Jay Coakley, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology

Jay Coakley, Columbine Hall 4013; 262-4143 (970-416-1325); jcoakley@uccs.edu

Office hours: Thursday 1-4:30 pm; Friday 8-9:15 am; by appointment                    

COURSE DESCRIPTION/OBJECTIVES:

This course focuses on sports as social and cultural phenomena. We use sociological concepts and critical thinking to investigate such issues as: 

1. Why are certain physical activities identified and designated as sports?
2. How do sports and sport participation affect our lives?
3. How do sports impact our ideas about masculinity, femininity, class inequality, race and ethnicity, work, fun, achievement, competition, individualism, aggression and violence?
4. How are the organization and meaning of sports connected with social relations in groups, communities, & societies?
5. How are sports connected with important spheres of social life in societies (such as family, education, politics, economics, media, & religion)?

 The objectives of the course are the following:

1. Learn to use the tools needed to think in an informed and critical way about sports in society.
2. Understand sports in terms that go beyond performance statistics and competitive outcomes and deal with issues of power and power relations in society.
3. Develop an awareness of how sports and sport participation impact the lives of individuals and groups in a society.
4. Learn what is needed to make informed choices about sports and sport participation in connection with our lives and the lives of others in our families and communities.

We use a combination of discussions and films to accomplish objectives. Students are expected to complete discussion worksheets prior to class and then participate in class discussions. Two essay exams will be given; essay questions will be provided at least 3 weeks prior to the tests.

REQUIRED READINGS:
Coakley, Sport in Society: Issues and Controversies (2001, 7th ed.)

COURSE OUTLINE:

1/24:  Course Introduction -- Seeing sports as social phenomena
           Film and Discussion: The Ultimate Athlete; http://web.uccs.edu/jcoakley/soc_330.htm
            "Sportographies" of class members

1/31:  Viewing sports from a sociological perspective (Readings: SIS, Chapters 1 and 2)

2/7:  Using sociology to understand sports in different times and different places
            Readings: SIS, Ch. 3
            Film: Sex and Sport

2/14:  Sports: Who plays and what happens when people play sports?
           Readings: SIS, Chapters 4 and 5
            Film: Playing to Extremes

2/21:  Deviance and violence in sports ? are they out of control?
            Readings: SIS, Chapters 6 and 7

2/28:  Gender and gender relations in sports
Readings: SIS, Ch. 8
Film: Out for a Change

3/7:  Catch-up and test review

3/14:  Test I (Essays)

3/21:  Race and ethnicity in sports
            Readings: SIS, Ch. 9
            Film: In Whose Honor?

3/28:  Spring Break

4/4:  Power and social class in sports
            Readings: SIS, Ch. 10
            Film: On the ropes

4/11:  Sports, commercialization, and the media
            Readings: SIS, Chapters 11 &12
            Film: The WWF and Vince McMahon

4/18:  Do varsity sports contribute to education?
            Readings: SIS, Ch. 14
            Film: Do jocks rule the school?

4/25:  Politics and Religion ? current controversies in sports
            Readings: SIS, Chs. 13 &15
            Film: Sport and Religion

5/2:  Sports in the future
            Readings: SIS, Ch. 16

5/9:  Catch-up and test review

5/16: Test II (Essays)

Note: Test II will be returned directly to you if you give me a business size self-addressed, stamped (60 cents) envelope.

 EXPECTATIONS FOR STUDENTS:

 30 points: These points are earned through attendance & class participation/worksheets and other short written assignments that will be turned in with the worksheets. After the first week there are 10 classes, two review classes, and two test dates. Attendance and participation in each of the ten class sessions is worth 3 points.  If you must miss a class session you may earn back the 3 points by completing the worksheet for that class and by doing 2-page summary and critique of an article in a journal or a topic related chapter in one of the 2 books on reserve in the library. Journal articles may be found in the Sociology of Sport Journal or International Review for the Sociology of Sport or any other sociology journal. The books on reserve are:

Coakley, J. and Donnelly. P. (eds.), 1999. Inside sports. London: Routledge.
Yiannakis, A. et al. (eds.), 199x. Sport Sociology: Contemporary Themes. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt

Use the following format for your summary and critique:

Name(s) of author(s). Year of publication. Article title. Source (either the book title or journal name+vol.+issue, and  page numbers.

Example #1: Cole, C.L. 1996. American Jordan, P.L.A.Y., Consensus, and Punishment. Sociology of Sport Journal 13 (4), 366-397.

Example #2: Grey, M. A., 1999. Playing sports and social acceptance: The experiences of immigrant and refugee students in Garden City, Kansas. Pp. 28-36 in Coakley, J., and Donnelly, P. (eds.), Inside sports. London: Routledge.

Suggestions for body of the write-up:

Describe the major focus or purpose of the article, the issues or topics discussed, the theoretical perspective used (if it can be identified), the argument or hypotheses, the methodology, the data or information used in the article, the conclusions, the importance of the article (what does it tell us about sports, society, culture, behavior, relationships, etc.?), your personal response to the article, why you chose it.

• 70 points: 35 points for each essay test.

Grade conversions:

A   = 93 ? 100 points
A-    = 90 ? 92.9 points
B+ = 88 ? 89.9 points
B    = 83 ? 87.9 points
B-     = 80 ? 82.9 points
C+ = 78 ? 79.9 points
C    = 73 ? 77.9 points
C-      = 70 ? 72.9 points
D    = 60 ? 69.9 points
F     = <60

Note: All course materials will be posted at http://web.uccs.edu/jcoakley/soc_330.htm. If you click on the Sport in Society link you will see the Online Learning Center for the text. There are self tests for each chapter and many other materials at the site; there also are links to over 100 sport-related sites that you may find interesting. You will find chapter outlines and other study aids by going to the site and exploring these links. You may go directly to the Online Learning Center through www.mhhe.com/hper/physed/coakley_sport . To gain access to the Instructor site use sportins as the name and coakley as the password.

REVISED VERSION (2/28)
SOC 330: TEST I, ESSAY QUESTIONS

 Listed below are the essay questions for Test I on Thursday, 3/14. You will be asked to answer two of the following 7 questions. You do not know which 2, so be ready to answer each question.

 Essays should be about 1.5-2 pages in length. In your essays you are to use the book, films, and other class materials as starting points. But then go beyond that material by including your thoughts in the form of analysis, critique, examples, extension, modification, qualification, etc. Use research evidence where appropriate. Grades will be based on my assessment of your grasp of the course material and the extent to which you have thought about and learned from that material. Essays must have a beginning, middle, & end (conclusion/summary).

 You may bring to the test a "crib sheet" on 1/2 of an 8.5 x 11 page. On the crib sheet you may put anything that will help you write your essays in an organized, to-the-point manner.

1. In a conversation with your friends, you mention that you are taking a sociology of sport course this semester. Your friend laughs and accuses you of wasting time on a frivolous course. It is up to you to explain to your friend that your time is not being wasted. What would you say in your explanation? (Use materials from Chapters 1-3 as you construct this essay. 
2. In SIS and in class we considered the idea that sports are "contested activities." Explain what this means and then identify and explain three examples of how people have contested what sports are and how they will be included in society and in their lives. At least one of the examples should be taken from material in Chs. 2 or 3, and at least one example should be from today or the last year or two, and one should be from at least 30 years ago. 
3. You have just done a literature review of the topic "sports and character development." After reading many studies you discover conflicting findings: some studies suggest that sport participation contributes to character development, some say it interferes with development, and others find no relationship between participation and character development. In your essay explain why the studies report conflicting results, and then suggest what studies should be done in the future.  
4. As a new member of your community's Parks & Recreation Department you have been asked to reorganize one of the department?s local youth sport programs. You have complete freedom to do anything you want. How would you set up the program and how would you justify what you are doing to a group of interested parents when they come to a meeting during which you explain how things will be set up for the season and WHY they will be that way? Use material from Ch. 5 to support your explanations to parents. 
5. Deviant overconformity occurs when athletes accept without question and to an extreme degree the norms of the Sport Ethic. Use examples to explain what deviant overconformity, why it occurs, and how it can be a serious problem in sports.
6. You work in a juvenile treatment center. At a staff meeting your supervisor tells you to that a volunteer wants to establish an organized boxing program for the boys at the center. She worries that a sport like boxing causes men to be violent and she fears that it may distort the socialization experiences of the boys at the center.  You have an opportunity to voice your opinion about this suggestion. What would you say (use material from both Chs. 6 and 7 to form and support your opinion)?
7. According to the material in Chapter 8, the achievement of equity involves more than who gets what in athletic departments and sport programs. Real equity will not be achieved until there are structural and ideological changes in the ways gender is defined and in the gender logic that underlies sports. What does this mean, and will real gender equity ever exist in sports? As you discuss this issue, please give concrete examples of what is meant by structural changes and ideological changes.

(Draft--may change)  SOC 330: TEST II, ESSAY QUESTIONS (Spring, 2002)

Listed below are the essay questions for Test II on Thursday, May 16. You will be asked to answer two of the following 7 questions. You do not know which 2, so be ready to answer each question.

 Essays should be about 2 pages in length. In your essays you are to use the book, films, and other class materials as starting points. But then go beyond that material by including your own thoughts in the form of analysis, critique, synthesis, examples, extension, modification, qualification, etc. Use research evidence where appropriate. Grades will be based on my assessment of your grasp of the course material and the extent to which you have thought about and learned from that material. Essays must have a beginning, middle, and end (conclusion/summary).

 You may bring a ½-page "crib sheet" to the test. On the crib sheet you may put anything that will help you write your essays in an organized, to-the-point manner.

1. Over the holidays you watch an NFL game with your father. During the game he notices the number of black players on the field and says that sport is a realm in which all people, especially racial and ethnic minorities, have always been treated fairly. Using material from Chapter 9 how would you respond to your father?
2. Identify examples of how class relations are related to the organization of elite sports, and examples of how social class is related to participation patterns and attendance at sport events. What problems arise in connection with the dynamics and consequences of social class in sports, and how might some of these problems be controlled?
3. The combination of commercialization and the media have had an important impact on sports in the late 20th century. Using materials from Chapters 11 and 12 explain three ways that sports have changed in connection with commercialization and the media?
4. You are part of a national commission that has been appointed to review the pros and cons of varsity sports in US high schools and colleges. As a member of the main research team you have a chance to identify 3 research issues to be addressed by the commission. Which issues would you choose and why would you choose them?
5. Politics has always been a part of the Olympics. Identify how government involvement has occurred in connection with the Olympics, how new political realities influence the Olympics today, and how politics is a part of the overall organization of the Olympics and Olympic sports. As you identify these things, make suggestions for change as you think they are necessary.
6. Over the past 10 years an increasing number of athletes in highly competitive sports regularly profess their religious beliefs in visible ways. Using material from Chapter 15 explain why the combination of religion and sport is so common today, and discuss whether this combination has had an impact on how sports are played.
7. After reading Sport in Society, identify 3 major changes you would like to see in sport over the next 10 years. Discuss why these changes are important and what strategies might be used to bring them about. When you discuss strategies, use materials from Chapter 16.