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The list panel contains items that will help you explore this topic. This glossary defines and clarifies some of the terms found in this Research Starter and provides additional terms for study.
boycott
A concerted action to isolate economically or socially an individual, group, or nation to express disapproval or to coerce change.
gold medal
The award won by the best individual or team in an Olympic competition. A silver medal is awarded to the second best, and a bronze medal to the third.
nationalism
A popular sentiment that places the existence and well-being of the nation highest in the scale of political loyalties. In political terms, it signifies a person's willingness to work for the nation against foreign domination, whether political, economic, or cultural.
Nazism
The ideology and policies espoused and practiced by Adolf Hitler and his Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (National Socialist German Workers party) from 1921 to 1945.
propaganda
The systematic attempt to manipulate the attitudes, beliefs, and actions of people through the use of symbols such as words, gestures, slogans, flags, and uniforms. Ideas, facts, or allegations are spread to further a cause or to damage an opposing cause.
terrorism
The sustained, clandestine use of violence—murder, kidnapping, bombings—most often to achieve a political purpose.
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The Olympic Games as we know them are an international sports festival. The Games originated as a way for the ancient Greeks to salute their gods, but the modern Games salute the athletic talents of citizens of all nations. Today, the Olympic Games are divided into the Summer Games and the Winter Games. The Summer and Winter Games are each held every four years, occurring two years apart. Standard events in the Summer Games include basketball, boxing, gymnastics, soccer, swimming, track and field, and many other sports. Winter Game highlights include ice hockey, figure skating, skiing, and bobsledding. Extensive television coverage of the Olympic Games has brought them to millions of viewers all over the world. As an international event with political undertones, the Olympics have had their share of controversy. Nazi Germany, for example, hosted the Games in 1936 and used the event to propagandize its cause of Aryan racial superiority. A black American track star, Jesse Owens, helped thwart those intentions by winning four gold medals and being mobbed by the public wherever he went in Germany. In 1972 in Munich, 11 Israeli athletes were murdered by Palestinian terrorists, casting a pall over great performances by a number of athletes. The Games have been boycotted and disrupted in other ways as well, but they are most memorable when they do what they set out to do: celebrate the athletes of all nations through fair competition among the best from around the world.
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The following topics will help you explore the Olympic Games. Additional ideas can be gathered by looking at the articles and pictures in this Research Starter.
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| The history of the ancient Greek Olympic Games, including the nature of the competition and the reasons behind the cessation of the games. |
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Olympic Games |
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| The statistics and demographics of the Olympics. |
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Olympic Games |
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| Evidence and impact of nationalism on the Olympic Games. |
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Olympic Games |
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| For a given Olympic event, the amount of preparation an individual or team goes through to compete on the Olympic level. |
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Gymnastics |
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Track and Field |
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Swimming |
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