Module SPRT1271: SPORT, CULTURE AND SOCIETY

Department: Sport and Exercise Sciences

SPRT1271: SPORT, CULTURE AND SOCIETY

Prerequisites

• None.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• Provides an introduction to social issues and sociological enquiry that forms the basis for subsequent modules at Level 2 (Sport and Social Problems) and Level 3 (Media, Sport and Society).
• On completion of this module, students will have acquired a basic knowledge and understanding of the place and significance of sport in society; how sport can impact upon the lives of people in contemporary society; and how social processes influence the structure and organisation of sport.
• Students will be introduced to, and should gain an appreciation of, the distinctive sociological approaches to sport through a consideration of the significance and prevalence of sport in contemporary society.

Content

• This module will introduce you to the sociological study of sport through a consideration of the significance and prevalence of sport in contemporary society and an examination of a range of issues that concern sport in society. The following areas will be investigated:
• The role, meaning and function of sport in society.
• Political interest and involvement in sport.
• The relationship between the media, sponsorship/commercialisation and sport.
• Issues concerning the stratification of sport in society with regard to socio-economic status, gender, race and ethnicity, and disability.
• Contemporary issues and problems in sport.
• The distinctiveness of the sociological approach to sport.
• An introduction to sociolgical theory and key concepts and their application to sport.

Learning Outcomes

• Discuss the role, meaning and function of sport in society and examine why sport matters.
• Discuss some of the contemporary issues that impact upon the participation, performance and administration of sport in society.
• Explain how participation in sport can enable and constrain the everyday lives of people in contemporary society.
• Comprehend the ways in which people experience sport at both elite and grass-root levels.
• Identify the basic tenets of sociological theory and key sociological concepts and their applicability to sport.
• Explain the social relations of sport from a sociological perspective.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• The lecture input will establish the theoretical underpinnings, approaches, perspectives and research regarding the significance of sport in contemporary society.
• Students will expand their enquiry into the role and significance of sport in society through smaller seminar groups, which will facilitate discussion-based work, presentations and debates.
• These discursive modes, including independent reading, will be assessed informally during each element of the mode.
• The formative and summative modes of assessment are academic written pieces of work that will be used to assess the ability of students to research and report on specific aspects addressed within the module.
• The summative unseen examination will require students to review all work undertaken in the module and demonstrate an ability to respond to specific questions/issues that have been raised within the module.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Written assignment (1500 words).

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University