COLLEGE OF SOCIAL AND APPLIED HUMAN SCIENCES
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
SOC*2900 Sport and Society, Fall 2025
Prof. Mervyn Horgan
COURSE OUTLINE
From the Superbowl to skateboarding, from hockey to hacky-sack, sport carries considerable social, cultural, political, and economic weight. Sport is an important part of many people’s everyday lives and a source of personal and collective identity. Sport is also big business and can incite social and political conflict. This course examines key concepts and themes in the sociology of sport, treating sport as a lens through which to understand a wide range of contemporary social issues. Drawing on current and historical case studies, students will investigate and analyze the impact of sport on society. Topics covered may include: sport and nationalism, violence in sport, commercialization and branding, mass participation, fitness regimes, fan cultures, gambling, technology in sport.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, successful students will be able to
•employ a range of concepts to evaluate how sport can reflect, deflect and/or overcome contemporary social problems
•critically analyze the role of sports in producing community, belonging, inequality and exclusion
•integrate diverse sociological insights to understand the relationship between personal performance and broader impersonal social forces
•understand and articulate the social processes that shape sports fandom, participation, commercialization, and professionalization
•dissect taken-for-granted beliefs about the place of sports in contemporary society
Evaluation may include: weekly quizzes; writing Assignments; reporting on events; Final Exam
Textbook: I am committed to the use of open educational resources, so there is NO TEXTBOOK for this course. All readings will be available online or through course reserves. In exchange for the substantial preparation that this involves on my end, I ask that everyone commits to completing all assigned readings in advance of each class, and engaging thoughtfully and meaningfully with one another, with me, and with course content.