Sports and Society

Whether you are an athlete, a sports fan, or both, you've come to the right course! Sports and Society will focus on the enormous impact sports has played - and continues to play - in society, with an emphasis on American. society. When we step back and look at our communities, cities, and country as a whole we can see sports everywhere! Many children start participating in sports at an early age - how do you think that influences their development? Young people across the country look up to their favorite athletes as role models. Do we think that is a positive thing? We can turn on our TV at almost any time, any day, and we can watch professional sports. How do we think that affects our economy? We will answer these and many other questions throughout the course.

This course is broken down into four thematic units: A Life in Sports, Ethics in Sports, Discrimination in Sports, and The Business of Sports. Students will explore issues of race, gender, economics & politics in relation to sports. Current topics in the news such as violence, safety, performance enhancing drug use, and whether college athletes should be paid, will be discussed and analyzed in a respectful community of learners.

Students will be expected to participate in a variety of activities including weekly discussions, research projects, and group activities. For each of our four units we will complete a “Case Study” project in which we apply the knowledge we have learned throughout the unit to real world examples. We will also have the opportunity to interview members of our communities such as coaches, referees, or physical therapists. We will also all interview a woman who was affected by Title IX legislation.

In this Standard-level course, students are expected to invest approximately 6 hours per week on their course work.

Acknowledgements

This course contains an end-of-course proctored exam. Instructions for students to identify an appropriate adult proctor are included in the course lessons.

Course Objectives

Course Essential Questions:

How do sport activities help prepare students for future careers in sports or other professions?
What role does sportsmanship (ethics) play in professional sports?
How has discrimination impacted amateur and professional sports?
How has "Big Business" impacted professional sports?

Course Learning Objectives:

Students will:

Explain the role sports play, and have played in society.
Place significant events of the sports world into a historical context.
Examine the impact of sports on contemporary culture and our own lives.
Apply current events in the world of sports to the themes of the course and discuss social impact.
Examine the economic element of sports in the United States and around the World.