Cristiano Ronaldo course offered at UBC Okanagan

VANCOUVER – Sociology students at the University of British Columbia Okanagan now have the chance to study soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo.

Luis LM Aguiar, associate professor of sociology at UBC Okanagan’s Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences, is so intrigued by the superstar media attention Ronaldo receives that he’s teaching a university course on the sociology of Ronaldo.

“Ronaldo is regularly followed by the paparazzi and scrutinized for his hairstyle, physique, celebrity status, and love life,” says Aguiar in a news release, who is also from Portugal. “Ronaldo is also arguably the best footballer in the world today with three Ballon d’Or awards, the most recent awarded just last month.”

In the fourth-year course, students will be able to learn about the “sociological relevance of social phenomena like organized sport and the forces that create a global athlete”. “What makes Ronaldo so special, first of all, is his football skills and football prowess,” says Aguiar. “What also makes him special is that he has visibility beyond the football world. So he has cultural appeal, he has sex appeal, he has influence in cultural looks, and he takes very good care of himself in order to portray a certain look that goes beyond the footballing fan.”

The idea for the course came from a match between Portugal and Sweeden, and Aguiar was intrigued how the Portuguese commentator described Ronaldo. “It was that sort of discourse and narration by the commentator that then intrigued me to try and mount a course on Ronaldo.”

Billie Franck, a fourth-year sociology student, says she didn’t sign up to learn more about Ronaldo.

“I’m curious about this elite standard that he’s created,” says Franck in a release. “How do people become so famous and how are they revered when famous? There is certainly a cultural phenomenon about his popularity". Aguiar says he is not sure if Ronaldo has heard about the course, but he would love for him to join the class via Skype one day.

ALL CREDITS :- http://globalnews.ca