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Sports, Culture, and Society
Course Requirements

Class participation (10%): The most important work in this course is to be prepared for each class; this means having thoroughly read the material and being prepared to discuss particular points from the reading. Readings are due on the day listed in the class schedule. I will not lecture on the readings, but will discuss the implications and difficult points in the material. Remember, there is no such thing as a dumb question or comment. A good strategy is to mark a part of the reading that you feel is important, unclear, or thought-provoking, and share the passage with the class. Response papers can help you think through readings as well.

Response papers (10%): You will write five (5) response papers throughout the term, no more than two pages and double-spaced. They are individually ungraded (Ö+, Ö, Ö-) and require only timely submission for full credit. Response papers will serve as a diagnostic to help you become more comfortable with writing and becoming more accustomed to “thinking through writing.”

Web/Library Project (10%): This writing assignment of no more than 5 pages will be a brief examination of the structures of a particular sport in a particular country/region or international agency - i.e., FIFA, soccer in Brazil, United States Tennis Association. This assignment will help you develop skills in both the research and writing process. The writing tasks to be emphasized in this project are: summary of other author’s arguments in expository prose; proper citation to avoid plagiarism and as a technique for legitimacy. Skills that you develop here will be re-emphasized in the research paper.

Field Journal Assignment (10%): This project of no more than five-pages single-spaced pages will require your attendance/participation in an athletic event (i.e., Davidson athletic event, USTA-sanctioned tournament, Charlotte Checkers/Knights/Panthers/Sting game, intramural flickerball game). This assignment will introduce you to journal writing techniques. The writing tasks to be emphasized in this project are: writing descriptive text that avoids interpretation; “voice-switching” techniques that make explicit subjectivity/objectivity. You will revise this assignment in the short expository essay.

Short Expository Essay (10%): This project of no more than 5 pages double-spaced will have you follow-up/revise the field journal assignment. This essay will focus on your construction of an argument that is unified throughout the structure of the paper. The writing tasks to be emphasized in this project are: writing a strong thesis statement; structuring a paper through the structure of an argument; addressing other texts/arguments while writing in both the third and first person. The writing from this assignment will be followed up through an outline exercise.

Op-Ed Essay (10%): This project of no more than 5 pages will follow-up/revise the work from the Web/Library Project. The goal of this writing assignment is to write a convincing argument that translates academic-style writing/ideas into a “jargon-free” argument.

Research Paper (total 40%: proposal 5%, outline 5%, 1st draft 10%, student comments 5%, final paper 15%): This assignment will help you master the processual aspect of writing. Writing is a process, a process whose mechanics will be emphasized through your submission of different parts of the research project throughout the term. I will distribute handouts and examples for each step in the process during the semester. In summary, there are five parts that will be graded at each step: proposal (5%), outline (5%), first draft (10%), comments (5%; your comments on a classmate’s first draft), and the final draft (15%). Each part must be completed prior to submission of the next part - as you can see from the weighting, I take outlines and first drafts very seriously. Deadlines for each part are listed in the schedule; I would recommend that students meet with me individually or email me to discuss each part before submission.

Submission of Writing Assignments: All assignments (except for your peer comments) must be submitted to me electronically. You can do this in two ways: as an email attachment; or through the digital drop box in Blackboard. If you are not using Microsoft Word, please save the file as in “rich text format.” At the end of the course, I will prepare a “writing portfolio” for you so that you can see your progress. If you have any questions about how to submit assignments, please see me individually.

While students working with each other outside of class is highly encouraged, all graded, written work must be your own and pledged accordingly. All work is subject to the Davidson College Honor Code as stated in the student handbook. If there are individual accommodations for special needs, please let me know and authorize the Dean of Students to contact me so that we can work something out.

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  Dept. of Anthropology
  Davidson College
  Box 6969
  Davidson, NC 28035 USA

  office: Chambers B12
  tel. 704-894-2035
  fax. 704-894-2842
  erlozada@davidson.edu

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