Unit One: The Framing of Sports and Nation

Week 1: Developing a Sociological Perspective on Sports
August 27 — Seeing Sports Sociologically
Reading: Kareem Abdul-Jabar: what sports have taught me about race in America

August 29 — Sports, Social Issues, and Society
Reading: The Promise (of the Sociological Imagination), C. Wright Mills (password-protected)

Week 2: Sociological Theories of Sports
September 3rd — Functional, Conflict, Interaction: How Do You See It?
Reading: Sociological Theories and Sports, Sage and Eitzen (password-protected)

September 5th (Monday Schedule, No Class)

Week 3: Theories Cont:
September 10th — Microcosm of Society: Does Sports Actually Change Things?
Readings: Sports as a Microcosm, Eitzen and The Super Bowl as a Microcosm of U.S. Society (both password-protected)

September 12th — Pause, Reflect, and Apply Theory
Reading: TBA (Class selection of current sports headline)

Assignment Due

Week 4: Constructing Nation
September 17th — Imperialism and Sports
Reading: Sport, Colonialism, and United States Imperialism, Gems (password-protected)

September 19th — North America or Turtle Island?
Reading: Outgrowing the United States Theology of Progress & Exceptionalism, Ratcliffe

Week 5: Slavery and Sports
September 24th — White Control of Black Bodies?
Reading: The Plantation: The Dilemma of Physical Bondage, Rhoden (password-protected)

September 26th — Integration or Black Power?
Reading: The Negro League: The Dilemma of Myopia, Rhoden (password-protected)

Week 6: Sports Culture
October 1st: (No Class)

October 3rd: What is a Knickerbocker anyway? Mascots and Material Culture.
Readings: (1)Winning The Sports Retail Race: Under Armour And Nike Hit The Wall, Danziger and (2) Tomahawk Chops and Native American Mascots: In Europe, Teams Don’t See a Problem by Keh

Week 7: Group Solidarity and War
October 8th: ESPN 30 for 30: Once Brothers (Film)
Reading: Drill and Kill: How Americans Link War and Sports by Stark

October 10th: Once Brothers (cont)
Reading: Exam Guide

Week 8: Midterm Exam and Unit 2
October 15th: No. 2 Pencils Ready!
Reading: No Reading

October 17th: Unit Two Primer: Gender, Race, and Social Class
Reading: No Reading

Unit Two: Institutions and Contemporary Issues

Week 9: Socialization
October 22nd: Who Plays?
Reading: (1) The Hidden Demographics of Sports by Kelley and Carchia and (2) Play Group versus Organized Competitive Team by Coakley (password-protected)

October 24th: Education versus Sports| The U (ESPN Film)
Reading:

Week 10: High School Sports
October 29th: US Sports Obsession starts here
Reading: The Case Against High-School Sports by Ripley

October 31st: Group Discussions/Presentations
Group One (Sexism) and Group Two (Heterosexism)

Week 11: Big Time College Sports
November 5th: Is sports in your mission statement?
Reading: The Shame of College Sports by Branch

November 7th: Group Discussions/Presentations
Group Three (Classism) and Group 4 (Racism)

Week 12: Media
November 12th: ESPN, Sports Leader or Corporate Domination?
Reading: ESPN’s Plan to Dominate the Post-TV World By Thompson

November 14th: Group Five (Nationalism) and Group Six (New York City)

Week 13: Sports and Politics
November 19th: What does that new stadium cost us?
Reading: Why Do Mayors Love Sports Stadiums? By deMause

November 21st: The Personal is Political| Renee (ESPN Film)
Reading: Citizen (Serena Williams) by Claudia Rankine (password-protected)

Week 14: Globalization
November 26th: Sports as a World System
Reading: Inside Major League Baseball’s Dominican Sweatshop System by Gordon

Assignment Update Due

November 28th (College Closed)

Week 15: The Future of Sports
December 3rd: The US’s Global Position and Sports
Reading: Soccer Will Soon Be America’s Third-Favorite Spectator Sport by Bondy

December 5th: Is Technology Driving Sports: Esports, Gambling, etc?
Reading: Seven-figure salaries, sold-out stadiums: Is pro video gaming a sport? by Young

Week 16: Wrapping Up
December 10th: Exam Review

December 12th: Exam 2