Lola Lafon, The Little Communist Who Never Smiled pp. 7-52 – Sports, Ethics, Literature – 09.18.2017 Lola Lafon, “Une vie de voleuse,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82ecINy9Sbs

Lafon was born in northern France in January 1974 and grew up in France, Bulgaria, and Romania Her parents were literature professors in Bulgaria during the Ceausescu regime (1974-1989) Supposedly Communist government that was run as a nepotistic authoritarian state (Securitate) Trained in classical and modern dance since the age of four – studied literature at the Sorbonne in France Has written and performed music and written a number of short stories and novels that have been described as “anarchist-feminist” The Little Communist Who Never Smiled is her third novel, the first to be translated into English Won ten awards in France upon initial publication Who is Lola Lafon?

Ludmilla Tourischeva, 20 1972 Munich “Gymnastics in the 1936 Olympics” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IW4VTuAdsjA Olympic Gymnastics Ludmilla and Olga at Munich 1972 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOiKhuwzMKA Madison Kocian, 2016 Olympics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goWpiD1PiBE U.S. Women started competing in the Olympics in 1936. They won bronze in 1948, then nothing until a silver in 1984, before finally winning gold in 1996 in Atlanta. Ludmilla Tourischeva, 20 1972 Munich Olga Korbut, 17 1972 Munich

Nadia Comaneci 1976, Montreal Games 14 years old – First 10.0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi_5xbd5xdE Nadia Comaneci

Three Questions for You Today: Why does Nadia’s routine in 1976 become so prominently known in the U.S. and around the world? (no references needed) How, in the book’s imagination, does Nadia get characterized by her coaches and the people watching her? (find pages and quotes) How, in the book, does she transform people’s behavior and dreams? (find pages and quotes) For Wednesday, pp. 53-113