Ep 11 - Golf, Environmentalism, and Anthropocentrism

In July of 2012, the Trump Organization opened a course, Trump International Golf Links, just north of Aberdeen on the northeast coast of Scotland. To this day, Trump continues to declare it “perhaps the greatest golf course anywhere in the world.” The development of Trump International Golf Links, Scotland, however, was contested and politicized from the beginning. In this episode of Somatic, we talked with two noted scholars of golf, sport and environmentalism - Dr. Brad Millington from the University of Bath (UK) and Dr. Brian Wilson from the University of British Columbia - and asked them to reflect on the case of Trump International Golf Links, Scotland, as well as the question of Anthropocentrism in the study of sport and politics. Our hope is that the episode appeals to the sport scholar and lay podcast listener alike, as we explore a fascinating context of political, social, and environmental contestation, while considering how scholars can better understand the role of the non-human in such contexts. You can find our full blog post accompanying this episode, as well as links to the scholars' works and media coverage of the Trump International Golf Links, Scotland case, on our website at http://www.somaticpodcast.com.