I found the idea of an epiphany in sports particularly interesting because I have never truly thought of any sport event in that light before. Typically speaking, an epiphany is a turning point or a major realization in one's life; I don't know if most people would try to envision such an event from the sporting world or their own sports experiences. I now have had time to reflect on that premise, and see that sports really can be seen in this way because sports do hold a major presence in society and in peoples' lives. Humans grow up playing sports, watching sports, and generally hearing about and watching sports. With something so prevalent in our lives, it is actually quite easy to see how people could have an epiphany-type event in relation to sports. These articles helped me to see that, and to understand the magnitude of those types of occurrences.
Monday, September 8, 2014
September 9, 2014 - Joey Durant
The two readings from this week emphasized the human aspects of sport, the sociological effects of major events, and also the effect that human nature can have on sport. Denzin, the main focus of the article "Imagining Sociological Narrative" by Denison and Rinehart, is explained to have had a profound impact on the authors by opening their minds to the question, "…why is social science largely stuck in the scientific tradition of Positivism?" (2000, pg. 1). This question implies that at the time of being asked, social sciences had not advances into the realm of quantitative research and had ignored the interpretive value of research. The second article, written by Denzin in 1989 titled "The Interpretive Point of View," explained the idea of an "epiphany." Epiphanies, according to Denzin, are " interactional moments that leave marks on
people's lives, ... have the potential for
creating transformational experiences for the person."(1989 pg. 15). Denzin, along with his two students, both seem to push the idea that sport can change an individual psychologically depending on the event and how a person views the event in respect to their lives.
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Joey,
ReplyDeleteI also did not really think of an epiphany including events/occurrences involving sport. Similar to you, the more I think about it the more it makes perfect sense. I feel as if our society is not only heavily involved in sports, but driven by them. Sports fuel much more than an athlete’s passion, and act as a form of exercise. While participating in sports, especially team sports, we are able to develop and build off of certain characteristics.
Certain epiphanies can cause an individual to gain better qualities such as: leadership, punctuality, and determination. These can also be driven from the boost in confidence depending on the epiphany, and how an individual reacts to it. In my opinion, sports can either bring out the best in an individual or the worst depending on the situation, and how an individual reacts and reflects plays a major role. In a way there is almost an “overflow” effect from sports into the real world depending on how the socialization of sport impacts an individual as a person.
Casey
Joey,
ReplyDeleteLike you, I have not thought about the correlation between epiphanies and sports. I started to make more connections after Tuesday’s class. I’m sure you can think of a sporting event that you either participated in or watched that you can replay in your mind. Personally, I can think of more than 5 events that I can watch play by play in mind. I agree with you that sports hold a major place in today’s society. We had a good brief talk about epiphanies after last class. I think the in class reading of “I am the Frog” further opened our eyes on sport epiphanies. We were both amazed as to how much attention and detail was portrayed. I look forward to having more discussion with you that might lead to further learning.
Good Job.
David Sims
Joey,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading both the articles and your response I found myself having very similar thought patterns in that I had never connected an epiphany to sports. Until class on Thursday when we discussed epiphanies I never really thought one had occurred in my life until I began to consider my background in sports.
At the end of the first paragraph you tie together what you think Denzin and his two students are trying to teach us and after reflecting back on a scenario in my life I couldn’t agree more. Reflecting on the scenario now provides that sense of epiphany Denzin discusses and how just viewing it a little differently I was able to find the impact it had on my life.
I think the epiphany I had through sports was a positive one and one that shaped who I am today. I also believe that not all epiphanies are life altering but most are slight and go unnoticed until we decided to examine them in a different way.
Loved your review!
Ashley