Scholars@Duke
Tracie Canada

Tracie Canada

Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology
Cultural Anthropology
Box 90091, Durham, NC 27708
1316 Campus Drive, Box 90677, Durham, NC 27708

Selected Publications

Black Anti-Bodies at Play

Journal Article American Anthropologist · December 1, 2025 Despite American football's inherently violent nature, its corporeal demands are not evenly felt by all players on the field. This article builds on Dána-Ain Davis's term to describe how Black football players become Black anti-bodies. These athletes are e ... Full text Cite

Turning the Spyglass of Anthropology to Tackle Football

Journal Article Kinesiology Review · May 1, 2025 Drawing on almost a decade of immersive research with Black college football players, I argue that an anthropological and ethnographic approach to tackle football can complement studies in kinesiology by acknowledging the humanity, personhood, and lived ex ... Full text Cite

Tackling the Everyday Race and Nation in Big-Time College Football

Book · February 25, 2025 Race and Nation in Big-Time College Football Tracie Canada. just this weekly fall activity . Their social worlds are populated by plenty of people outside football . Tackling the Everyday moves off the gridiron into the daily lives of ... ... Cite

Weathering Anti-Blackness

Journal Article Current Anthropology · December 1, 2024 Full text Cite

From Savage to Negro: The Only Required Text

Journal Article Transforming Anthropology · October 1, 2023 Full text Cite

Black Mothers and NFL Moms Safety Clinics: An Ethnography of Care in American Football

Journal Article Journal of Sport and Social Issues · April 1, 2023 Drawing on years of ethnographic research, this article highlights the importance of Black women's mothering, care work, and labor as their sons find success in American football. By centering Black mothers, the divide between the bureaucratic care offered ... Full text Cite

Plantation Logics at the NFL Combine

Internet Publication · September 14, 2022 Link to item Cite

Amateurism as a Narrative of Control

Journal Article Sports Innovation Journal · August 29, 2022 The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) uses amateurism as a narrative to control college athletes, which affects how scholars conduct research with these athletes. This article speaks to issues that arise among qualitative researchers ... Full text Cite

Anti-Blackness and College Football

Internet Publication · July 15, 2021 Link to item Cite

Tackling Care and Capitalism in College Football

Internet Publication · December 14, 2020 Link to item Cite

A Kelleyan Approach to Anthropology

Internet Publication · July 8, 2019 Link to item Cite

For the Love of Football

Internet Publication · August 21, 2018 Link to item Cite

Is it Worth it? Science Education of the Talented 2%

Journal Article Transforming Anthropology · October 1, 2016 This essay critiques mismatch theory in science education, a theory supported by opponents of affirmative action who strive to derail efforts to diversify institutions of higher education. Can high-achieving students survive and thrive in an academic envir ... Full text Open Access Cite