Ep 17 - The 'Final Stretch' Of The Presidential 'Race': American Politics and Sporting Metaphors

Somatic Podcast

Check out any of the recent media coverage on 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, and you're bound to hear sporting metaphors used to describe the election "race". Candidates are "competing" and "running" for office. The candidates, seeking an election "win", declare that they won't "leave anything on the field." Why do we use sporting metaphors to talk about American politics? Why do we say that politicians "run" for office? What are the origins of this sporting discourse in American politics? In this special "pre-election" episode, we explore the history of this kind of "sportified" political discourse so that we can have a better understanding of why this discourse persists today. We hear from Dr. Kenneth Cohen, Associate Professor of History and Director of Museum Studies and Public History at the University of Delaware. Dr. Cohen discusses the history of sporting political discourse, a history he covers in his 2017 book 2017 book They Will Have Their Game: Sporting Culture and the Early American Republic(Cornell University Press).