Sports, Media Amer Culture

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

In this course, we will think critically about the role that sports play in reinforcing and sometimes challenging social and cultural norms, we'll examine the intricate relationship between sport and the media and explore the nexus of sports and issues relating to race, gender, sexuality, globalization, and national identity. We'll seek to answer key questions such as: Are sports “more than a game”? Does sport help shape our view of American Culture? What does it mean to be a sports hero? How has new media and technological developments changed how we watch and consume sport, and the world beyond it? This course will draw on scholarly work in order to examine the important cultural, social and political role that sports play in contemporary society. Students will study and learn to apply several analytical approaches of communication and culture to sports in order to critically assess the role that sports play in both popular culture and the media.