SSCI 2720U – Sports and Society

Professional sports leagues (e.g., National Football League, English Premier League) and international sporting events (e.g., Olympics, World Cup) are multi-billion dollar ventures that generate intense interest in society. Given their popularity and prominence, organized sports often present an arena in which larger societal issues are played out. This course discusses the broad contemporary and historical issues experienced within amateur and professional sports including discrimination and equality (e.g., race, gender, poverty), violence within sport, power and politics of sport (e.g., the role international sporting bodies such as FIFA and the IOC), and drug use and abuse within sport (e.g., attitudes toward performance enhancing substances). The course includes both theoretical arguments relating to the aforementioned issues and real-world examples to serve illustrative case studies.
Credit hours: 3
Lecture hours: 3