Comm 499
Sports, Communication and Culture
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Syllabus Fall, 2004 Instructor: Dr. Daniel T. Durbin Office: ASC 227 Office Hours: MW 12:00-1:00, TTh 11:30-12:30, and by appointment. Phone: 213-821-2246 Email: dtdurbin@aol.com (please put Comm 499 in the subject header) Teaching Assistant: Richard J. Lawrence (MW Class) Office: Ground Level PhD Student Offices Office Hours: MW 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM and by appointment Phone: 310-951-8950 E-mail: rlawrenc@usc.edu (please put Comm 499 in the subject header) AIM: rlawrence Teaching Assistant: Kate Aishton (TTh Class) Office: Ground Level PhD Student Offices Office Hours: TTh 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM and by appointment Phone: 678-438-7668 E-mail: aishton@usc.edu (please put Comm 499 in the subject header) AIM: rlawrence Teaching Assistant: Oliver Bird (TTh Class) Office: Ground Level PhD Student Offices Office Hours: TTh 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM and by appointment Phone: E-mail: obird@usc.edu (please put Comm 499 in the subject header) AIM: rlawrence Course Objectives: This course examines the interrelationship between sports and media in today's society. Drawing on theories of rhetoric and social criticism, we will examine media's role in telling the story of sports and, in telling that story, shaping and reinforcing cultural values. Students will study several critical approaches to sports and public discourse and will apply those approaches to sports organizations, the news media, and popular media. Required Reading: Wenner, Lawrence A. (ed.) Media, Sports, and Society. Newbury Park: Sage Publications 1989. Course Reader (available at the Paper Clip). Assignments: Much of this course is taken up in a study of sports narrative in various media. Thus, most assignments will offer students the opportunity to carry on their own critical research on how sports organizations and media create meaning from the events played out on the field. Students will write three critical analyses and take two exams. Grade Breakdown:
Readings: While the first readings will largely focus on critical approaches to the subject, much of this semester's readings will include actual reports of sporting events, editorials on sport, and critical analyses of sports films and television shows. Paper Grades: All written work is to be typed following the guidelines for research paper writing found in either the MLA or APA handbook. Papers will be graded on quality of organization, clarity and depth of analysis, and writing competence. Each error in spelling or grammar will result in. a reduction in your paper grade. Participation and Absence Policy: Attendance in class cannot be counted as participation. Students will receive participation grades based on the quality and quantity of their vocal participation in class throughout the semester. You will be allowed four unexcused absences during the semester. Each absence beyond four will result in an automatic 5% deduction from your final class grade. Also, remember that, when you are absent, you cannot participate in class. So, excessive absences will also impact your participation grade. Being tardy or leaving class early will be counted as half an absence. Also, please turn off cell phones while in class. Leaving class to answer a cell phone will be counted as an absence. Late Work: All late papers will be docked one letter grade for each class period they are late. Any time after the start of the class in which the papers are due will be considered late. Disability Services: Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 am - 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776. Students requesting accommodations for taking tests in DSP must have their information to me and DSP in sufficient time to set up accommodations at DSP. Academic Integrity: The Annenberg School for Communication is committed to upholding the University's Academic Integrity code as detailed in the Scampus guide. It is the policy of the School of Communication to report all violations of the code. Any serious violations or pattern of violations of the Academic Integrity Code will result in the student's expulsion from the Communication major or minor. Final Note: We are examining an under explored area of communication research. Since there is so little strong research in the field, we all need to immerse ourselves in the subject. That means, I want you to hit as many sports events, see as many, sports themed movies (time to hit Blockbuster), watch as much sports on television (the Olympics would be a good start) as you can stand (and enjoy). If someone questions how much time and money you are spending on watching sports, tell them it's important research. Back to top Tentative Class Schedule and Due Dates Weeks One and Two 8/23-9/1 Introduction and Critical Approaches During our first two weeks, we will examine approaches taken by rhetorical and communication scholars who have critically analyzed sports discourse. We will also discuss semiotic approaches to social icons. Readings: Wenner, Chs. 1, 3 (pp. 13-48, 70-96); Course Reader-Roland Barthes "Myths Today" (pp. 109-13 1). Weeks Three and Four 9/6-9/15 Sports Organizations: Creating the Story During this section, we will discuss how sports organizations create a consistent message through their various activities, including fielding a team. We will examine the use of stadiums and other venues as settings for the sports drama and as symbols used to purvey values consistent with the sports organization's goals. Readings: Wenner Chs. 4-5 (pp. 97-133); Course Reader- Mullen and Mazzocco, "Coaches, Drama, and Technology: Mediation of Super Bowl Broadcasts from 1969 to 1997 (pp. 347-363), Anderson, "Saving the National Pastime's Image: Crisis Management During the 1919 Black Sox Scandal" (pp. 105-111), Durbin, "Wrigley Field in Popular Culture" (pp. 1 -3), Angell, "Being Green" (pp. 94-123), Murray, "Pete Rozelle Sold Entire Nation on His Sport" (pp. 1 -2). Weeks Five and Six 9/20-9/29 News Reports: Communicating the Story Our discussion of news will focus on the extended story of sport, media's role in changing information into event, narrative, and epic. We will discuss both immediate reporting and extended reporting on on-going stories. Our analysis will focus on how broadcasters and reporters identify "heroes," "villains," and the "values" of sport. Readings: Wenner Chs. 2, 10 (pp. 49-69, 225-240). Course Reader-Hansen, "Narrating the Game: Achieving and Coordinating Partisanship in Real Time." (pp. 269-290), Barber, "The Catbird Seat" (pp.28-29), "Associate Broadcasters" (pp. 259-263), "Radio vs. Television" (pp. 303-304), Murray, "Scully Handles a Mike like Ruth did a Bat" (pp. 303-304). Class Viewing/Listening: the "shot heard round the world," the Gibson home run call. Sports Venue Reaction Paper due. Midterm Exam-October 6. Weeks Seven and Eight 10/4-10/13 News Reporting, Social Norms, and Social Change Both sports and reporting sports have gone through tremendous change over the past century. This change has been greatly impacted by larger social changes. This section will cover the impact of social change on sports, the story of sports, the values sports embody, and the role of the storyteller in sports. Readings: Course Reader-Miller, "'Indians,' 'Braves,' and 'Redskins': A Performative Struggle for Control of an Image" (pp. 188-202), Gordon, "Foreword" and "Token Broad" (pp. 7-10, 118-13 7), Murray, "One Man's Opinion," "As White as the Ku Klux Klan," "From Russia with Love Or ... I'll Never Smile Again," and "Louisville Loudmouth Secedes from the Union". Class Viewing: Selections from "Hank Greenberg," "When We Were Kings," "The 1968 Tigers." Week Nine 10/18-10/20 The "Inside" Story: Sports Diaries We will examine the phenomenon of sports diaries and their role as apologias, promotional devices, and "history." Readings: Wenner, ch. 9 (pp. 204-224). Course Reader-Trujillo, "Interpreting (the Work and Talk of) Baseball: Perspectives on Ballpark Culture" (pp. 350-371), Brosnan The Long, Season February 22 to March 1, Kramer Instant Replay "War's End" January 3 to January 14, Bouton Ball Four "Introduction" and March 3, Gabriel Player of the Year September 18 to September 22, Robinson Frank: The First Year "Prologue: The First Shall Not Be Last." Class Viewing: Selections from "When It Was a Game." News Analysis Paper Due. Week Ten 10/25-10/27 Media, Fans, and Sports in the Home Sports become part of social life as they enter homes and modify the behavior of fans. This section explores some of the more profound changes sports have brought into American homes. We will focus on several sub-cultures that have grown from fan reaction to sports and the desire of fans to take part in sports as "coaches" and "players." Readings: Wenner Chs. 7, 11 (pp. 15 7-179, 241-269); Course Reader-Daglow and Kavanaugh "Fantasy Baseball" (pp.629-632), Angell, "Three for the Tigers" (pp. 95-122), Gordon, "The Fans" (pp. 86-98), Durbin, "'Take Me Home to the Ballgame: Baseball Board Games in American Popular Culture" (pp. I- 13), Miller, "The Boys Life in Reel Time" (pp. 64-74) Class Viewing: "Of Dice and Men." Weeks Eleven and Twelve 11/1-11/10 Sports Television and Radio We will examine the way in which television and radio create drama and meaning in the sports events they broadcast and the larger sports stories they tell. We will examine the evolution of television and radio broadcasts from representations of sports and community to creations of sports events. Readings: Wenner Chs. 6 and 12 (pp. 134-156, 270-289). Course Reader-Farrell, "Media Rhetoric as Social Drama: The Winter Olympics of 1984" (pp. 158-182). Class Viewing: Selections from radio sports reports of the 1930s, 1950s, and today, Ken Bums "Baseball," "Monday Night Mayhem," "Retro-Game." Weeks Thirteen and Fourteen 11/15-11/24 Sports and Film: From Story to Myth We will study the representation of sports and sports myth from its earliest portrayal in silent films to iconic images in films such as "Pride of the Yankees" to historical reconstructions in films such as "61 *." We will examine the image of sports each approach creates and the sports values each reinforces. Readings: Course Reader-Aden, "Nostalgic Communication as a Temporal Escape: When it was a Game's Re-construction of a Baseball Work Community" (pp. 20-38), Most and Rudd, "Don't Bet on it ... The Representation of Gambling in Baseball Cinema".(Pp. 233-242). Class Viewing-Selections from "61 *," "The Pride of the Yankees," "Raging Bull," "Somebody Up There Likes Me," "The Winning Team," "North Dallas Forty," "Miracle," "%en it was a Game." Week Fifteen 11/30-12/1 Sports in Advertising and Conclusions To conclude our discussion, we will examine how the images created by the various constructions of sport we have discussed throughout the semester are used to motivate viewers to purchase products and support social and political causes. Readings-Fink and Kensicki, "An Imperceptible Difference: Visual and Textual Constructions of Femininity in Sports Illustrated and Sports Illustrated for Women" (pp. 317-340), Selections from Ken Bums' "Baseball." Critical Analysis Paper Due December. Back to top Class Assignments Writing Assignment #1 Sports Venue Reaction Paper 3-4 pages We have discussed how sports organizations both draw on and promote cultural values to create their "event" and sell their product. You are to write a brief (3-4 page) reaction paper that critically assesses the ways in which a sports organization accomplishes this task at a typical sporting event. You are to attend a university or professional sports event in which you are not participating (USC football game, MLB baseball game, NFL football game, professional hockey or basketball game boxing match). You are to attach your ticket stub from the game to your paper. At this event, you are to study all the ways in which the sports organization sells its product(s), from the advertising on scoreboards to promotional announcements to advertising throughout the stadium to the structure of the venue and how it guides your actions and eyes. You should take notes on all these acts of suasory communication as they appear throughout your visit. You are to choose several representative acts and write a brief analysis that discusses each of the ways in which these acts give meaning to what occurs on the field, promote organizational goals, and use and sustain social values. Papers will be graded on completing the assignment, quality of writing, clarity of analysis, and value of insights into the persuasive use of symbols. Good luck and have fun at the game. Writing Assignment #2 News Analysis Paper 4-5 pages We have discussed the ways in which news reports create the "story" of sports. You are to trace the entire "story" of one major sports event of the last ten years. You are to follow the story's trajectory from first report to last report. Thus, the story must be considered dead (ended). To examine the story, you will need to search the archives of a major news service (The LA Times, The NY Times, etc.). You are to examine the reports to find the first notes indicating the importance of the event(s), the developing narrative as the story begins to develop characters/setting/events, and the climax and conclusion of the story. Drawing on the theoretical approaches discussed at the start of the semester, you are to examine the narrative construction of the story, how reports turn events into stories, how those stories frame events and sustain or challenge cultural norms, and how the narrated relationship between characters, setting, and events embody cultural myths/ideologies. This is not a review of the events that are reported, nor is it a repetition of news reports. You are to critically assess the stories, explaining their role in sustaining cultural assumptions. Papers should be 4-5 pages in length. Each paper should have a bare minimum of 6 cited references (you should easily find far more than this in news reports alone). All papers must follow MLA or APA guidelines for research paper writing. Papers will be graded on quality of writing, clarity of argument depth of analysis, and quality of insights. While you will need to perform only limited academic research for this assignment, you will need to complete a full study of one story and your works cited page should note references to a complete cycle of reports. Writing Assignment #3 Critical Analysis Paper 6-8 pages We have discussed how a variety of media create distinct visions of sport. We have also discussed how these visions intersect. This paper will allow you to study a particular popular text of your choosing. Drawing on the theories we have discussed, you are to analyze a particular representation of sports in popular culture. You may choose a film, radio show, advertising campaign, television show, book, magazine, sports organization, news reporting service, or other attempt to "tell the story" of sports. Pick the source that interests you most. You are to critically analyze this text using one of the theories we have discussed in class. From this analysis, you will show how this text uses its subject as a model to reflect and reinforce social values. You will need to introduce your text by noting its impact on society. You will then need to explain how the theory you use will illuminate the text, how it will inform us about the text's persuasive force. Finally, you will need to apply the theory to the text. Your paper should include references to at least three academic sources explaining your theory and at least four sources related to your text (your class textbook may count as one of those sources). Papers will be graded on clarity, interaction with sources, strength of analysis and argument, and quality of writing. Remember to follow MLA or APA guidelines and enjoy your subject. Back to top |
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