COURSE STRUCTURE
Module 3 Topic C:
Sporting Communities
This topic focuses on the relationship between sport and the manifestations and experience of community. The concepts of community and communitas are introduced, and their relationship to representative sport culture is outlined. Introduces the concept of the organic sport community, as constituted through small town, prolonged and extensive face-to-face social interactions, through which individuals derive a sense of collective affinity and belonging. Develops the concept of the extended/metropolitan community, as constituted through largely imagined collective affinities through which individuals garner a symbolic sense of collective and communal belonging.
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1. LECTURE
For six slides per page format (for printing) click : HERE
For one slide per page format (for viewing on computer) click: HERE
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2. REQUIRED READINGS
It is expected that you will complete these readings following Wednesday lectures and in preparation for discussion section tasks/assignments.
In addition, within the Module 3 exam, you should expect to be asked questions on the following readings:
Reading I: Foley, D.E. (1990). The great American footbal ritual: Reproducing race, class, and gender inequality. Sociology of Sport Journal, 7(2), 111-135.
Reading II: Webb, S. (no date). My town: Gyms and the making of small-town America. WM Online (Wabash College, IN).
Reading III: Macur, J., & Schweber, N. (2012, December 16). Rape case unfolds on web and splits city. The New York Times.
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3. VIDEO CLIPS
Some of these video clips will be viewed during lecture. However, you are expected to view those not shown in lecture in preparation for both the discussion section and exam related to this topic:
Video Clip 3: The place and importance of high school football within the community of Phillipsburg, NJ.
Video Clip 8: “Together We Play” 2013 promotion for the Baltimore Orioles, making the connection between the team and its fan community.
Video Clip 9: Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings Blake speaking at the start of the parade celebrating victory in the 2013 Super Bowl.
Video Clip 10: NFL Network (2010) feature discussing the importance of the Steelers to the city of Pittsburgh.
Video Clip 11: A slightly dated (2006) ESPN segment discussing the dispersed nature of Pittsburgh’s population and Pittsburgh Steeler fan base.
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4. KEY CONCEPTS
The following key concepts represent the core knowledge related to this topic, and you should ensure that you develop a thorough knowledge and understanding of them in preparation for both the discussion section and exam related to this topic:
Spatial and Cultural Dimensions of Community
Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft
Gesellschaft and Sporting Individuality
Sport as Collective (Communal) Representation
Sport as Metonym for Community
Communitas
Communitas and Representative Sport
Face-to-Face and Extended Communities
Sport and Organic/Local Community
The Sporting Performance of Small Town Community
The Socially Cohesive and Divisive Aspects of Organic Community
The Negative Aspects of Sporting Communitas
Protecting Communities and Persecuting Citizens
Sport and Metropolitan/Extended Community
The Symbolic and Imagined Aspects of Extended Community
Phases in the Evolution of the American Metropolis
Collective/Shared Experience and Sport Success/Failure
Sport Stars as Metropolitan Metonyms
Representative Sport as a Serial Civic Ritual
The Political and Economic Dimensions of Sporting Communitas
Manufacturing Sporting Communitas
Community Conscience and Community Self-Esteem
Sport, Community, and the Illusion of Consensus
Representative Sport, Communitas, and Political Conformity
Diaspora
Diasporic Sporting Communities
Communitas and De-Industrializing/Post-Industrial Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh (Steeler) Diaspora
Sport and the Rememberance of Community
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5. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Following the lecture, and having read the assigned readings and watch relevant video clips, you are encouraged to answer a series of discussion questions related to this topic which can be accessed HERE.
These questions require that you engage and extend the information covered within each theme, in order to generate a better understanding of core concepts, knowledge, and issues.
These questions are intended as preparation for both the discussion section and exam related to this topic.
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6. ESSAY QUESTION #9 (this is an option for the Module 3 essay)
Representative sport teams–both those at the small town and metropolitan levels–have been identified as being the “social glue” (Eckstein & Delaney, 2002), that bind people together to form a real sense of community belonging (or communitas). Based on your experience and/or observations, what are the positive and negative dimensions of the creation and experience of this sporting communitas?
This essay should be a minimum of 1,500 words to answer it comprehensively.
You may find the following academic sources useful in completing this assignment. You do not have to use these sources, they are simply provided for you as an introduction to the literature, and you should use them where appropriate and/or relevant. Also, be warned, these readings do not count towards the THREE additional academic sources you are expected to use within your essays (however, they may direct you toward additional academic sources you could use):
Beissel, A.S., Giardina, M.D., & Newman, J.I. (2013). Men of Steel: Social Class, Masculinity, and Cultural Citizenship in Post-Industrial Pittsburgh. Sport in Society.
Bogdanich, W. (2014, April 16). A star player accused, and a flawed rape investigation. The New York Times.
Clopton, A.W. (2011). Social Capital and College Sport: In Search of the Bridging Potential of Intercollegiate Athletics. Journal of Intercollegiate Sport, 4, 174-189.
Eckstein, R., & Delaney, K. (2002). New sports stadiums, community self-esteem, and community collective conscience. Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 26( 3), 235-247.
Ingham, A. G., & McDonald, M. G. (2003). Sport and community/Communitas. In R. C. Wilcox, D. L. Andrews, R. Pitter & R. L. Irwin (Eds.), Sporting dystopias: The making and meanings of urban sport cultures (pp. 17-34). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
Ingham, A.G., Howell, J.W., & Schilperoort, T.S. (1987). Professional sports and community: A review and exegesis. Exercise and Sport Science Review, 15, 427-465.
McCollester, C. (2005) The Glory and the Gutting: Steeler Nation and the Humiliation of Pittsburgh. Monthly Review, 57(7).
Schimmel, K. S. (2001). Sport matters: Urban regime theory and urban regeneration in the late-capitalist era. In C. Gratton & I. P. Henry (Eds.), Sport in the city: The role of sport in economic and social regeneration (pp. 259-277). London: Routledge.
Smith, J., & Ingham, A.G. (2003). On the waterfront: Retrospectives on the relations between sport and community. Sociology of Sport Journal, 20(4), 252-274.
Swyers, Holly. (2005). Community America: Who Owns Wrigley Field? The International Journal of the History of Sport, 22(6), 1086-1105.
If you choose to complete this essay, and in addition to the sources provided on this page, you need to identify and use (either through paraphrasing or direct quotation) interpretations, insights, or information from a MINIMUM OF THREE appropriate academic sources (in addition to those provided for you on this website).
The deadline for submitting (via the ELMS/Canvas website) your Module 2 Essay is 11.59pm ET on Monday December 14.
Important: The ELMS/Canvas website will not accept essays after the due time and date.
Be sure to review the details on the module essay page. On that page you will find the EVALUATION CRITERIA for module essays (which you are strongly encouraged to read), you will also find links to the appropriate academic sources you should use when researching and writing your module essays, and the style and format guidelines you need to follow when completing module essays. All this information needs to be read, understood, and closely followed for you to succeed in this course.
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