PHE 236 - The Role of Sport in Society

4 credits (Spring)

The study of sport can be accomplished in many ways. At Grinnell College we approach the task from a social studies method. The faculty members who teach the sport courses are members of the physical education department, a part of the College’s social sciences division. The goal of the course is to offer students a theoretical base to study sport from a sociological standpoint and then to provide opportunity for students to engage in that study through various topics and exercises. At any given iteration of this course, there may be two or three professors teaching it and taking the students down different paths, depending on the background and interest areas of the faculty members. Topics of current focus are sport sociology theory and research, sport and the media, sports and athletic experience through the lens of gender, sex, and sexuality, the changing face of sport in 1960s America (race and class), the role of international sport and the Olympics, competition vs. cooperation.

Prerequisite: PHE 100 or second-semester standing.
Instructor: Hamilton, Koester