Sociology of Sports - Nc State University

[Pages:10]Syllabus SOC395 Special Topics: Sociology of Sport (Distance Education)

Spring 2010

Instructor:

William R. Smith

Office:

364, 1911 Building Hours: Wed 2:00-3:00pm (or by appointment)

Phone:

919-515-0456

Email:

wr_smith@ncsu.edu

Course Website:

Course Prerequisites: any SOC 200-level course

Welcome to this Special Topics Course in the Sociology of Sport. What role do sports play in bolstering identity processes? How crucial are sports for our sense of self and community identity? These are just some of the topics in this distance education (DE) course, which will investigate the institution of sports from a sociological perspective, with special emphasis on gender and race as they relate to contemporary American organized sports. The perspective taken is that sport is a social construction and thus serves as a microcosm of society as well as a window through which to view sociological processes. We will look at how sociological manifestations of stratification, discrimination, socialization, violence, race, gender are evident in amateur and professional athletics. We will also examine how sports relates to sociological

conceptions of community.

This course is intended to help you develop a better understanding of how sports is related to broader sociological processes in society, with special focus on community as well as on gender and race. Sports are seen as both an independent variable (it has effects on us as participant and fan), and as a dependent variable in that sports are affected by organizational dynamics, as well as broader societal and cultural processes. Contemporary American sports are given central focus. Through the use of a variety of readings and online discussions surrounding sports, you will explore the positive and negative consequences, societal risks, and ethical issues related to sports in society. In the process, you will develop a critical approach towards the study of sports. Other topics addressed by this course include the study of sports and socialization, intercollegiate and interscholastic sports, violence and more generally deviance in relation to sports. Special focus will also be given to the sociological concept of community and how community and sports intertwine. We will use a combination of instructional and interactive online discussion activities to help you develop a well-informed perspective of each of the topics covered in this course. A major term paper will allow you to examine in greater depth a specific topic within the sociology of sports.

General Course Objectives

1. To develop a better understanding of the processes involved in the relationship between sports and related social institutions, organizations, community and social interaction

2. Develop a working knowledge of core sociological concepts and theories associated with the study of sports from a sociological perspective

3. To better understand the risks, ethics and social responsibilities associated with sports 4. To better understand the role gender plays in our understanding of sports and how sports helps

shape gender

5. To further one's understanding of race in relation to sports in the US context 6. To see how class, religion, politics, media and globalization processes are related to sports.

Texts that must be Purchased (shop around but make sure you get the right editions):

Coakley, Jay. 2009. Sports in Society: Issues and Controversies. 10th edition. Boston:McGraw Hill. (TEXT)

Eitzen, D Stanley (Editor) 2009. Sport in Contemporary Society: An Anthology. (8th edition). Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers. (SCS)

Requirements: 1) 3 exams (multiple choice, true/false, and essay questions). 2) Participation in forums (Minimum of 18 discussion entries over the course of the term) using Moodle. 3) Contributions to Current Sports Events by posting URLs for web sites on sports and providing interpretation/commentary on the events as they relate to topics/concepts/themes of the course. 4) Term paper. Submit a 7-page (of text) or longer up to 15 pages, typed, double space, normal 12 pt New Times Roman font, term paper on a sports topic from the list of topics that will be provided.

Academic Integrity

Students will be expected to adhere to the academic integrity guidelines established by North Carolina State University. There are no exceptions and if you have questions, please visit the following link for the university's "Code of Student Conduct": Students in the DE version of this course may not consult with others when taking the exams for this course. The exams are, however, "open book" including the student's notes. All of the work submitted for this course should be the student's own work. (In the classroom version of this course, several group work requirements result in all of the members in the group getting no grade higher than the grade obtained for the group work co-authored by the members of the group.) Submitting a test or assignment in this course implicitly assumes that the student agrees with the Honor Pledge "I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this test or assignement." Violations will be prosecuted in accordance with the university regulations (Policy 11.35.1).

Safety, Travel and Expenses

There are no lab assignments for this course. Students are expected to use good sense in any activities that they may engage in while completing assignments for this course. There will be no expenses for participating in this course beyond the usual university tuition costs and fees. No transportation for completing course requirements is necessary.

Exams (60%)

Grading and Evaluation

There will be a total of three exams, two during the semester and one cumulative final. Each exam will focus primarily on the readings covered since the previous exam, but they will also incorporate major concepts, theories, and themes covered throughout the entire semester. Each exam will count differently toward your overall grade (midterm 10%; hourly 20%; final 25%). Exams will consist of multiple choice, true/false, short answer questions, and several short essays. (Students unable to take the exam on the assigned date should provide written documentation one week prior to the exam to schedule a make-up during office hours. If you are sick on the day of an exam, I will require documentation from your physician.) Make-up exams will be essay only.

Participation in Discussion Boards and Additional Assignments (25%)

As part of your course participation grade each student is expected to make a valuable and well thought out contribution to each of the two discussion threads on a weekly basis for Forums and every other week for Current Events Blog. For the Forums you will post your own comments or questions related to the readings and responses to fellow students. You will be graded by me on this on a five point scale where 5 is exceptional, 4 is very good, 3 is good, 2 is weak and 1 is poor. You should provide at least two discussion entries per Forum (generally there is a six day window for a forum ? so, over the course of that period a total of two entries is sufficient). For the "Current Events Blog", you will post at least one current event topic every two weeks (approximately, except spring break week). See Syllabus Schedule below for due dates for the discussion and current event postings.

Research Paper (15%) Each will write a short 7-page paper on a topic from a list of topics to be provided in the areas of Sociology of Sport. The paper is to be typed, submitted electronically, be of standard 12 point New Times Roman font, with 1 inch margins top, bottom and sides. Only text will be counted toward the 7 page minimum (no picture please; graphs or tables use sparingly).

Grade Scale

Standard Score grading is done in this course for tests. That is, you are graded relative to the performance of everyone else in the course. Thus, the median grade is a B. Specifically: (lowest thru -1.75='F')(-1.75 thru -1.5='D') (-1.49 thru -.5='C')(-.49 thru -.25'C+')(-.24 thru .5='B')(.5 thru .75='B+') (.75 thru .99='A')(1.00 thru highest= A+). These standard score cutoff points are established relative to

general performance and grading in other Sociology 300-level courses in the recent past. All other grading will be done relative to general standards of performance.

Discussions (in the groups of your forums) will be graded on a scale from zero to five points per discussion entry. Current events postings will also be graded on a scale of zero to five, where 5 is exceptional, 4 is very good, 3 is good, 2 is weak and 1 is poor.

Harassment and Discussion Board Environment

You will be expected to participate in online reading discussions and voice an informed opinion on the course assignments. The discussion boards serve as our classroom and each student should respect the beliefs and views of others in the course and harassment of any kind will not be tolerated. If any student feels that they have been treated in a disrespectful manner, they should contact me by email or see me personally during office hours. You can also speak with Dr. Lilley in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology.

Anti-Discrimination statement: NC State University provides equality of opportunity in education and employment for all students and employees. Accordingly, NC State affirms its commitment to maintain a work environment for all employees and an academic environment for all students that is free from all forms of discrimination. Discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, creed, national origin, age, disability, veteran status or sexual orientation is a violation of state and federal law and/or NC State University policy and will not be tolerated. Harassment of any person (either in the form of quid pro quo or creation of a hostile environment) based on color, religion, sex, creed, national origin, age, disability, veteran status or sexual orientation is also a violation of state and federal law and/or NC State University policy and will not be tolerated. Retaliation against any person who complains about discrimination is also prohibited. NC State's policies and regulations covering discrimination, harassment, and retaliation may be accessed at or . Any person who feels that he or she has been the subject of prohibited discrimination, harassment, or retaliation should contact the Office for Equal Opportunity (OEO) at 515-3148.

Attendance, Incomplete Grades and Late Assignments. For this DE course, attendance in a classroom is not required, but students are required to submit materials several times each week. (See the University Attendance policy REG02.20.3). Only students with excused absences may miss participating in the class with no risk of a penalty. Students have one week from the time of their return from an excused absence to make up any work for which they have documented as a university excused absence. After one week the grade for the work will decline by one letter grade per day late (or the equivalent in points)., See the university web site on excused absences:

As for unexcused absences and missed work, students who fail to turn in 50% (or more) of the Forum assignments or 50% (or more) of Contemporary Events assignments or who do not take the midterm exam or the final exam will fail the course (irrespective of their calculated grade). Students are expected to make up any missed work within 5 workdays of the assignments due date. After five days, the grade for the work will decline by one letter grade per day late (or the equivalent in points). As for missed exams without a university recognized excuse, the student must notify the instructor via email within 24 hours of missing the test that he/she has missed it and intends to take a make-up examination. The makeup examination may take a different format (e.g., all essay questions) than the regular test, per the instructor's preference. A make-up exam will be scheduled for the student to take. Failure to take the make-up exam as scheduled will result in failing grade for that exam.

Only students who miss work with university approved excused absences are eligible for an incomplete grade. All other students are subject to the grade they earned in the work they performed for the class.

Incompletes must be made up before the end of the next regular semester in which the student is enrolled and in no case may be made up more than 12 months after the end of the semester in which the IN is awarded, unless the teacher or department offering the course is not able to provide the student with an

opportunity to make up incomplete work, in which case the period can be extended. Make up work is to be limited to accomplishing the work not completed.

Each student must turn in a Request for Excused Absence Form for each absence on the day that they return to participate in the course. All assignments not turned in due to the absence must be turned in within 5 working days of returning. Upon review of the Request for Excused Absence Form, the instructor will either approve or disapprove the request. All disapproved requests will be treated as unexcused absences. Failure to submit the completed Request for Excused Absence Form on the day that the student returns to class will automatically result in an unexcused absence and any work missed due to the absence will be penalized according to rules stated above. Request for Excused Absence Forms can be found at .

Students with Disabilities Reasonable accommodations will be made for students with verifiable disabilities. In order to take advantage of available accommodations, students must register with Disability Services for Students at 1900 Student Health Center, Campus Box 7509 (919-513-3768) or see the university web page:

Course Evaluations

Online class evaluations will be available for students to complete during the last couple of weeks of class. Students will receive an email message directing them to a website where they can login using their Unity ID and complete evaluations. All evaluations are confidential; instructors will never know how any one student responded to any question, and students will never know the ratings for any particular instructors. Please take the time to fill these out as they can serve as a valuable tool for instructors and their departments (they do make a difference).

SOC395 Special Topics: Sociology of Sport

William R. Smith

Office Hours:

Wednesday 2:00-3:00 pm and BA TEXT = Coakley's Sports in Society, 10th ed. SCS = Eitzen's Sport in Contemporary Society, 7th edition (not 8th and not 6th!!)

Course Schedule (All readings are to be read by the end of the day listed):

Date 1/11/11 Tuesday

Assignment Title Location of Assignment

1. History of

Chapter One. "The Sociology

Sociology of Sport. of Sport ," pp. 2-29 TEXT

1/13/11 Thurs 2. What is Sport?

Ch. Two "Using Social Theories" 32-57 TEXT; Eitzen "American Sports at Century's End" pp. 5-10 SCS

Task Become oriented with using Moodle and with the expectations of this course. Study Lecture One. (e-lectures aka powerpoint slides and notes will simply be called lectures) Lecture Two.

1/17/11 Monday 1/18/11 Tuesday

1/20/11 Thursday 1/25/11 Tues 1/27/11 Thursday

2/1/11 Tues 2/3/11 Thurs

MLK Holiday Observed 3. Sports and Society

4. Culture and Sport

5. Sport and Socialization 6. Sport and Socialization

7. Children and Sports 8. Children and Sports (Cont'd)

Burstyn "Sports as Secular Sacrament" pp. 11-20 SCS; Coakley "Sport in Society: Inspiration or Opiate?" pp. 2137 SCS Ch. Three "Studying the Past" pp 60-93 TEXT

Ch. Four "Sports and Socialization" pp 96-124; Coakley "Play Group versus Organized Competitive Team" p 43-51 SCS; Curry "Fraternal Bonding in the Locker Room" pp 56-73 SCS Ch. Five "Sports and Children" pp 126-156 Cont'd

Forum One: Post answers and questions to your group. Forum closes Monday 1/25 midnight. Lecture Three. First Current Events Blog Due. Lecture Four.

Forum Two: On today's readings. Forum closes Wednesday 2/3 midnight.

Lecture Five.

Lecture Six. Forum Three: On Chapter 5 of TEXT.

2/8/11 Tues 9. Interscholastic Sports

2/10/11 Thurs 10. Intercollegiate Sport

Ch. 14 "Sports in High School and College" 158-198 TEXT; Wolff "High School Sports" pp 52-55 SCS; Bresnaham "Swoosh Comes to Shove" pp 16-161 SCS Lederman "Old Times Not Forgotten" p 115-120 SCS; Davis "The Problem with Native American Mascots" p 121-128 SCS; Sperber "College Sports: Winners and Losers" pp 201208 SCS;

Forum closes Wednesday 2/11 midnight. Second Current Events Blog Due. Lecture Seven.

Forum Four: On today's readings. Forum closes Wednesday 2/17 midnight.

.

2/15/11 Tues 2/17/11 Thurs 2/22/11 Tues

11. Intercollegiate Sports cont'd

12. Mid-term exam available 5 pm Thurs until 10pm on Fri, 2/19/11 13. Sport and Deviance

Eitzen "The Big-Time College Sports Plantation and the Slave Who Drive It." pp 209-219 SCS; Solomon "Guys and Dollars" pp 220-222 SCS

Ch. 6 "Deviance in Sports" pp 158-198 TEXT; Tye "Kids and Sports: Injured at an Early Age" pp 143-148 SCS;

Third Current Events Blog Due No lecture on today's readings.

Lecture Eight.

2/24/11 Thurs 14. Sport and Deviance (Cont'd)

3/1/11 Tues 15. Sport and Violence

Ryan "Female Gymnasts and Ice Skaters: The Dark Side" pp 149-155 SCS; Eitzen "Ethical Dilemmas in American Sport" pp165-174 SCS Ch. 7 "Violence in Sports" pp 200-231 TEXT + 3 articles online: 1) Kenneth Colburn. 1985.

Forum Five: On today's readings. Forum closes Wednesday 3/3 midnight.

Lecture Nine.

Also read: 3) Julian Roberts & Cynthia

"Honor, Ritual, and Violence in Ice Hockey." Canadian Journal of Sociology 10(2): 153-170 2) Nick Pappas, Patrick McKenry & Beth Skilken Catlett. 2004. "Athlete Aggression on the Rink and Off the Ice: Athletic Violence and Aggression in Hockey and Interpersonal Relationships." Men and Masculinities 6(3): 291-312.

Benjamin. 2000. "Spectator Violence in Sports: A North American Perspective." European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research 8:163-181.

3/3/11 Thurs 16. Sport and Gender

3/7 to 3/11/11 Spring Break 3/15/11 Tues 17. Sport and

Gender

Ch. 8 "Gender and Sports" 234-279 TEXT; Eitzen and Zinn "The DeAthleticization of Women" pp 239-138 SCS;

Lecture Ten.

Forum Six: On Eitzen and Zinn reading. Due by 3/11 Wed. Fourth Current Events Blog Due

Heywood "Despite the Positive Rhetoric About Women's Sports..." pp 175-179 SCS; Eitzen "Gender and Sport" pp 287-293 SCS;

Lecture Eleven.

3/17/11 Th 3/22/11 Tues

18. Hourly Exam available 5pm Thurs until 10pm Friday 3/12/11 19. Sport and Gender (cont'd)

Griffin " Changing the Games: Homophobia, Sexism, and Lesbians in Sport" pp 315-331 in SCS; Messner "The Meaning of Success: The Athletic Experience and Development of Male Identity" pp 297-310 SCS

Lecture Twelve. Fifth Current Events Blog Due.

3/24/11 Thurs 20. Sport and Gender

Messner "The Gender of Sports Lecture Thirteen.

Media" pp 87-97 SCS;

Forum Seven: On

Messner reading for

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