C-1
CULT 316 ANTHROPOLOGY OF SPORT
Full Course Title:
Anthropology of sport
Antropologija sporta
Course Code:
Course Level/BiH cycle:
CULT 316
I cycle
ECTS credit value:
6
Student work-load:
(Table with hours for: Lectures; Exercise; Other; Individual learning)
For the whole semester:
Length:
Faculty/School/Department:
Lectures
Tutorial /
Practical training
Project
Assignment
Individual
learning
TOTAL
45
15
15
15
60
150
Spring 2013, Lectures - 3 hours per week
FASS; Cultural Studies
Course leader:
Assist. Prof. Dr. Tuba Boz
Contact details:
Office:
e-mail:
tboz@ius.edu.ba
Office hours:
Phone:
+957 404
Site:
IUS main campus building
Host Study Program:
Cultural Studies
Course status:
Elective
Pre-requisites:
None
Access restrictions:
None
Assessment:
Presentations, group activities, consultations, quizzes, essays and exams.
1
C-1
Date validated:
Course aims:
Learning outcomes:
Indicative syllabus content:
April 2013
The aims of this course are to:
1. introduce students to the basics of the anthropological study of sport
2. ensure that students are given proper knowledge of the history and evolution of sports
in various cultures
3. introduce students to the importance of sport as ritual and sport as culture
4. introduce students to the classification and typology of sports
5. discuss the issues of exploitation and violence in sports To enrich student critical
thinking, interpreting and understanding of the social character of sports
On successful completion of this course IUS student will be able to:
1. Students will learn how to think critically about various theoretical approaches to the
anthropology of sport
2. Students will learn how to discuss history and evolution of sport as culture
3. Students will gain deeper understanding of the autotelic experience and intrinsic
motivation
4. Students will learn how to discuss about the social and cultural character of sports
5. Students will learn how to employ interdisciplinary approaches when conducting
research about anthropology of sport
6. Students will learn how to think independently and formulate their opinions regarding
sport classification and evolution
This course is designed to introduce and equip Cultural Studies students with the fundamentals
of research about the anthropology of sport. The main themes to be dealt with may include:
history of sport, games of study and play, exploitation and violence in sports, sport as conflict and
competition, sport as ritual, the evolution of sports, “jock liberation”, changes in sport from “fun
to business”, Roberts’ games categories (physical skills, strategy and chance), the nature of play,
recreation, physical recreation, leisure ethics, theoretical models for anthropology of sport,
modern sport, sport and social power, social character of sport, autotelic experience, intrinsic
motivation, prehistory and early history of sport, sport classification etc.
Teaching occurs via lectures, seminars and tutorials, individual and team- work in-class activities.
Learning delivery:
Assessment Rationale:
Assessment Weighting:
Essential Reading:
Recommended readings:
In order to provide solid undergraduate foundation in Cultural Studies Program and to enable
students to develop a critical and evaluative understanding of the basics of media and film
studies and to demonstrate commitment and diligence at any time, different assessment
methods are proposed for this module. Therefore, appropriate and diverse assessment methods
include essays, presentations, group activities, consultations, exams and take-home exams with
the aim to help students to stay focused and active, and fully benefit from the module.
Attendance and participation 5%
Essay 20%
Midterm exam 25%
Presentation 10%
Final exam 40%
1. Kendall Blanchard. The Anthropology of Sport: An Introduction. Westport: Pragerer,
2005.
Additional/recommended reading:
1. Robert S. Sands. The Anthropology of Sport and Human Movement: A Biocultural
Perspective. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2010.
2. Robert S. Sands. Anthropology, Sport, and Culture. Westport: Praeger, 1999.
3. Noel Dyck. Games, Sports and Cultures. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2000.
Intranet web reference:
Important notes:
Course policy: Class absences should not exceed 20% of total class time. Students who exceed
the limits without a medical certificate or emergency excuse acceptable to and approved by the
Dean of the relevant faculty member shall not be allowed to take the final examination and shall
receive a mark of N/A for the course. If the Dean approves the excuse, the student will be
2
C-1
considered to have withdrawn from the course.
Useful advice: Use office hours productively.
Student responsibilities:
To come to class on time.
To be attentive and engaged in class.
To refrain from using laptops, cell phones and other electronic devices during class.
To spend an adequate amount of time on the homework each week, making an effort
To solve and understand each problem.
To seek help when appropriate.
Plagiarism: Zero Tolerance of Cheating & Plagiarism.
Presentation of assignments:
Your cover page must include: Your name, Essay title, Title of the subject, your lecture’s name,
Date of submission
Your paper: Font: Times New Roman, Size: 12, You must use 1.5 spacing, Include page numbers,
Staple the pages together, Ensure that you use spell check and then check over your paper
yourself again, Double check over your grammar and expression.
You will use the in-text citations (MLA) for your referencing,You will NOT USE the following or
similar websites in your academic writing: Wikipedia, Answers.com, Yahoo answers.
Quality Assurance:
Students will be provided written feedback for each of the assignments. Students unsatisfied with
the assessment of their written work (position paper and final essay) will have a chance to rewrite them and submit for second examination provided they met the deadlines. Students, who
wish to increase the part of the grade coming from in-class participation, may be given additional
tasks. Students are encouraged to consult their work in progress with the course leader during
the office hours or through e-mail communication.
Course schedule:
3
C-1
Week
1&2
Lesson /
Date
TBA
Topics to be covered
Introduction
Class activities
Reasons for the anthropological
study of sport
Discuss sports as a means of expressing social
systems, especially related to issues of race, power,
and social inequity
The history of the anthropological
study of sport
Explore the evolution of modern sport from "fun to
business"
Assignments
Relevant
reading
Learning
outcomes
Kendall
Blanchard. The
Anthropology of
Sport: An
Introduction.
Pragerer, 2005
1. Define sport
using theories of
Mooney, Culin, and
Geertz
Pg. 1-27
2. Understand
sport historically
within the contexts
of games and
study of play
3. Define Roberts’
game categoriesphysical skill,
strategy & chance-and relation
between
characteristics of
culture and types
of games/sport
manifested
3&4
TBA
The meaning of sport: a cultural
approach
Explore relationships between work and play as
dimensions of sport
Discuss sport as play, sport as conflict/competition,
and sport as ritual in different cultures
Pg. 27-61
1. Define the role
of sport within
general cultural
framework
particularly when
comparing cultures
2.Understand the
4
C-1
relation between
sport and ritual
3. Define the seven
basic values of
sport according to
Edwards
5&6
7&8
TBA
TBA
Theory and method of
anthropology of sport
Character of modern sport
Discuss various explanatory models regarding
sports- evolutionism, cultural materialism, structuralfunctionalism and interpretive models- symbolic
anthropology, ethnoscience and experiential
ethnography
Explore the correlation between sport achievement
and socio-economic status and residence
Pg. 61-95
1. Learn different
explanatory and
interpretive models
of sport
2. Conduct
etnhnographic
research regarding
the study of sports
1. Understand the
relationship
between sport and
social power
2. Define major
features of the
sport
establishment
8
TBA
9 & 10
TBA
Midterm exam
Discuss the structure of autotelic activities:
Self actualization and the autotelic
1.Friendship & relaxation - warm interpersonal experiences experience
loosening of ego boundaries (communitas)
1. Understand
theories of Geertz,
Macaloon &
5
C-1
Czikszentmihalyi
2. Risk and chance ("vertigo" - allow one to transcend
limitations by altering state of consciousness; need to
control the unpredictable)
3. Problem solving - purposeful goal directed action
4. Competition - basic need to pit oneself against others
5. Creativity - designing or discovering something new
2. Define the
concepts of
intrinsic motivation
and autotelic
experience
3. Define the
theoretical model
of
enjoyment/autotelic
experience and its
structure
11&12
13 &14
TBA
TBA
Prehistory and early history of
sport
Explore the prehistory and early history of sport
Blanchard
Discuss questions of existence of sport in prehistoric
societies—dealt with through use of
ethnographic analogy
Pg. 95-129
Sport in Culture: an evolutionary
perspective
Explore the role and structure of sports in various
cultures: local bands (hordes), ranked societies,
primitive societies, and archaic civilizations
Pg. 129-171
Band society
1. Learn about the
existence of sport
in prehistoric
societies
2. Define major
features of a
cultural
evolutionary
approach to
understanding
development of
sport as an
institution
1. Understand
sport typology
according to
evolutionary
6
C-1
classification
2. Define the
social, economical,
political and
cultural factors
which shaped the
structure of sports
in various cultures
15
TBA
Supraband society
Discuss the evolution of sports in supraband
societies
Pg. 171-205
1. Define sport
typology in
supraband
societies
.
16
TBA
Final exam
7