Gems publishes various articles, gives presentations

Gerald Gems, North Central College professor of health and physical education, recently published articles in various journals and delivered presentations.

Gems’ article, titled “Sport, Democracy, and the Americanization of Italian Americans,” was published by the History Research Journal, 2:5 (Summer 2012), pp. 349-354.

His article, titled “Sport and the Italian American Quest for Whiteness,” was published by Sport in History, a journal of the British Society of Sports History (November 2012), 1-25. The same article is available at Taylor & Francis Online.

His article, titled “Sport, War, and American Imperialism,” was translated into French and published in an anthology, titled “Le sport et la guerre: XIX et XX siècles” and published by the University of Rennes Press in France.

Among his presentations was an invitation to speak at the 12th International Sport Sciences Congress in Denizli, Turkey, Dec. 12-14. Gems was one of seven Americans who spoke; his presentation was titled “Sport and Masculinity: Factors of Analysis.” He also gave a talk about Chicago Sport History at the DuPage County Historical Museum on Nov. 15 and a presentation, titled “Sport and the Construction of an Italian/American Identity,” at the 45th annual conference of the Italian American Studies Association at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., on Dec. 1.

Gems has been a member of North Central’s faculty since 1988. He earned his B.A. from Northeastern Illinois University, his M.S. from the University of Arizona and his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland.