Spring 2020
Sociology 220
Tuesday/Friday: 12:30pm – 2:20pm

Office: O’Connor 336
Office Hours: Mon/Wed 10:30 – 12:30 or by appointment
Phone: (508) 626-4864
E-mail: isilver@framingham.edu

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

While most people have played sports, we often don’t consider the sociological factors that shape our experiences. This course explores the powerful influences sports have on players and fans alike. We will see how sports offers a context for understanding key aspects of our society, such as religion, education, race, gender, disability, and politics.

READING:

There is nothing you need to buy for the course – everything is posted below!

* Please bring assigned material to class.  Either print it or bring a device to class so you can access it electronically.

READING RESPONSES:

As a way of encouraging you to think about assigned material and to facilitate rich discussions, you are to post on Blackboard in advance of most of our classes. Specific dates are indicated on the schedule below.

To be eligible for full credit, please post your reading response no later than 9am on the date we’ll be discussing the material you wrote about. That deadline will enable me to read your posts and draw upon your ideas in our discussions.  I will give partial credit for reading responses posted between 9am and the start of class, but no credit for posts made once class begins.

Your write-up should have two parts:

  1. A 2-3 paragraph critique of the reading – which differs from a summary. Whereas a summary highlights main points in the reading, a critique takes the discussion in a direction of your choosing. It explores themes or issues the reading raised for you. There are several ways you can frame your critique.
    — A quote you found interesting and why.
    — A quote you found confusing and why.
    — An important topic left unexplored.
    — Strengths/weaknesses of a study’s methodology.
    — How a concept or idea applies to your own life.
  2. Raise 2 or more questions for our class discussion. These should not be “yes/no” questions but instead “how” or “why” questions, since these generate more discussion.

ATTENDANCE:

I understand sometimes there are justifiable reasons for missing a class, but if you miss more than two it will affect your grade. If you have to be absent, please let me know. There is no need to give me a doctor’s note. It is your responsibility to catch up on material you missed.

GRADING AND EVALUATION:

Your final grade will be based on the following:

60%       Reading responses
20%       Final paper
20%       Class attendance and participation

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:

Given the Sociology Department’s commitment to maintaining the highest academic standards, students should be aware of the University’s policies concerning academic honesty, which are stated in the undergraduate catalog: “Integrity is essential to academic life. Consequently, students who enroll at Framingham State University agree to maintain high standards of academic honesty and scholarly practice. They shall be responsible for familiarizing themselves with the published policies and procedures regarding academic honesty.” Infractions include plagiarism, cheating on exams and quizzes, unauthorized collaboration with other students, and submitting work in more than one course for academic credit without prior approval of the instructor. The FSU Catalog defines plagiarism as “claiming as one’s own work the published or unpublished literal or paraphrased work of another.” Penalties for academic dishonesty may include receiving a failing grade for the course, academic suspension, and dismissal from the University.

NOTICE OF NON-DISCRIMINATION AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY:

By taking this class, you agree to abide by Framingham State University’s policy of non-discrimination and equal opportunity. The University is dedicated to providing educational, working, and living environments that value the diverse backgrounds of all people. The Massachusetts Civil Rights Act (“MCRA,” M.G.L. c. 12, §§ 11H, 11I, 11J) protects the rights of all residents of and visitors to Massachusetts to be free from bias-motivated threats, intimidation, and coercion that interfere with their civil rights. The MCRA protects the right to attend school, live peacefully, and enjoy other basic rights.

VICARIOUS WINNING:
THE WIDESPREAD APPEAL OF BEING A FAN

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21st

Overview of the course

FRIDAY, JANUARY 24th

READ: Larry Stone, “The Psychology of Being a Sports Fan.” Seattle Times, February 14, 2014.Download
Read: Michael Serazio, “Just How Much is Sports Fandom Like Religion?” The Atlantic, January 29, 2013. Download

Reading Response #1 Due

TUESDAY, JANUARY 28th

Read: Michael A. Messner, Michele Dunbar, and Darnell Hunt, “The Televised Sports Manhood Formula.” Journal of Sport and Social Issues 2000 24(4): 380-394.Download
Read: Douglas Hartmann, “The Sanctity of Sunday Football: Why Men Love Sports.” Context 2003 2(4): 13-21.Download

Reading Response #2 Due

FRIDAY, JANUARY 31st

Read: Richard Crepeau, “The Super Bowl at 50 or L.” International Journal of the History of Sport 2017 34(1): 1-16.Download

Reading Response #3 Due

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2nd

Watch: The Super Bowl

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4th

No reading!

Watch in class: “League of Denial” (113 minutes)

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7th

Read: John Affleck, “If Football is Deadly, Why Do We Still Watch?” The Conversation, February 5, 2016.Download
Read: Kathleen Bachynski, “Are Parents Morally Obligated to Forbid Their Kids from Playing Football?” The Conversation June 2, 2015.Download

FOSTERING SCHOOL SPIRIT?
EXPLORING LINKS BETWEEN ATHLETICS AND EDUCATION

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11th

Read: Jay Coakley, “The Good Father: Parental Expectations and Youth Sports.” Leisure Studies 2006 25(2): 153–163.Download

Reading Response #4 Due

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14th

Read: Mark Hyman, “Until it Hurts: America’s Obsession with Youth Sports and How it Harms Our Kids.” Sports Illustrated, April 7, 2009.Download
Read: Andrew McCutchen, “Left Out.” The Players’ Tribune, February 13, 2015.Download

Reading Response #5 Due

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18th

Read: Krystal K. Beamon, “‘Used Goods:’ Former African American College Student-Athletes’ Perception of Exploitation By Division I Universities.” Journal of Negro Education 2008 77(4): 352-364. Download

Reading Response #6 Due

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21st

Read: Kirsten Hextrum, “The Hidden Curriculum of College Athletic Recruitment.” Harvard Educational Review 2018 88(3): 355-77. Download

Reading Response #7 Due

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25th

Read: Henry A. Giroux and Susan Searls Giroux, “Universities Gone Wild: Big Money, Big Sports, and Scandalous Abuse at Penn State.” Pp. 267-77 in The Ethics of Sport: Essential Readings. Edited by Arthur L. Caplan and Brendan Parent. New York: Oxford University Press, 2017.Download

Reading Response #8 Due

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28th

Read: Jasmine Harris, “In the Name of ‘Amateurism,’ College Athletes Make Money for Everyone Except Themselves, The Conversation, April 5, 2019.
Download
Read: Cody J. McDavis, “Paying Students to Play Would Ruin College Sports.” New York Times, February 25, 2019.Download

Reading Response #9 Due

DISABILITY, ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY
AND THE QUEST TO BE THE BEST

TUESDAY, MARCH 3rd

No reading!

Watch in class: “Murderball” (88 minutes)

FRIDAY, MARCH 6th

Read: Ronald J. Berger, “Hoops and Wheels.” Contexts 2009 8(3): 40–45. Download
Read: Matt Hartman, “Disabled, Athletic, and Not Trying to Inspire Anybody: Heroic Tales of Disabled Athletes Celebrate the Exceptional, and Exclude Those Who Are Simply Trying to Compete.” The Outline, September 11, 2019. Download

Reading Response #10 Due

TUESDAY, MARCH 10th

Jere Longman, “An Amputee Sprinter: Is He Disabled or Too Abled?” New York Times, May 15, 2007.Download
Ivo Van Hilvoorde and Laurens Kabdeweerd, “Enhancing Disabilities: Transhumanism Under the Veil of Inclusion?” Disability and Rehabilitation 2010 32(26): 2222-2227.Download

Reading Response #11 Due

*** REVISED SCHEDULE ***

TUESDAY, MARCH 31st

Read: Will Leitsch, “How Will Sports Recover From This Hiatus?” New York Times, March 15, 2020. Download

FRIDAY, APRIL 3rd

Watch: “Bigger Stronger Faster” (Watch in its entirety rather than free clips. You can access the video for $2.99 here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzlBAIE4s1w)

Read: Melissa Tandiwe Myambo, “What’s Really Behind Our Obsession with ‘Clean’ Athletes?” The Conversation, July 27, 2016.Download

TUESDAY, APRIL 7thR

Read: Ira Silver, “’Everybody’s Doing It:’ Getting Ahead by Cheating.” Chapter 7 in Seeing Social Problems: The Hidden Stories Behind Contemporary Issues. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2020. Download

FRIDAY, APRIL 10th

Read: Chris Wallace, “Competition Drives Our Sports, Our Arts, and Our Lives — It Doesn’t Need to be That Way.” Guernica, March 25, 2014. Download

Watch: Valerie Kondos Field, “Why Winning Doesn’t Always Equal Success.”
https://www.ted.com/talks/valorie_kondos_field_why_winning_doesn_t_always_equal_success

PLAYING THE PART:
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF GENDER IN SPORTS

TUESDAY, APRIL 14th

Read: Eric Anderson, “’I Used to Think Women Were Weak”: Orthodox Masculinity, Gender Segregation, and Sport.” Sociological Forum 2008 23(2): 257-80.Download

FRIDAY, APRIL 17th

Read: Natalie Adams, Alison Schmitke, and Amy Franklin, “Tomboys, Dykes, and Girly Girls: Interrogating the Subjectivities of Adolescent Female Athletes.” Women’s Studies Quarterly 2005 33(1&2): 17-34.Download
Read: Britni de la Cretaz, “Androgyny Is Now Fashionable in the WNBA.” New York Times, June 18, 2019. Download

TUESDAY, APRIL 21st

Read: Mia Lichtenstein, “Elite Female Athletes at Greater Risk of Eating Disorders.” The Conversation December 19, 2018.Download

Read and Watch: Mary Cain, “I Was the Fastest Girl in America, Until I Joined Nike.” New York Times, November 7, 2019.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/07/opinion/nike-running-mary-cain.html

FRIDAY, APRIL 24th

Read: Jaime Schultz, “Caster Semenya’s Impossible Situation: Testosterone Gets Special Scrutiny but Doesn’t Necessarily Make Her Faster.” The Conversation May 6, 2019.Download

OUT OF BOUNDS?
WHEN SPORTS TURNS POLITICAL

TUESDAY, APRIL 28th

Read: Tricia Jenkins, “The Militarization of American Professional Sports: How the Sports-War Intertext Influences Athletic Ritual and Sports Media.” Journal of Sport and Social Issues 2013 37(3) 245–260.Download

FRIDAY, MAY 1st

Watch: “Not Just a Game” (Watch in its entirety rather than free clips. You can access the video for $4.99 here:
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/notjustagamehomeuse)

Read: Benjamin Hoffman and Talya Minsberg, “The Deafening Silence of Colin Kaepernick.” New York Times, September 4, 2018.Download

TUESDAY, MAY 5th

Read: David Leonhardt, “The Choice Between Kneeling and Winning.” New York Times, October 2, 2017.Download

FRIDAY, MAY 8th

To be announced

TUESDAY, MAY 12th

Final paper due