MEETS WITH ANT 324L (30355)
Classroom: BUR 426
Office Hours: M 12:00pm – 2:30pm and by appointment
Tel: 232-0874; email: jtraphagan@mail.utexas.edu
Sport has become a major feature of life in industrial and post-industrial worlds, as well as in many parts of the developing world. People attend games, follow their teams in newspapers and on television, pray for teams and players to succeed, bet on their teams in office pools or through betting agencies, and talk about sports constantly. In this course we will consider sport in relation to a variety of questions that contextualize sport as it relates to ritual and religious practice. We will consider questions such as: What constitutes a sport? What is the relationship between sport and religion? How are sport-related institutions different from or similar to religious institutions? The course considers these questions and explores the meaning and nature of sport in cross-cultural perspective.
Required Readings:
REQ 0881461555 Gameday and God: Football, Faith, and Politics in the American South, Eric Bain-Selbo
REQ 0865549990 Rounding the Bases: Baseball and Religion in America, Joseph L. Price
REQ 0674024214 Playing with God: Religion and Modern Sport, William J. Baker
REQ 0060731427 HOW SOCCER EXPLAINS THE WORLD, FOER
REQ 159030442X Zen Bow, Zen, Arrow: The Life and Teachings of Awa Kenzo, John Stevens
COURSE ASSIGNMENTS
This course involves completion of three exercise, a final exam, a group presentation, and a group participation grade. The final will be a take-home exam—it will be distributed on the last day of class and be due during the final exam schedule (the date will be determined later in the semester). The course is graded on the basis of total points earned—the maximum total points for the course is 1600.
All written assignments (other than the Wikipedia project) are to be submitted using the SafeAssign function in Blackboard. SafeAssign is a program designed to prevent plagiarism—your submissions will be compared to both a database of published works and the Internet to scan for possible plagiarism. Assignments are valued as follows:
Assignment Total Possible Points Percentage of Grade Due Date
First Exercise 100 6.25 1/26/10
Plagiarism Quiz 100 6.25 1/28/10
Second Exercise 200 12.5 2/9/10
Third Exercise 300 18.75 4/1/10
Group Presentation 300 18.75 Last two weeks
Final exam 400 25 Handed out last day of class
Group Participation 200 12.5 Last day of class
Grade
Total 1600 100
The first exercise will be graded on the basis of whether or not it is completed (full credit for completion by the assigned date and time, no credit for failure to complete—if you turn it in late, you get zero points). Exercises two and three will be graded on the basis of the quality of your work. Assignments for the three exercises are available in the Assignments area on Blackboard (http://courses.utexas.edu). The group participation grade will be given by your peers. Each member will provide feedback (on a provided form) to the instructor and grade the performance of the other members of his/her group and well as his/her own performance.
Ground Rules
1. NO LOBBYING FOR INCREASES IN YOUR GRADES. I will not under any conditions entertain emails or other contacts that involve attempts to lobby for a grade. For example, if you calculate your final grade for the semester and it is a 79.4, do not send me an email (or any other communication) trying to explain why you think you deserve a B-. Your grade is based upon your work, not upon your capacity to convince me that you deserve a particular grade.
2. NO OFFERING PRESENTS TO THE PROFESSOR OR TA. Although I appreciate it when a student has enjoyed the class and wishes to thank me or my TA with a gift, the rules of the university forbid this, and I also do not wish to receive such presents as they represent a conflict of interest. Please do not offer any sort of present, including candy, baked cookies, etc. prior to, during, or following completion of the course.
3. YOU MUST UNDERSTAND WHAT CONSTITUTES ACADEMIC DISHONESTY. You will be required to read and understand the academic dishonesty site provided by Student Judicial Services and you will be tested on it. This is your responsibility. The URL is http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/acadint.php. You will be quizzed on the contents of the site at the end of the second week of class.
STANDARDS AND EXPECTATIONS
This course will employ the new plus and minus grading system. Grades are assigned as follows: 93-100 = A; 90 – 92 = A-, 88 – 89 = B+, 83 – 87 = B, 80 – 82 = B-; 78 – 79 = C+, 73 – 77 = C, 70 – 72 = C-; 68 – 70 = D+, 63 – 67 = D, 60 – 62 = D-; below 60 = F.
There is no scaling of grades. You are expected to attend class regularly and to participate in discussion. There are no extra credit assignments in this class. In general, I do not “bump” up final grades that are borderline. An 89 is a B+, a 79 is a C+, etc. I may make exceptions for students who have been regular contributors to class discussion.
GRADING RUBRIC
Grade / Expectations / Standards
A, A- The grade of A will be only given for exemplary work. The paper, presentation, or exam demonstrates a detailed understanding of the topic and provides a creative and scholarly analysis of the issues. There is a clear thesis and the thesis is well-supported. It is clearly written, without typographical errors, spelling mistakes, or grammatical errors.
B+, B, B- This grade will be given to an exam, presentation, or paper that presents material clearly, shows a basic understanding of the topic and provides a clear analysis of the issues. It is well written, but may have some typographical errors, spelling mistakes, or grammatical problems (there are few, however). There is room for improvement in both presentation and content/structure of the argument.
C+, C, C- This grade will be given to a product that shows some problems in terms of understanding and analyzing the materials. There are problems with writing, some typographical errors, spelling mistakes, or grammatical problems. These are sufficient to hinder understanding of the writing and argument. There are problems in the argument and its supporting data.
D+, D, D- This is given when there are significant problems related to understanding and analysis of materials. The argument is poorly presented or is very weak. There are major problems with writing, presentation style, spelling, grammar, etc.
F This grade is given when there are extremely serious deficiencies related to understanding and analysis of the topic at hand and there are major problems with writing, presentation style, spelling, grammar, etc. The grade F indicates a very serious deficiency in the paper, presentation, or exam.
A/B, B/C, C/D Grades such as A/B indicate a paper, presentation, or exam that is borderline. This means that the paper is between the two grades. An A/B indicates the paper, presentation, exam, etc. is closer to an A; a B/A indicates it is closer to a B.
Policy on Examination and Assignment Schedule: Examinations are to be taken on the assigned date and time and assignments are to be turned in on the assigned date.
- Late assignments will not be accepted in this class; if you turn in an assignment late, I will not read it and you will not receive any credit for the assignment.
- If a due date conflicts with a religious holiday, you must contact the instructor prior to that date to arrange an alternative date to turn-in the assignment. If you have some type of important event, and can prove it, I will be happy to discuss an alternate date and time for you to turn in your assignment—discussing it does not necessarily mean that I will approve the change in due dates. You must give at least five business days prior notice in order to receive an exception to a due date.
- Emergencies will be handled on a case-by-case basis, but will require evidence that proves that you actually encountered a situation that prevented you from turning in your assignment on time. Excuses such as being confused about a due date or failing to wake-up early enough to make it to class and turn in your assignment will not be considered acceptable and will receive a grade of zero.
Appealing Grades
It is important to understand that you earn your grades on assignments and exams and that you earn your final grade for the course—I do not assign grades to your work, rather, based upon the quality of the work you turn in, I arrive at an opinion about the grade which you have earned. The grade you earn is based upon the quality of the work you turn in—there are no other criteria that are used to arrive at a grade.
Should you find that you disagree with me on a grade you receive for an assignment you turn in, you have the option of appealing your grade. If you want to appeal your grade, you must follow the steps below within two days of my returning the graded assignments. If you are not in class to receive the returned assignment, you still have only two days from the date that I return them—you do not have two days from the date that you receive your graded assignment (once I have returned the assignment to the class, the clock is ticking). Follow these directions—if you do not follow the directions, I may not be willing to consider your appeal:
- Provide the original assignment with any comments I have written on it, including the grade given. Keep a copy for yourself.
- Include a written explanation of why you believe that you have earned a grade different from the one I believe you have earned. The written explanation must indicate clearly that you are appealing your grade. I will assume that you will be appealing for a higher grade, but should you want to lower your grade, you are welcome to appeal for that as well. The written explanation should be no more than two paragraphs in length—it must be typed (single space is fine). Part of the success of your appeal will be based upon the quality of your argument as to why the grade I believe you earned is not appropriate. In your argument, you must indicate the exact grade that you believe you earned and explain why you believe this to be the case.
- Keep in mind that the amount of time or effort you put into an assignment is not an adequate reason for changing a grade. If you spend four years working on something and turn in a product of poor quality, you will still receive a low grade. While there is no question that there is a correlation between the amount of work and time you put into an assignment and the grade you earn, as an instructor I cannot take into account how much time/effort you put into the assignment beyond the evident quality of the work you turn in. If you appeal your grade on the basis of the fact that you put a lot of work into the assignment, do not expect to receive a positive response. I may sympathize with you and will be more than happy to discuss how you can improve the quality of your work; but I am unlikely to change your grade.
- Also keep in mind that asking me to “round up” a grade that is close to a higher grade is not considered an acceptable appeal. You may appeal a grade only when you believe that I have made an error in grading or have been unfair in my conclusion about the grade you have earned.
- NOTE: In the case of a simple error in calculating your grade, you do not need to go through the above process. Simply see me after class and point out the error.
- You may be asked to come to my office hours to discuss your appeal. If this happens, come prepared to discuss/debate your appeal and to support your argument.
- Should you wish to discuss an appeal prior to actually submitting it, you are welcome to do so during my next office hours following return of the assignment. To do this you need to make an appointment with me within two days of receiving the assignment; you will then have two days following our meeting to write your appeal.
- If you want to appeal your final grade, you must provide all original graded materials for the semester to the instructor within five days of grades being posted to the CliPS online system. All of the above apply to appeals of final grades; however, I may not be able to meet with you ahead of your appeal.
- Appealing a grade means that you are requesting that I re-evaluate your assignment(s) and the grade I believe you have earned. It is possible, although unlikely, that I will lower your grade if I feel that you have earned a grade which is lower than the one I originally believed to be appropriate.
POLICY ON Q-DROPS
As a rule, I will not sign forms requesting a Q-drop. It is your responsibility to attend class and keep up with the work. If you encounter an emergency during the semester that interferes with your attendance and studies, please call or visit my office to discuss the situation and see if there is an alternative to dropping the course. If you come to my office with a Q-drop form at the end of the semester, having not attended class or completed the work, expect me to refuse to sign the form.
POLICY ON ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
You are expected to adhere to university requirements on academic honesty and integrity. Behaviors such as plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, copying of another student’s work, or cheating on examinations in any form will be viewed as an offense against the academic community and will be dealt with accordingly. If you are uncertain about what constitutes academic integrity (for example, if you are uncertain about what constitutes plagiarism), you can either meet with the instructor or visit the web site of Student Judicial Services (http://www.utexas.edu/depts/dos/sjs/). In the event that a student is found engaging in behavior that violates university policies on academic integrity, as stipulated by the office of Student Judicial Services, the student will receive the grade of F for the course and will be reported to the office of Student Judicial Services, where further disciplinary action may be taken. There will be no exceptions.
UNIVERSITY ELECTRONIC NOTIFICATION POLICY
All students should become familiar with the University's official e-mail student notification policy. It is the student's responsibility to keep the University informed as to changes in his or her e-mail address. Students are expected to check e-mail on a frequent and regular basis in order to stay current with University-related communications, recognizing that certain communications may be time-critical. It is recommended that e-mail be checked daily, but at a minimum, twice per week. The complete text of this policy and instructions for updating your e-mail address are available at http://www.utexas.edu/its/policies/emailnotify.html.
In this course e-mail will be used as a means of communication with students. You will be responsible for checking your e-mail regularly for class work and announcements.
POLICY ON LAPTOPS AND OTHER TECHNOLOGY USAGE IN CLASS
You are encouraged to bring your laptop computer to class to use for taking notes. You also will have opportunities in class to work in groups and having your laptop may facilitate the ease of working together. However, I do not want you to surf the web or otherwise use your computer for things not related to class while I am lecturing or when you are working in your groups. Aside from the fact that it is rude, it is distracting to other students (particularly those behind you during lectures) and also distracts YOU from the lecture or discussion. My lectures may be boring, but I still expect you to pay attention. Don’t think that because I cannot see your screen, I don’t have any idea that you are surfing the web. It is actually quite easy to tell when people are surfing the web simply by looking at their faces. If I find that a student is not adhering to this policy, I will ask the student to meet me during office hours to discuss an appropriate penalty. Expect a minimum of a 5% reduction in your final grade if you are caught using your laptop during class for purposes unrelated to the course.
Please turn off your cell phone before coming to class, unless you don’t mind my stopping class and asking you to answer a call while we all wait and listen (yes, I’ve done it before).
Some students, particularly those for whom English is not their first language, may wish to record lectures. You are welcome to do so.
DOCUMENTED DISABILITY POLICY
Students with disabilities who require special accommodations need to get a letter that documents the disability from the Services for Students with Disabilities area of the Office of the Dean of Students (471-6259 voice or 471-4641 TTY for users who are deaf or hard of hearing). This letter should be presented to the instructor at the beginning of the semester and accommodations needed should be discussed at that time. We do not have any in-class exams, however, if you need any sort of special accommodation for assignments, you need to give me at least five business days notice so that we can work out what you need. See following website for more information: http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/ssd/providing.php.
CITATION STYLE
All papers for this course should follow the bibliographic and citation format of the American Anthropologist. When an idea is taken from a particular book or article, the source should be noted in the text with the author's name, date of the publication, and page number, e.g., (Hendry 1995: 139) to indicate that this particular piece of information, or this idea, was taken from page 139 of a 1995 publication by Hendry. If the item is quoted, it should be put in quotation marks, e.g., “Nowadays, both types of marriage persist, and it is not even always possible to classify a particular marriage as ‘love’ or ‘arranged’, although people like to talk as though it were” (Hendry 1995: 139).
The book or article should then be listed in the bibliography, which lists only those items cited in the text, as follows:
Hendry, Joy
1995 Understanding Japanese Society. 2nd edition. New York: Routledge.
Failure to attribute ideas and quotations to their sources constitutes plagiarism and will be dealt with accordingly (see policy on academic honesty above).
Office Hours
My office hours for this semester are listed at the beginning of this syllabus. I will normally be in my office during those hours; however, I am often also in my office at other times. You are free to visit my office at any time—you are not limited to visiting during office hours. If the door is shut, just knock. If I am busy (with meetings, writing, other work, etc.) outside of office hours, I will let you know or I won’t answer the door.
Tentative Schedule
Readings that are marked with the symbol § are available on Blackboard. All case studies must be read prior to discussion on Friday of each week. Readings should be completed by Monday of each week, with the exception of week 1.
Week 1: 1/19 and 21 Introduction
§ Read: The Symbolism and Ritual Function of the Middle Classic Ball Game in Mesoamerica Author(s): Marvin Cohodas Source: American Indian Quarterly, Vol. 2, No. 2 (Summer, 1975), pp. 99-130
Week 2: 1/26 and 28 What is Sport?
§ Read: The Meaning of Sport. Chapters 1, 2, and 4 from Blanchard, The Anthropology of Sport.
Week 3: 2/2 and 4 Culture and Sport
Read: How Soccer Explains the World, pp. 1 - 140
Week 4: 2/9 and 11 Culture and Sport
Read: How Soccer Explains the World, pp. 141 - end
Week 5: 2/16 and 18 Sport and Ritual
§ Read: Geertz, Clifford. “Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight” from The Interpretation of Cultures.
Migliore, Sam. 1993. Professional Wrestling: Moral Commentary Through Ritual Metaphor. Journal of Ritual Studies.
Week 6: 2/23 and 25 Religion and Sport
Read: Playing with God, pp. 1 – 128
Week 7: 3/2 and 4 Religion and Sport
Read: Playing with God, pp. 129 – end
Week 8: 3/9 and 11 Football and religion
Read: Gameday and God: Football, Faith, and Politics in the American (entire book)
Week 9: 3/16 and 18 Spring Break
Week 10: 3/23 and 25 Baseball and religion
Read: Rounding the Bases, pp. 1 - 110
Week 11: 3/30 and 4/1 Baseball and religion
Read: Rounding the bases, pp. 111 – end
Week 12: 4/6 and 8 Religion and Sport in Non-Western Societies
Film: High School Baseball in Japan
§ Read: Excerpt from Samurai Way of Baseball
Week 13: 4/13 and 15 Religion and Sport in Non-Western Societies
Read: Zen Bow, Zen Arrow, entire book
Week 14: 4/20 and 22 Presentations
Week 15: 4/27 and 29 Presentations
Week 16: 5/4 and 6 Presentations
ADDITIONAL READINGS
Andrews, David (ed.). Michael Jordan, Inc.: Corporate Sport, Media Culture, and Late Modern America. SUNY Press, 2001.
Annotated Biblography. Sociology of Sport Journal, 1989, Vol. 6 Issue 2, p182-190.
Ardell, Jean H. Breaking into Baseball: Women & the National Pastime. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2005
Baker, Aaron. Contesting Identities: Sports in American Film. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2003.
Baker, Aaron and Todd Boyd, eds. Out of Bounds: Sports, Media, and the Politics of Identity. Bloomington : Indiana University Press, 1997.
Birrell, Susan and Cheryl Cole (eds.). Women, Sport, and Culture. Human Kinetics Publishers. 1994.
Blanchard, Kendall. The Anthropology of Sport: An Introduction. Bergin & Garvey, 1995.
Bolin, Anne and Jane Granskog (eds.). Athletic Intruders: Ethnographic Research on Women, Culture, and Exercise. SUNY Press, 2003.
Boyle, R. and R. Haynes. Power Play: Sport, The Media and Popular Culture. Longman, 2000.
Cassidy, Rebecca. The Sport of Kings: Kinship, Class, and Thoroughbred Breeding in Newmarket. Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Coakley, Jay. Sport in Society: Issues and Controversies, 6th Edition. McGraw Hill, 1997.
Crawford, Gary. Consuming Sport: Fans, Sport, and Culture. Routledge, 2004.
Dimeo, P., Mills, J. (eds.). Soccer in South Asia: Empire, Nation, Diaspora. Frank Cass Publishers, 2001
Donelly, P. International Workshop of Sport Sociology in Japan - "Sport and Humanism: The Possibility and Limitation of Sport in Contemporary Society" (Gotemba, Japan, 4-7 September, 1988). International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 1989, Vol. 24 Issue 2, p176-178.
Edwards, Harry. Sociology of Sport. Dorsey Press, 1973.
Eisen, George and David Wiggins (eds.). Ethnicity and Sport in North American History and Culture. SUNY Press, 1994.
Fernandez-Balboa, Juan-Miguel. Critical Postmodernism in Human Movement, Physical Education, and Sport. SUNY Press, 1997.
Hargreaves, J. Sport, Culture, and Ideology. Routledge and Keagan Paul, 1982.
Higgs, Robert J. God in the Stadium: Sports & Religion in America. Lexington, Ky.: The University of Kentucky Press, 1995.
Huizinga, Johan. Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play Element in Culture, 1950.
Howe, P. David. Sport, Professionalism, and Pain: Ethnographies of Injury and Risk. Routledge, 2004.
Jokl, Ernst. Medical Sociology and Cultural Anthropology of Sport and Physical Education. Thomas, 1964.
Jonsson, Hjorleifur. “Mien through Sports and Culture: Mobilizing Minority Identity in Thailand.” Ethnos 68, 3 (2003): 317-40.
Laughlin, Charles D. and Miracle, A. W. Ritual and Sport: Speical issue of the Journal of Ritual Studies. 7(1), 1993. Articles: Insearch of the Ultimate: Ritual Aspects of the Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon; Mesquaki Sports Participation as an Adolescent Rite of Passage; Qing Dynasty Grand Sacrifice and Communist national Sports Games: Rituals of the Chinese State?; Professional Wrestling: Moral Commentary Through Ritual Metaphor; Revealing the Hidden: The Epiphanic Dimension of Games and Sport; The ritual Dimension of Karate-d!; The Athlete and Ritual Timing: An Experimental Study; Zen Handgun: Sports Ritual and Experience.
Ladd, Tony, and James A. Mathisen. Muscular Christianity: Evangelical Protestants and the Development of American Sport. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1999.
McBride, James. Symptomatic Expression of Male Neuroses: Collective Effervescence, Male Gender Performance, and the Ritual of Football. In God in the Details: American Religion in Popular Culture, ed. Eric Michael Mazur and Kate McCarthy, 123-38. New York: Routledge, 2001.
Michael R. Professional Wrestling as Ritual Drama in American Popular Culture. Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellen Press, 1990.
McLaughlin, A. Korea/Japan or Japan/Korea? The Saga of Co-hosting the 2002 Soccer World Cup. Journal of Historical Sociology, Dec2001, Vol. 14 Issue 4, p481, 27p;
Mills, J. A Historiography of South Asian Sport. Contemporary South Asia 10, 2 (2001):207-221.
Novak, Michael. The Joy of Sports: End Zones, Bases, Baskets, Balls, and the Consecration of the American Spirit. New York : Basic Books, 1976.
Oleksak, Michael M. and Mary Adams Oleksak. Beisbol: Latin Americans and the Grand Old Game. Grand Rapids, MI: Masters Press, 1991.
Price, Joseph L., ed. From Season to Season: Sports as American Religion. Mercer University Press, 2001.
Riess, Steven A. Sports and the American Jew. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 1998.
Sands, Robert R. (ed.) Anthropology, Sport, and Culture. Bergin & Gavrvey, 1999.
Sands, Robert R. Sport and Culture: At Play in the Fields of Anthropology. Simon & Schuster, 1999.
Sands, Robert R. Sport Ethnography. Human Kinetics Publishers, 2002.
Wagner, E. A. Sport in Asia and Africa: A Comparative Handbook. Greenwood Press, 1989.
Wagner, E. A. Sport in Asia and Africa: Americanization or Mundialization? Sociology of Sport Journal, 1990, Vol. 7 Issue 4, p399-402.