Fall 2014
Sociology of Sports
Mississippi State University
Sociology 4333/6333
Tuesday/Thursday 8:00-9:15 am
McCain 120
Instructor: Dr. Rachel Allison
Email: rallison@soc.msstate.edu
Office: 208 Bowen Hall
Office Hours: T/R 11-12 or by
appointment
Course Description
You may think about and experience sports as fun and entertaining, and as something you do or
follow outside of the “real work” of your daily life. Sport sociologists challenge the notion that
sports are somehow separate from other parts of the social world. Instead, sport is conceptualized
as a major social institution that reflects and shapes the society it is embedded in.
This course presents an overview of sociological thinking and research on sports. Three units
will touch upon the historical development of sports in the U.S., the construction of social
inequalities and identities through contemporary sport, and recent debates on important social
issues in sports. The central premise of this course is that social, cultural, political and economic
forces impact sports and sporting behaviors at multiple levels of analysis. Importantly, we will
identify the connections between sports, social forces, and other societal institutions. By the end
of this course, I hope you will have a greater understanding of the role that sports play in society,
as well as of your own experiences with sports.
Objectives
By the end of this course, you should be able to:
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Articulate a sociological perspective on sports and the relationship between sport and
society
Trace several major historical developments in the American sports landscape
Identify how your own experiences with sport have been shaped by social, cultural,
political, and economic forces
Understand the interrelationships between sport and other social institutions, such as
media and law
Identify how social inequalities are both constructed and challenged in contemporary
sport contexts
Fall 2014
Course Materials
Karen, David, and Robert E. Washington, editors. 2010. The Sport and Society Reader.
Routledge. ISBN 13: 978-0-415-77249-5
Additional required readings will be posted on the course website (MyCourses) and can be
downloaded for reading and printing.
Course Policies
Phones and Other Electronics: In accordance with MSU policy, students cannot answer calls
or text during class and electronics must be turned off and put away during class time. I do allow
laptops and tablets in class for note taking, but reserve the right to prohibit them if misused.
Changes to syllabus: Students are responsible for any changes to this syllabus that are
announced in class or sent to your MSU email account.
Misconduct and Student Honor Code: Please refer to the MSU Honor Code at
http://www.honorcode.msstate.edu/. Any student found guilty of academic misconduct (e.g.
cheating, plagiarism) will be given a grade of “0” on the relevant assignment and disciplined
according to MSU procedures.
Accommodations: I am more than willing to accommodate students with special needs—
whatever they may be. If this applies to you, please see me as soon as possible.
Resources
The Writing Center: The Writing Center offers great classes and one-on-one meetings to help
you with any kind of writing. Call 325-1045 or go to http://www.writingcenter.msstate.edu/ for
more information.
Student Support Services: If you think you may have a special need that requires
accommodation, Student Support Services can help. Call 325-3335 or go to
http://www.sss.msstate.edu/ for more information, and please also let me know.
Counseling Services: Sometimes we all need a little extra help. If you ever want to talk to
someone about your health, stress, depression, or problems, the University offers great
counseling services. Call 325-2091 or go to http://www.health.msstate.edu/scs/ for more
information.
Sexual Assault Services: If you have been sexually assaulted or if you have questions about
sexual assault or abuse, Sexual Assault Services offers information and support. Call 325-3333
or go to http://www.health.msstate.edu/sas/ for more information.
Fall 2014
Technology Help Desk: The ITS Help Desk can help you solve many computing problems,
including help with the MyCourses system. Call 325-0631 or email helpdesk@msstate.edu for
assistance.
Grading Scale
A
B
C
D
F
90-100%
80-89%
70-79%
60-69%
0-59%
I round all final grades to the nearest whole percentage. So a final grade of 89.5% becomes an
‘A,’ but an 89.4% becomes a ‘B.’
Course Requirements
Sociology 4333
Attendance
10%
Sociology 6333
Attendance
10%
Response Papers (8)
40%
Response Papers (Weekly)
40%
Empirical Paper/Literature Review
50%
Writing Assignments
50%
Sport Autobiography (20%)
Research Report
Proposal (5%)
Final Report (15%)
In-Class Presentation (10%)
Attendance
I will take attendance 10 times randomly throughout the semester, with attendance worth 10% of
your final grade. I require that you be present for the full duration of class to receive credit.
Absences on these 10 days will only be excused for MSU-designated excused absences. These
include:
Participation in an authorized university activity
Death or major illness in a student’s immediate family
Participation in legal proceedings or administrative procedures that require a student’s
presence
Religious holy day
Illness that is too severe or contagious for the student to attend class
Required participation in military duties
Mandatory admissions interviews for professional or graduate school that cannot be
rescheduled
Fall 2014
If you expect to miss class due to any of the above, you must provide documentation of your
absence before the missed class for it to be excused, or, in the case of family or personal medical
emergency, as soon after the emergency as possible.
Response Papers
You are asked to give your thoughts on our course readings through writing short response
papers throughout the semester. Each response paper should be 1-2 pages, double spaced, in 12point Times New Roman font. Students taking SO 4333 are required to submit 8 response
papers, worth 40% of the final grade. Students taking SO 6333 are required to submit responses
weekly on either Tuesday or Thursday.
Students taking SO 4333 should briefly summarize and respond to one reading. The goal of these
papers is to demonstrate that you have read and thought about the reading for the day. What
stood out to you about the reading? What did you want to know more about? What other
readings or events did this make you think of? You may choose any reading from our course
schedule marked with a * (see below). However, you will need to submit at least two response
papers for each of the three course units covered.
Students taking SO 6333 should briefly synthesize and respond to all readings for the day. The
goal of these papers is to demonstrate that you are able to identify key themes that link the
readings to each other as well as the links between present themes and broader sociological
ideas. These papers should remain around 2 pages long.
For all students, one of your response papers may be written about an MSU sporting event that
you attend during the semester. This response paper should connect what you saw and
experienced at the event to ideas and concepts present in the readings or in class. If you choose
this option, submit your response paper within a week of the event.
Hard copies of response papers are due in class on the day the reading you responded to is
assigned. Response papers on in-class documentaries are due the class period following the
documentary. I do not accept response papers over email except in the case of students with
approved excused absences who have contacted me before class. As you have many options for
response papers throughout the semester, no late response papers will be accepted.
Writing Assignments
Two writing assignments will ask you to apply what you have learned through each unit of the
course. The first, a sport autobiography, will ask you to apply course sources to an analysis of
your lifetime experiences with sports.
The second assignment is a research report on a topic in sport sociology of your choosing. You
will be responsible for using both course readings and a number of outside sources. You may
explore a course topic in more depth or delve into new territory. A proposal for your research
report that describes your research topic and a list of your sources is due on October 21st.
Fall 2014
Both writing assignments will be due online via MyCourses by the start of the class (8 am). You
will receive more information about each of these assignments separate from this syllabus.
For students in SO 6333, your writing assignment is one 15-20 page literature review or
empirical paper on a topic in sport sociology of your choice. You will also be asked to submit a
proposal detailing your plans for this paper on October 21st.
Writing assignments must be submitted by 8:00 am on the day they are due. From 8:01 am that
day, papers will be deducted one full letter grade for every day they are late.
Fall 2014
Course Schedule
(* Response Paper Option)
Unit 1: The History and Development of Sport
Tuesday, August 19: Introduction
Welcome to Sociology 4333/6333!
Thursday, August 21: What is the Relationship between Sport and Society?
* Tomlinson, Alan, Andrei S. Markovits, and Christopher Young. “Mapping Sports Space.” Pp.
41-47 in The Sport and Society Reader.
*Carrington and Andrews. “Sport as Escape, Struggle, and Art.” In Blackwell Companions in
Cultural Studies, Volume 37: Companion to Sport. (Read pages 1-8 only)
Tuesday, August 26: What is the Relationship between Sport and Society?
*Not Just a Game (In-class documentary)
Thursday, August 28: What is Sport?
Baggot, Andy. “Ten Reasons Why ‘Sports’ Aren’t Sports.” Pp. 48-49 in The Sport and Society
Reader.
AND
Last name A-N: *Berger, Ronald J. “Hoops & Wheels.” Contexts
Last name O-Z: *Grindstaff, Laura. “Hold that (Gender) Line! Cheerleading on ESPN.” Contexts
Tuesday, September 2: The Emergence of Modern Sport
*Dunning, Eric. “The Dynamics of Modern Sport: Notes on Achievement-Striving and the
Social Significance of Sport.” Pp 13-19 in The Sport and Society Reader.
Thursday, September 4: The Emergence of Modern Sport
*Markovits and Hellerman.“Offside: Soccer and American Exceptionalism.” Pp. 356-370 in The
Sport and Society Reader.
Tuesday, September 9: Sport and Professionalization
*Lopes, José Sergio Leite. “Class, Ethnicity, and Color in the Making of Brazilian Football.” Pp.
72-84 in The Sport and Society Reader.
Thursday, September 11: Sport and Commercialization
*Silk, Michael, and David L. Andrews. “Beyond a Boundary? Sport, Transnational Advertising,
and the Reimagining of National Culture.” Pp. 371-379 in The Sport and Society Reader.
Tuesday, September 16: The Rise of Youth Sport
*Friedman, Hilary Levey. “When Did Competitive Sports Take Over American Childhood?”
*Messner, Michael A. “Barbie Girls versus Sea Monsters: Children Constructing Gender.” Pp.
182-193 in The Sport and Society Reader.
Fall 2014
Thursday, September 18: Sport and Social Class
*Bourdieu, Pierre. “Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste.” Pp. 55-63 in The
Sport and Society Reader
*Wacquant, Loïc. “Body and Soul: The Boys who Beat the Street.” Pp. 64-71 in The Sport and
Society Reader.
DUE 9/18: SPORT AUTOBIOGRAPHY (8 am)
Unit Two: Social Inequalities and Sport
Tuesday, September 23: Title IX and Women’s Sport
*Markovits, Andrei S., and David T. Smith. “Sports Culture and Gender Among
Undergraduates.” Pp. 138-150 in The Sport and Society Reader.
Carpenter, Linda Jean, and R. Vivian Acosta. “Title IX in a Nutshell.”
Thursday, September 25: Women’s Sport and Gender Equality
*Cooky, Cheryl, and Nicole M. Lavoi. “Playing But Losing: Women’s Sport After Title IX.”
Contexts
*Grindstaff, Laura, and Emily West. “Cheerleading and the Gendered Politics of Sport.” Pp.
164-181 in The Sport and Society Reader.
Tuesday, September 30: Gender and Sport Fandom
*Hartmann, Douglass. “The Sanctity of Sunday Football: Why Men Love Sports.” Pp. 151-156
in The Sport and Society Reader.
*Connell, R.W. “An Iron Man.” Pp. 157-163 in The Sport and Society Reader.
Thursday, October 2: Gender and Sport Fandom
*Neilson, Lisa R. “Go Mama! Branded by Beauty: How Danica Patrick Swooned Her Way into
Sponsorship.” Pp. 175-188 in A Locker Room of Her Own: Celebrity, Sexuality, and Female
Athletes.
Tuesday, October 7: Media and Sport
*Media Coverage and Female Athletes (In-class documentary)
Thursday, October 9: Media and Sport
*Haynes, Richard. “Power Game: Why Sport Matters to Television.” Pp. 66-85 in Power Play:
Sport, the Media, and Popular Culture.
Tuesday, October 14: Race and Sport
*Miller, Patrick B. “The Anatomy of Scientific Racism.” Pp. 97-106 in The Sport and Society
Reader.
Fall 2014
*Gladwell, Malcolm. “The Sports Taboo: Why Blacks are Like Boys and Whites are Like Girls.”
Pp. 107-112 in The Sport and Society Reader.
Thursday, October 16: Race and Sport
*Hartmann, Douglas. “Sport as Contested Terrain.” Pp. 122-129 in The Sport and Society
Reader.
Roberts, Selena. “College Booster Bias in Delaying Minority Hiring.” Pp. 130-131 in The Sport
and Society Reader.
Tuesday, October 21: Race and Sport
*Smith, Earl. “Young African American Athletes.” Pp. 73-94 in Race, Sport, and the American
Dream.
DUE 10/21: RESEARCH REPORT PROPOSAL (8 am)
Thursday, October 23: NO CLASS, FALL BREAK
Unit Three: Contemporary Social Issues in Sport
Tuesday, October 28: Intercollegiate Sports
*Simon, Robert L. “Sports on Campus: Intercollegiate Sports and Their Critics.” Pp. 139-164 in
Fair Play: The Ethics of Sport.
Thursday, October 30: Should College Athletes be Paid?
*Branch, Taylor. “The Shame of College Sports.”
AND
Last Name A-N: Daugherty, Paul. “College Athletes Already Have Advantages and Shouldn’t be
Paid.”
Last Name O-Z: Davis, Seth. “Should College Athletes be Paid? Why, They Already Are.”
Tuesday, November 4: Violence, Sport, and the Body
*Messner, Michael A. “Playing Center: The Triad of Violence in Men’s Sports.” Pp. 203-213 in
The Sport and Society Reader.
*Walton, Theresa. “The Sprewell/Carlesimo Episode: Unacceptable Violence or Unacceptable
Victim?” Pp. 235-243 in The Sport and Society Reader
Thursday, November 6: Work Day
In-Class Research Report Workshop
Tuesday, November 11: Sexuality and Sport
*Blinde, Elaine M., and Diane E. Taub. “Women Athletes as Falsely Accused Deviants:
Managing the Lesbian Stigma.” Pp. 258-265 in The Sport and Society Reader.
Fall 2014
*Dreier, Peter. “Is Baseball Ready for a Gay Jackie Robinson?” Pp. 282-284 in The Sport and
Society Reader.
Thursday, November 13: Sport and Place
*Borer, Michael Ian. “Believe in Boston: Red Sox Nation and the Cultural Power of Place.” Pp.
179-196 in Believing in Boston: Baseball and America’s Most Beloved Ballpark.
Tuesday, November 18: The Politics of Stadium Construction
*Easterbrooke, Gregg. “How the NFL Fleeces Taxpayers.”
*Delaney and Eckstein. “Strategies for Building Private Stadiums with Public Dollars.” Pp. 2142 in Public Dollars, Private Stadiums: The Battle Over Building Sports.
Thursday, November 20: Cheating and Sport
* Mewett, Peter G. “Discourses of Deception: Cheating in Professional Running.” Pp. 214-225
in The Sport and Society Reader.
*Sokolove, Michael. “In Pursuit of Doped Excellence: The Lab Animal.” Pp. 226-234 in The
Sport and Society Reader.
Nov 24-28-: NO CLASS, THANKSGIVING
Tuesday, December 2
In-Class Presentations
Wednesday, December 10: Final Exam Period, 8-11 am
In-Class Presentations
FINAL RESEARCH REPORT DUE 12/10 (8 am)