Dr. Giardina’s research is focused on three interrelated lines of inquiry: 1) physical culture and bio-politics (e.g., the celebrity body, the mediated body, the body of the researcher, etc.); 2) global sporting cultures (e.g., issues related to hybridity, flexible citizenship, and transnational identity); and 3) sport in post-9/11 America (e.g., the intersection of neoliberalism and neoconservatism, the politics of whiteness, ‘NASCAR Nation’, etc.). Each of these three lines of inquiry are 4) further explored through the use of qualitative and interpretive research methods (e.g., critical ethnography(ethnography, cultural studies, etc.).

Theoretically, his research is grounded in an eclectic mix of intellectual thought ranging from that of American philosophers Lauren Berlant, Wendy Brown, Judith Butler, and Cornel West to that of critical theorists Norman Denzin, Guy Debord, Michel Foucault, Paulo Freire, and C. Wright Mills. The sum total of his inquiry aims to produce the type of translational knowledge through which cultural understandings of and political interventions into the broader social world are made possible (whether for academics, industry professionals, or public policy makers, especially in the fields of sport management, media/communication, public health, and political science).

Amy Chan Hyung Kim is an Assistant Professor for the Department of Sport Management at The Florida State University. Dr. Kim’s research interests lie in three streams within the contexts of sport at various levels (e.g., youth sport, intercollegiate athletics, recreational sport, professional sport, and mega sport events):1) Dynamics of organizational structures (interorganizational network, intraorganizational network); 2) Strategic network management in sport events (i.e., sponsorship network, policy network, employment network, stakeholder network, etc.); 3) Knowledge development in the field of sport management (i.e., co-citation network analysis, co-authorship network analysis, etc.)

These three streams of research are further investigated through the quantitative methods including, but not limited to social network analysis, bibliometric analysis, agent-based modeling, and applied statistics. Her research inquiry aims to explore the phenomena at macro-level by examining the relational and structural patterns of diverse types of networks in sport settings.

Dr. Jason Pappas is an Assistant Instructor and Director of undergraduate practicum in the Department of Sport Management at The Florida State University. Prior to his teaching career, he served as a Director of Athletic Academic Support/Associate Athletic Director at Florida State University for Student Athlete Academic Services. He came to FSU from the University of Southern California where he was the Director of Athletic Academic Advising/Assistant Athletic Director for the athletic academic support program (2006-2011).

Before relocating to Los Angeles, he was a member of the academic support team for the University of South Carolina's Athletic Department (1999-2006). Dr. Pappas served as director of academic support and had primary responsibility for football and baseball academic progress.

Dr. Katie Flanagan is an adjunct instructor in the Sport Management Department at Florida State University. She was awarded a Ph.D. in Sport Management from FSU in May 2013. In 2000, Katie came to Tallahassee from Columbus, Ohio. She graduated with a bachelor of science in Communication and Sport Management from FSU in 2004 and then a masters degree in Recreation and Leisure Administration from FSU in 2007.

Throughout her time in Tallahassee, Katie has been an active member of the community volunteering in local soccer leagues and serving as a senior citizen companion. Most recently, individuals experiencing homelessness and inmates at the Federal Correctional Institute in Tallahassee are two populations among which Katie has built relationships through sport. In each course she teaches, she incorporates those relationships by involving students in the community through sport and service learning.