SPT 200 - Sociology of Sports

3 credit hours - Three hours weekly; one term.
Examine the intersection of sports within broader society, assessing the implication of sports within the culture, its impact on economic inequality and social mobility, and its overall influence on the media, politics, economics, religion, race, gender, age and sexual orientation. Address sports as a modern social science in need of academic inquiry.

Prerequisite(s): Eligibility for ENG 101 /ENG 101A .

Course Outcomes:

Develop an understanding of Sports Sociology as academic inquiry.
- Operationally define the boundaries of sports as social science.
- Identify common research methods in the field.
- Examine basic terms sociological terms under a sports framework.
Examine the relationship between sports and social life.
- Assess areas of social organization, group behavior, and social interactions within a sports framework and paradigm.
- Create a framework by which areas such as gender, sexuality, social class, race, ethnicity, and disability can be understood through a sports lens.
- Explain sports and the significant interactions it has in the following areas: politics, education, the economy, religion, psychology, philosophy, and the family.
Identify the relationship between the media and sports.
- Understand the dynamics behind the saturation of sports in society.
- Examine ways in which the media’s connection to sports reinforces or challenges current paradigms.
- Observe how the interaction between the media and sports has brought about social change.
Understand the elements and continued development of ethics within a sports context.
- Examine historical codes of ethics and rules within sports.
- Identify ethical considerations specific to sports.
- Assess the construct of deviance within a sports context.
Identify the role that sports plays within a geopolitical framework.
- Dissect the interplay between sports and politics on a local, national, and global scale.
- Examine nationalism as a concept that appears within sporting events.
- Understand the manner in which the Olympic Games have affected relationships on a global scale.
- Develop a further understanding about the meaning of sports around the world.
Examine the societal importance of sports.
- Understand the concepts of rational recreation and leisure.
- Assess the connection between achievement and sports.
- Examine the use of sports-related idea in other venues.