Please reference this document regarding any questions you have in advance of emailing me. This allows me to continue to respond to emails quickly and keep my inbox from getting too full. Thank you, this really helps in keeping all sections of the course moving smoothly.
The list of topics below has been assembled in such a way that I offer topics reflecting and addressing the sociology of sport as broad topic while the narrowing the topic to address research issues pertinent to the direction of the course. Additionally, I know you may have a topic you’d like to write on, and I respect that, however, students are restricted to writing on only one the five (5) topics below.
Requirements:
Format: 5 pages (double spaced, 12-point font, standard margins) minimum and 6 pages maximum. Do not deviate from your spacing. That is, once you begin your essay the entirety of the essay will be in double-spaced formatting only. Please do not triple space etc. between paragraphs. Be sure to indent when beginning a new paragraph. Your essay must have consistent font use throughout your essay. If you must cut and paste be certain it is made consistent with the rest of your essay. Your essay must adhere to either an MLA or APA formatting (be sure to look this up if you are unfamiliar), your essay must include a separate title page (that also includes a word count) and bibliography page, and neither of these are included in your page total requirement. Lastly, do adhere to the page requirements: a 4-page essay is 20% below the required 5, and choosing to not use 20% of the space offered you is a waste of opportunity in terms of scoring marks. For example, students do not lose marks, but rather you earn them. Be sure to use the space offered you to earn as many marks as you can. For example, you start with 0 and then begin earning your marks.
Bibliography: You are required to use, consistently and throughout your essay, a minimum of three academic sources and a maximum of five. This is strict. Part of your score is based on your research, and it is up to you to find, investigate, and determine whether a source is applicable. That is, this is a sociology course and as such you need to find sources that are sociological in nature. Start on RULA and begin typing in the keywords you identify as central to your essay. We will be spending Tuesday March 5th on exactly how to conduct academic research during our 1 hr class.
Please choose one of the following topics:
2. Boyz N The Hood (1989)
Keywords: critical race theory, power, gentrification, social conflict theory, masculinity, violence, education, encoding and decoding, feminist film theory
Research and Bibliography:
Informally speaking, the bibliography often separates students who enjoy the challenge of research and producing a critical essay from students who see the course as “just an elective” and simply find whatever sources are most easily located and use them once or twice. Be the former, spend a bit of time on library and/or Google Scholar, or a similar academic research site and locate helpful sources: there is NO shortage of sources applicable to each topic listed, I just spend the morning on RULA ensuring that. Lastly, I mark your essay objectively and optimistically: if you take the assignment seriously, ensure you follow every instruction, produce a well written essay that communicates to me critical thinking, intellectual curiosity, a competent use and inclusion of your bibliography, and finally, a desire to examine the topic while including course content, you will do just fine.
Purpose: You are required to research and write a critical essay examining the topic of your choice from a sociological perspective in which you examine the central issues you see as most pertinent. Avoid first-person, avoid flowery celebrations such as ” _______” and avoid the phrase “I think.” You are writing a critical essay that examines the sociology of sport.