HHK 343 - Contemporary Issues in Sport

The purpose of this course is to develop awareness and critical understanding of issues occurring in sport and exercise by examining how these issues are shaped by social context, people, and behaviors. The term sociological imagination as coined by American sociologist C. Wright Mills (1959) and related theoretical concepts have been used to guide inquiry into contemporary issues in sports and exercise (Molnar & Kelly, 2013) by examining social or cultural norms within a sporting or exercise context, competing motives of the players, and the social context in which the sport or exercise occurs. With the framework of sociological imagination, students will be introduced to social theories and will learn to use those theories to develop the ability to more critically analyze and understand the social and cultural constructions of sport or exercise in the U.S. In essence, students will learn skills and processes to become more aware and knowledgeable consumers of sport and exercise. Spring