KINES 260 - Perspectives on Sport and American Society

Considers both the popular fascination with and the academic investigation of sports in American society. Some philosophers and sociologists argue that sport has become, if not America's "secular religion," then certainly the one cultural activity that most effectively and pervasively overcomes distinctions of race, class, gender, and ethnicity, as well as politics and religion, to bind Americans in a community of shared values and aspirations. Students gain a deeper understanding of sport in American society and a greater appreciation of the essential unity of learning.