On Tuesday, July 15, reporters from the GSPost were able to witness an interesting take on the study of International Relations. Scholars from the International Relations focus area met with the Cultural Anthropology focus area to play a soccer match.
The International Relations focus area is led by Lauren Hines, an educator at Murray High School and an active member in the Murray Community. She was the international relations instructor for the Governor’s Scholars Program (GSP) in 2023, and made a return to the International Relations focus area for the Murray GSP 2026. This class focuses on how countries interact. For example, scholars learned about diplomacy, conflicts, trade, and territorial disputes. Students from her class have said that this class is investigative and stimulating.
This summer, the FIFA World Cup has been ongoing in the USA, Mexico, and Canada. The World Cup became a large topic in the International Relations focus area, as it brings many nations together through the beautiful game of soccer. Lauren’s focus area faced off against the Cultural Anthropology focus area, led by Blanca Munoz, to compete in a soccer match emulating the World Cup. Eli, a scholar, acted as a coach for both classes, organizing training sessions consisting of warmups and passing patterns.To conclude the session, scholars from the competing teams scrimmaged against each other.
The sporting world has long served as a connecting factor across nations and cultures alike. The World Cup exemplifies this as competitors from across the globe come together to watch matches and cheer each other on. The scrimmage served as a fun way to study the deeper implications of sports culture on the international stage.
While seemingly unusual, the soccer training event was a good translation of what they were learning about in class. Through the World Cup, they are learning how countries interact with each other, and of the interconnectedness between sports and politics. Sports For example in the 1974 World Cup with a game between East and West Germany. The Allied powers during WWII split Germany into zones. The West side was capitalist and the East side was communist.
The class used a variety of media types, such as books, documentaries, news articles, and websites to learn about international relations. Whole-group discussions and Debates in class engaged in thought-provoking questions, especially because of the different ways of thinking. These frequent discussions gave scholars valuable skills that they can carry even after the GSP concludes. Ruby said, “Something I am going to take home is all the communication skills I learned.” These communication skills were showcased in the moments before and during the scrimmage, as scholars had to interact respectfully and efficiently with one another, even when acting as opposing teams.
Despite being the educator, Lauren said that she learned a lot from her students, which gave her more viewpoints.
