KIN 502    Sport and Social Issues

This course is part of the Segment III cluster "Media Literacy in the Electronic Age".

Course Description

This course examines a variety of contemporary sport issues from a sociological perspective. Topics to be discussed include performance enhancing substances, morality in sport, college and professional sport, media and sport, and the politics of sport. These themes will be addressed from the perspectives of race, gender, class, and other categories of social analysis.

Course Objectives:

After completing this course students will be able to:
1.    Identify the theoretical assumptions underlying popular notions about sport
2.    Critically examine writings (scholarly, popular, media based) about sport
3.    Discuss the ways that sporting practices reproduce the social relations
       of class, race, and gender in contemporary society
4.    Understand the social construction of meanings associated with sport
       (through the media and other avenues)
5.    Develop and demonstrate the ability to express relevant issues in both written and oral formats

Prerequisites: 

Eng 214 or equivalent and two additional courses of the GE Segment I requirements; upper division standing or consent of instructor.