Callie Batts

Callie is a second year PhD student in the Physical Cultural Studies Program at the University of Maryland. Currently, she is investigating the ways in which the United States Paralympics is recruiting injured soldiers to participate in elite disability sport. Key concepts guiding this research include the politicization of the body, narratives of disability/ability, and the relationship between sport and militarism. Her other research interests include contemporary urban yoga culture and the shifting power relations in global cricket. At Maryland, Callie works as a teaching assistant for several undergraduate classes in the kinesiology department, including Sport and American Society, and Sport and Globalization.

Prior to coming to Maryland, Callie completed her MA in International Sport Policy at the University of Brighton in 2006, studying the intersections of sport, political protest and individual empowerment. Callie was inspired to pursue the socio-cultural study of sport and physical activity after serving as a volunteer for Right to Play in a refugee camp in northern Uganda. She also has professional experience working for the United States Olympic Committee and Paralympics, the National Ability Center and BaseballSoftballUK. Callie received a BA in History and International Studies from Whittier College, where she played varsity soccer and softball and regularly attended LA Dodgers games. In the summer of 2007, Callie was proud to be a member of the Mad Cows, a women’s softball team that won the British national championships!