Come and join us for a thought-provoking panel discussion on the sociology of sport, exploring how athletics intersect with culture, identity, and power. The panel will feature UTC's sociology and anthropology faculty, along with Olympic Gold medalist Olivia Reeves, as they delve into the benefits and drawbacks of sports, how they reflect societal ideologies and their role in our sense of self.

By examining sports through a sociological lens, we can gain a deeper understanding of the ways in which sports influence identity, challenge inequality, and reinforce social structures. Don’t miss this insightful conversation on the far-reaching impact of sports in our lives and communities.

About the panelists:

Dr. Chandra Ward is a UC Foundation associate professor of sociology and CUIP Director of Community Engagement at UT Chattanooga. Besides their primary academic interests of urban sociology, Dr. Ward also enjoys applying a sociological lens to aspects of popular culture such as hip-hop and sports.

Dr. Chris M. Vidmar is a mixed methods sociologist of gender, sexuality, and technology. They earned their PhD from Georgia State University, and their scholarship focuses on the construction and enactment of masculinities, investigating the role of manhood in partnership, socialization processes, and gendered violence.

Olivia Reeves is a Senior at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga and will graduate this December with her undergraduate in Sociology. In addition to her studies, Olivia has been representing Team USA on an international stage since 2019 and recently won a gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics. She is excited to apply all that she has learned from school and competition to the intersectionality of sport and sociology.

Dr. Zibin Guo is a UC Foundation Professor of Medical Anthropology at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and a Tai Chi Master. In 2005, Dr. Guo developed a form of Wheelchair/Adaptive Tai Chi Chuan program to make this traditional healing/martial art accessible to people with ambulatory limitations. This program was premiered during the 2008 Paralympics. Supported by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, from 2016, Dr. Guo and the project team have provided the Wheelchair/Adaptive Tai Chi training program to almost 1500 VA healthcare providers who work at more than 85 VA Medical Centers/facilities across the United States and territory.

Dr. Zack Simoni is sociologist who specializes in the sociology of health and illness. His research and teaching interests include the medicalization of society, the medical encounter and unexplained symptoms, the sociology of mental health, and the social determinants of health. He is a Chicago Bears fan and has played hockey since the age of 10.