COURSE STRUCTURE
Module 2: Bodies and Identities
In Module 2 we turn to the examination of individual's experience of the contemporary sporting environment. This module outlines how individual sporting bodies, identities, and experiences are inextricably related to socially defined gender, sex, class, and race/ethnic based differences. In more specific terms, the module outlines the gendered nature of the contemporary sport experience, through an exposition of the relationship between sport, gender, and the body, as manifest in the way traditional understandings of both masculinity (Topic A) and femininity (Topic B) are both expressed, and sometimes challenged, through sporting activity. This is followed by an examination of the influence that socioeconomic status has upon individual's sporting experience, and indeed physical well-being (Topic C). Leading on from this topic, and demonstrating the clear relationship between social class and race/ethnic divisions, is an examination of the linkages between sport and the American racial/ethnic formation. This focuses on the role played by socially and historically grounded understandings and effects of race and racial difference, in establishing widely varying patterns of sporting participation and achievement between different ethnic groups (Topic D).
