Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Introduction to Sport & Society

By Dr. Spencer

Welcome to the Class Blog for the 1:00-2:15 TR class in HMSL 6350 (Sport & Society). This blog will be the site where you can post blog entries and/or write comments in response to others' blog entries. Entries will be due on a weekly basis and should be submitted by no later than 1:00 p.m. Tuesday of each week. If you plan to do Blog entries for this class, your first entry should be an Introduction. If you plan to do Journal entries, you will need to submit each entry by no later than 1:00 p.m. Tuesday of each week. All comments should be submitted by no later than 1:00 p.m. Thursday of each week.

In the Introduction, you should elaborate on what you wrote on your Personal Information Form on the first day of class. More specifically, you could include the following information:

Your name and where you are from.

  1. In what sports have you participated? What as the highest level at which you participated?
  2. What is your concept of society? Why is it important to study the relationship between sport and society?
  3. What are you most passionate about when it comes to sport? How does your passion for sports relate to your graduate studies?
  4. Give an example of a sporting event or figure (or other culturally significant event or figure) that impacted you personally. Briefly describe what happened and why it (or they) influenced you significantly (e.g., it could be something that you personally participated in or witnessed, such as the 1999 Women’s Soccer World Cup or the Miracle on Ice)? E.g., I called lines for the Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs "Battle of the Sexes" [You could post a link to show an example if available]
  5. What are your goals, expectations, and/or concerns about taking this course?
The Introduction will be worth a maximum of 10 points and will be graded on the basis of the following criteria:
  • Content and clarity: have you clearly responded to the questions above? Did your sentences flow?
  • Grammar: do verb tenses agree? Do subject and verb agree?
  • Spelling: have you misspelled words (e.g., did you confuse the spellings of 'there' and 'their,' words that might not be caught by spell check)?
  • Length: Each main entry (such as the Introduction) should be approximately 250 words (about a page when it is handwritten). It helps to write out your entry in a word document so you can check grammar and spelling as well as the word count for your entry.
Further details about the Introduction and other Blog and Journal entries will be posted under "Assignments" on Canvas. The link to this blog is available under "Pages."

Comments: After everyone has posted their Introductions on the Blog and submitted their Journal entries during the first week, you will have the option of doing Blog or Journal entries OR comments. We will go over the procedure for posting comments in class and I will provide guidelines in a separate entry on the blog. In order to post a comment in response to someone's main entry, you will need to login with your google account or gmail. If your name does not appear in the userid, you should include your name at the top of your entry. If you have any questions about posting or the requirements for the Blog or Journal entries, you may contact me at nspencr@bgsu.edu 

1 comment:

  1. Joey Durant – Columbia Station, OH

    1. In what sports have you participated? What as the highest level at which you participated?
    a. Soccer, Football, Basketball, Wrestling, Track. Competed in most of them through out high school, football and wrestling only until 8th grade.
    2. What is your concept of society? Why is it important to study the relationship between sport and society?
    a. Society is the interactive relationship of all people, their individual beliefs, and their actions. Sport can affect society by bringing together people for a common cause, and also can impact a community financially.
    3. What are you most passionate about when it comes to sport? How does your passion for sports relate to your graduate studies?
    a. I am very passionate about tying the sporting world to the community. I believe that a professional sport organization can create a major difference in a city by providing to local charities and helping smaller businesses grow. Supporting local schools and being involved in the general community should be a major focus of large sport organizations.
    4. Give an example of a sporting event or figure (or other culturally significant event or figure) that impacted you personally. Briefly describe what happened and why it (or they) influenced you significantly (e.g., it could be something that you personally participated in or witnessed.
    a. Being from the Cleveland area, a major event was the LeBron Decision/Return. This event really showed the impact a major sport figure can have on an area, both financially and emotionally. Fans reacted so vocally to both events, and when LeBron was gone the downtown businesses that were supported by the success and relevance of the Cavaliers took a major loss.
    5. What are your goals, expectations, and/or concerns about taking this course?
    a. I expect to gain a better understanding of the societal impact of sport organizations, major sporting events, and sports figures. Also, I hope to learn about major events in sports history that I may have not realized were as impactful to international society.

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