Sociology of Sport SPECTACLE AND THE OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC GAMES Dr Eileen Kennedy

Sociology of sport what is it? What is it for? Meaningful memories – class introductions But what is sport? definitions Class wiki

Class Trips Tomorrow – Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Meet downstairs at 10.30am Tuesday Wimbledon – Tour of The All England Lawn Tennis Club. Meet downstairs 1pm to be at site by 2pm Thursday - Tour of Wembley Stadium. Meet downstairs at 12.45pm Saturday - Fulham v Sunderland at Craven Cottage, Putney Bridge. Meet downstairs at 1.30pm.

1 minute papers Most days I will set a question at the beginning of class At the end of class, you will write a “1 minute paper” Could be a few words, a paragraph … Why? Aids understanding, starts a dialogue, helps us make links across topics, classes etc. Attendance and participation Today’s question: What is the most important thing to remember about the way we define sport?

1 Common Sense keep politics out of sport! it’s only a game! thugs, jocks, hooligans… “football is a gentleman’s game played by thugs, and rugby a thug’s game played by gentlemen”

Sociology says… Sport is meaningful Sport is political Sport is a product of society … Sport is not equally shared or experienced alike Sport can be good or bad Sport is complex

Thinking against the grain

What is it for? Understanding the importance of sport Improving people’s experience of sport Making sporting experiences accessible to everyone

Sport is meaningful…. What does it mean to you? Talk to your partner and get them to give you an example of a memory of sport that has meaning for you e.g. a memory from 2012 Olympic games Introduce your partner and recount their memory to the class

Sport means different things to different people Is what counts as sport the same for everyone? Can we all agree on a definition of sport? How do we make sense of different perspectives on sport?

Defining sport Chess: is it a sport?

Defining sport Bodybuilding: is it a sport?

Defining sport Ballet: is it a sport?

Defining sport Walking: is it a sport?

Defining sport Skipping: is it a sport? Belgian team RSC Rivierenhof at the European Rope Skipping Championships 2007

Defining sport Darts: is it a sport? BDO World Darts Scotty2Hotty

Defining sport Frisbee: is it a sport? Ultimate Frisbee: is it a sport?

What is sport? “ institutionalised competitive activities that involve vigorous physical exertion or the use of relatively complex physical skills by individuals whose participation is motivated by a combination of personal enjoyment and external rewards” Jay Coakley “Sports in Society” British Prime Minister on what counts as school sports

An alternative approach to defining sport…? What gets to count as a sport? Whose sports count the most? Who decides ?

sulondonsport wiki A wiki is an easily editable website that facilitates collaboration Our wiki can be found at om/ I will everyone with your username and password –

On Monday afternoon we will prepare for a series of Wiki debates - For and Against … The topics: Is commercialization destroying the Olympic spirit? Should political protests be left out of sport? Are the Olympics a level playing field? 1.Create a page arguing your side of the case on the class wiki 2.Add words, images, video and sound to the wiki page to stimulate sociological discussion of the issue 3.Talk through your wiki page in class 4.Lead a discussion based on your wiki page

Inform and entertain! Stimulate discussion! As a guide you could add about 6 items to your page which could include: paragraphs of text images video/sound questions for class discussion Assessment of the wiki will be informed by peer assessment: Criteria: – Interesting and informative? – Visually/aurally stimulating? – Challenging ideas/lively discussion?

You can embed video or other widgets You can link to external images (without downloading) You can format text

video tutorials for inserting files and embedding widgets

London 2012: Greatest Paralympics Ever? Paralympics Channel4 Men's T44 100m Final Paralympics Samsung Advertisement

1 minute paper What is the most important thing to remember about the way we define sport?

Sociology of sport challenges “common sense” Sport is a socially meaningful activity Sport resists easy definition The class wiki