FSS:GLCb2023 Sport and Society - Course Information

GLCb2023 Sport and Society

Extent and Intensity

2/0/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
In-person direct teaching

Teacher(s)

doc. PhDr. Ing. Radim Marada, Ph.D. (lecturer)

Guaranteed by

doc. PhDr. Ing. Radim Marada, Ph.D.
Department of Sociology – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Ing. Soňa Enenkelová
Supplier department: Department of Sociology – Faculty of Social Studies

Prerequisites

No prerequisites required

Course Enrolment Limitations

The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 35 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/35, only registered: 0/35, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/35

fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with

there are 8 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display

Course objectives

The course introduces students to various social and cultural dimensions of sport, especially (but not only) as they are studied in contemporary sociology. We will discuss ethical foundations and organizational forms of sporting activities, sport’s aesthetic charm and affective vibrations, its ritual underpinnings and carnivalesque ramifications, material and technological superstructure, political significance and impact, regulatory frames as well as erotic appeal, the permeation of sport by science and data analysis, sport megaevents, the ascent of eSports in recent years, the role of sport in identity formation and how sport triggers, (re-)produces or blurs class, gender or racial divisions. While the discussion will mostly focus on contemporary sporting practices, historical perspective will be regularly employed in teacher’s presentations. At the same time, some hot issues of the day – like the impact of Covid on sport, the controversy around the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup, transgender athletes, the taking-the-knee campaign in football(s), global ownership of football clubs and the financial fair play scheme – will find their place in the discussion. We will be covering sport in general, paying attention to various disciplines, yet empirical examples taken from association football may prevail in teacher’s presentations.

Learning outcomes

Students will be able to account of various social, cultural, political, economic, legal, technological etc. dimensions of modern sport.

Syllabus

• WEEK 1 Introduction to the course • Organizational matters • The logic and aims of the course & presentation of the topics to be discussed • Ideas on what further topics (not included in the syllabus) to discuss WEEK 2 The Great Sport Myth: from pastime fun to social empowerment On why we believe sport is inherently good & who benefits from our belief (and who loses out) Hot issue #1 On taking-the-knee and dissenting from it: role modelling, monopolizations of morality, or the power of gesture vs. the power of protocol Hot issue #2 What has the Pandemic told us about sport and sporting activities (a short note) Reading: Coakley, Jay. 2015. “Assessing the sociology of sport: On cultural sensibilities and the great sport myth” In: International Review for the Sociology of Sport, Vol. 50(4-5), 402-406 Optional: Maussier, Barbara. 2017. “The New Ethical Dimension of Sports Events: a Reflection on the Evolution from the Ancient Greek Olympic Sports Festival to Postmodern Sports Events” In: Cultura, Ciencia y Deporte, Vol. 12, No. 34, pp. 15-25. Statement questions: How would you promote the importance of sport in general and your favorite sport discipline in particular? What is distinctly unique about sport? That is, what does sport have or provide which other activities don’t? What do you think the Pandemic has told us about (or what was its impact on) sport and sporting activities? Is it legitimate to ban Russian athletes and teams from international competitions? WEEK 3 Ritual – Carnival – Competition: the cultural substances of sport On sport as a finite province of meaning – or how sport invokes order and absorbs disorder Hot issue #3 Grabbing FIFA by the throat: the political, social and cultural ramifications of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar Reading: Cottingham, Marci D. 2012. “Interaction Ritual Theory and Sports Fans: Emotion, Symbols, and Solidarity”. In: Sociology of Sport Journal, 2012, 29, 168 -185 Optional: Giulianotti, Richard. 2011. “Sport Mega Events, Urban Football Carnivals and Securitised Commodification: The Case of the English Premier League”. In: Urban Studies, 48(15), 3293–3310. Statement questions: Are there any permissible moral or behavioral transgressions in sport fandom? Which ones? Is there something like legitimate violence in collective sports such as football (soccer) or ice hockey? WEEK 4 Miklós Hadas guest lecture (attendance compulsory) Sporting habitus: the emergence of modern sports in the 19th century On how and why the hunting man became football playing man Reading: Hadas, Miklós. 2009. “The rationalisation of the body: physical education in Hungary in the nineteenth century”. In: History of Education: Journal of the History of Education Society, 38:1, pp. 61-77. Optional: Miklós Hadas: “Gymnastic Exercises, or ‘Work wrapped in the gown of youthful joy’: Masculinities and the Civilizing Process in 19th Century Hungary” (copy in the Study Materials folder) Statement questions: Read the assigned text and identify one or more points (arguments, information) that are most interesting, surprising or puzzling to you. WEEK 5 Institutionalization of modern sport On sport as an infinite province of meaning: contestations and (re)formations of sport’s boundaries Hot issue #4 Sportification of gaming: the new big thing of eSports Reading: Guttmann, Allen. 1978. “From Ritual to Record”. In: Guttmann, Allen. 1978. From Ritual to Record: The Nature of Modern Sports. New York: Columbia University Press, pp. 15-55. Optional: Veblen: “Modern Survivals of Prowess” (from: The Theory of Leisure Class, chapter 10) Pope, S. W. 1996. “Amateurism and American Sports Culture: The Invention of an Athletic Tradition in the United States, 1870-1900”. In: The International Journal of the History of Sport, Vol.13, No.3 (Dec. 1996), pp.290-309. Statement question: What must an activity contain in order to be considered as sport? Is the game of chess a sport discipline? If yes/no, then why? What about darts or competitive wood chopping? WEEK 6 Sport and the production of excitement: playing, gaming, gambling On extremity in sport & the pleasures of living on the edge – or what’s the relation between the character of a discipline and class (gender, race, etc.) divisions Hot issue #5 Mobilization of adrenaline: technologies of saturation of the somatic Self Readings: Fletcher, Robert. 2008. “Living on the Edge: The Appeal of Risk Sports for the Professional Middle Class” In: Sociology of Sport Journal, Vol. 25, 310-330. Optional: Jean-Charles Lebeau and Ryan Sides. 2015. “Beyond the mainstream versus extreme dichotomy: a cyclical perspective on extreme sports” In: Sport in Society, Vol. 18, No. 6, pp. 627–635. Statement question: What exactly makes your favorite sport thrilling? What are the practices or tools to get the participants buzzing? WEEK 7 Reading week – no class Students submit ideas of their final paper topics on or before March 31, 2023 WEEK 8 The Birth of a Discipline: cultural and technological domestication of playfulness On how sport disciplines arise, how they acquire their identity, and why they proliferate Hot issue #6 On the analogy between cryptocurrency and the European Super League project (a short note) Discussion of the proposed topics for final papers Readings: Frédéric Savre, Jean Saint-Martin & Thierry Terret. 2010. “From Marin County's Seventies Clunker to the Durango World Championship 1990: A History of Mountain Biking in the USA” In: The International Journal of the History of Sport, 27:11, 1942- 1967 Optional: Rosen, Paul. 1996. “The Social Construction of Mountain Bikes: Technology and Postmodernity in the Cycle Industry” In: Social Studies of Science, Vol. 23, No. 3, 479-513 (optional) Statement question: Where would you look for the origin of your favorite sport discipline (other than football)? What do you think were the material and/or other conditions allowing it to become a distinct sport discipline? WEEK 9 What makes the play a fair affair On playing by the rules and playing with the rules: how regulations against cheaters produce new structures of cheating opportunities Hot issue #7 The logic & enigma of doping: the bio-chemical normalization of human body (and gender) Hot issue #8 Manchester Cityscapes & “More-than-we-say” Barcelona FC: financial regulations and political economy of football (how much was Neymar, after all?) Readings: Renson, Roland. 2009. “Fair Play: Its Origins and Meanings in Sport and Society” In: Kinesiology, Vol. 41, No. 1, 5-18. Optional: Vamplew, Wray. 2007. "Playing with the Rules: Influences on the Development of Regulation in Sport" In: The International Journal of the History of Sport, Vol. 24, No. 7, July 2007, 843 – 871. Statement question: What kinds of regulations in your favorite sport have been (recently) implemented to deliver conditions of a fair competition? What are the opportunities for cheating? WEEK 10 Science, technology and material culture in sports On how technology and materiality permeate sport disciplines, dictate styles, subvert bodies, affect rules and regulations Hot issue #6 Big data and scientification of sport Reading: Hardy, Loy, Boot. 2009. “The Material Culture of Sport: Toward a Typology” In: Journal of Sport History, Vol. 36, No. 1, 129-152 Optional: Palvarini, P. & Tosi, S. 2013. “Globalisation, stadiums and the consumerist city: The case of the new Juventus stadium in Turin” In: European Journal for Sport and Society, 10 (2), 161-180. Statement question: Can you think about a concrete exceptional venue for your favorite sport, a legendary piece of equipment or a memorable action (a performance, a goal, a sequence of play, etc.) that people still like to talk about? What makes it exceptional/memorable? WEEK 11 The aesthetic and the erotic in sport On the sublime and the spectacular: the functional beauty of things, bodies and figurations in sport & our affection to them (and the anxieties they invoke) Reading: McClelland, John. 2002. “Eros and Sport: A Humanist’s Perspective”. In: Journal of Sport History, Fall 2002, Vol. 29, No. 3, pp. 395–406. Optional: Kreft, Lev. 2015. “Aesthetic Imagination in Football”. In: Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, Vol. 9. No. 2, pp. 124-139. Statement questions: If you are asked about the aesthetic dimension and the erotic charge in sport, which disciplines would you choose and why? Pick at least one for each (the aesthetic and the erotic) other than modern gymnastics and female beach volleyball. When it comes to the latter, is there any difference between erotic charge and sexualization of female bodies? WEEK 12 Soccer – Calcio – Kaduregel: globalization, (post-)colonial dilemma and cultural appropriation in sport On why football is everywhere and everyone wants to own it Reading: Eduardo P. Archetti. 1999. “Masculine National Virtues and Moralities in Football” In: Archetti, Eduardo P. 1999. Masculinities: Football, Polo and the Tango in Argentina. New York: Berg, (161-179). Optional: Wheaton, Belinda. 2015. “Assessing the sociology of sport: On action sport and the politics of identity”. In: International Review for the Sociology of Sport, Vol. 50(4-5), 634-639. Falcous, Mark & Newman, Joshua I. 2016. “Sporting mythscapes, neoliberal histories, and postcolonial amnesia in Aotearoa/New Zealand”. In: International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 2016, Vol. 51(1) 61–77. Finding the Roots of Sport: Origins, Rites, Identities (educational kit) Statement questions: Can you think of sport discipline(s) that in your judgement have been adopted by colonialist environments from colonized people? What about sport symbols (names and emblems of clubs etc.)? Can these practices be ever understood as showing respect to the colonized people, as the defenders of such practices claim? Or are they plainly disrespecting and offensive? Why does it matter at all? WEEK 13 • What needs to be discussed but we did not get to it during the semester (topics determined by students) • Recapitulation, evaluation of the course • Final paper final instructions

Literature

required literature
• GUTTMANN, Allen. From ritual to record : the nature of modern sports. Updated with a new afterword. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004, x, 210. ISBN 9780231133418. info
• ARCHETTI, Eduardo P. Masculinities : football, polo and the tango in Argentina. Oxford: Berg, 1999, xviii, 212. ISBN 1859732666. info

not specified
• Thematically relevant articles from academic journals, e.g., International Review for the Sociology of Sport, Journal of Sport History, Sport in Society etc.

Teaching methods

Lectures Class discussions Students prepare their answers to statement questions attached to each topic Independent elaboration of a final paper Revisions of final papers upon request and according to instructions bz the teacher

Assessment methods

Final essay are evaluated by their compliance with the instructions Formalities: Length: 1000-1500 words Format: word (papers submitted in any other format, like pdf or text editor, won’t be accepted for evaluation) Front page: title of the paper, name of the author, course identification Deadlines for submitting the essay First version: May 28, 2023 (evaluated on or before June 4, 2023) Revised version (if necessary): June 18, 2023 (evaluated on or before June 23, 2023) Motto: We write texts that we would like to read, but nobody else writes them for us. And we, as writers, should treat ourselves as readers with respect. We track the interesting – that what is of interest (in our best judgement). For in most instances, the interesting is also the important. General style: We write our story extracting and assembling it from thematically relevant academic literature. We exploit the hard work of others, the work of those who have had the resources, time and expertise to do the research on the subject of our interest – the resources, time and expertise we don’t have while writing a seminar paper. Our story is grounded in the available academic literature, but it cannot be a report on that literature. That is, our essay is not composed of a number of sections, each presenting separately what each of the selected texts has to say about the issue we cover. That is a different genre, and it is not a proper exploitation of the sources. Example: You should not start a new paragraph brining in another dimension of the covered problem this way: “In opposition to Z’s argument that I have just presented, a newer article by XY looks at the problem from a different angle”. Instead, the formulation should go somehow like this: “The matter is more complex, however. It also involves the question of (…). This question is tackled by XY, for example, when they point out that [quotation from XY].” You must use direct quotations from the chosen sources (academic literature). The quotations must compose at least 10% but no more than 20% of your text (without references). You have to quote from each of the selected texts, and the quotations must make good sense in the context of your story. Remember, this is not optional, it is strictly required. Using direct quotations makes us think along with experts who know much more about the stuff we write about than we do. It keeps our thinking disciplined, but it also can be a source of inspiration. Strictly follow the ASA style of referencing the sources, throughout your main text as well as in the list of literature. Tip: Re-check the thematically relevant literature and select 4-6 texts that all share some common theme corresponding to your interest. Then study the selected texts and find in them formulations (statements, arguments) that best capture (illustrate, document, support) the problem you are following. The total length of these formulations (quotations) should be between 100-300 words. Find a sequence of these quotations so that it provides a logical spine for (your) story – and organize your own text around that spine. Avoid picking definitions, abstract definitional statements. They are useless for your purpose. No normal reader is interested in definitions, they want a story, drama. Choose “iconic” – i.e., illustrative, revealing, sharp, imaginative – sentences or passages. Assembling the text 1. As the golden rule goes: “When you write a story, start as close to the end as possible.” (Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.) Avoid too general introduction into the problematics of your interest, like an information on the authors you quote, explaining why the problem you cover is important (its importance must become clear from how you present it throughout the text) or why the problem is vastly complex (everyone is), etc. Go straight to the core of the matter. That is, introduce the reader straight to the core of the problem to make and keep them interested in what follows. Never start your paper by saying “In my essay, I will …”. Examples of a good start: “The body is a text of culture and a locus of social control, says Susan Bordo (1989), refereeing to athletes’ bodies as renderings of social rules, including rules on the construction of gender.” (when writing on body and gender in sport) “Why can the Brits call football a beautiful game?” (when writing about an aesthetic dimension in football) “The involvement of transgender athletes in professional sport brings about a clash between two ethical principles: the principle of inclusion and nondiscrimination on the one hand, and the principle of fair play on the other.” 2. Don’t organize your paper into chapters or even sub-chapters. It is way too short to do it to a good effect. Let the text flow and unfold logically as a single story (that’s perfectly doable in a text 1000-1500 word long). 3. No ensuing wisdoms, no “lessons learned” at the end! Strictly avoid general conclusions or even a summary of your “findings”. Again, the paper is way too short for this. Avoid also a self-defending concluding remarks on the issue to be “much more complex” than the short format allowed you to present – or any such trope. The first sentence may not be easy, but nothing is easier than the last one. Simply, end of story. Concluding moral appeal or “wisdom” (which is a banality more often than not) does not help a bad paper a bit. And a good one does not need it. 4. Avoid general categorical statements and ethical appeals altogether. It won’t make your text (argument) more convincing. To the contrary, it will rather lead you to different sorts of aporia and dead ends. Keep your text measured, humble, matter-of-factual, down to earth. Good, fitting, non-banal metaphors or analogies are welcome, though – also because they are quite difficult to arrive at. 5. Avoid too abstract, enigmatic concepts or conceptual constructions, if they are alien to you. Try to stay at home, with what you understand and what makes sense to you (which should not prevent you learning something conceptually new at the same time). 6. Work carefully with general abstractions like “society”, “culture”, “the public”, “the media”, “authorities”, “our times”, etc. Always look for the more concrete agent that acts or is acted upon. 7. A shorter sentence is always better than a long one. Often a long (4-6 lines) sentence can be quite easily dissected in two or three, without losing sense. 8. Write impersonally! Avoid formulations like “in my view (opinion, best judgement) …”, “I think that …”, etc. You don’t write a feuilleton; you write an analytical text. 9. Switch on the spell-check function on your computer. Don’t submit texts with misspelled words etc.

Language of instruction

English

Teacher's information

https://is.muni.cz/auth/ucitel/?fakulta=1423;obdobi=8763;predmet=1499621;kod=GLCb2023
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