COMM1918: Analysis of the Intersection of Communication and Sport

Sports are something that illustrate both the best and worst aspects of society. On one hand, sports can provide common ground for those who may share few other similarities. On the other hand, sports serve to construct and reinforce the very social and cultural differences they so effectively transcend. Perhaps more than any other popular cultural arena, sports shape, illustrate, and bolster expectations for how people ought to conduct themselves depending on their racial, class, gender, and sexual identities. Consequently, sporting events, the identity performances these events reinforce, and the way media outlets represent these events and performances can expose some of the most difficult and urgent questions within contemporary cultural theory, popular culture studies, and media studies. Focusing specifically on an American context, this course will combine theoretical and sports-oriented readings from communication scholars to discuss the roles sports play in American culture, their power to influence identity performances, and how sports are represented and consumed—from live events viewed in a stadium to fantasy sports. We will examine how sports, as texts, help us to grapple with the intersections among identity, politics, media, and culture.

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