an “intense interest” in a particular subject. When it comes to the Olympic Games, that means going beyond the surface level pageantry and competition.
Andrews wants this group of students not only to enjoy their time in Europe, but also to consider how the Games affect the cities’ culture, both positively and negatively.
“While we’re talking to many people who support the arrival of the Games in their hometowns, we’ll also be meeting some people that feel a different way,” Andrews said. “Some see the Games as just another example of gentrification and pricing out the working class. You really start to ask yourself, ‘Is it a good thing?’ and ‘Who benefits from this?’”
On Aug. 2, the class will board the train from London to Paris with those questions in mind. While Andrews wants these students to be excited for the opportunity more than anything else, he also hopes they gain a different perspective about the greater meaning and impact of the Games.
As a professor, Andrews studies the links between sports and American history and culture. This will be the first time he’ll be attending an Olympic event since he was a teenager and went to the track and field and basketball competitions at the 1984 Los Angeles Games. After years of fandom and deep academic study on the subject, he wonders how his feelings about attending the Games may have evolved.
“I’m a sports fan, for sure. When the Olympics fanfare plays, I’m programmed to get goosebumps,” Andrews said. “But the more you study, the more of a critic you become. I’ll be wrestling with that while I’m watching the games. And I’m looking forward to it.”
