SPORTS/MEDIA/CULTURE (COM211)

Prerequisite: ENG103W. (Offered every fall semester). Sports are fundamental to human cultures. Indeed, athletic competitions impact a variety of societal institutions. This course will invite students to explore, analyze, and reflect on how sports are depicted in contemporary media. Students will, in particular, critically consider the communicative intersections between sports and business, identity, regionalism and nationalism, politics, the environment, and entertainment. This is a seminar-style course that will require purposeful reading, in-class discussion, and analysis of contemporary case studies of sports communication; we will focus on a diversity of sports, including football, soccer, basketball, baseball, hockey, and gymnastics (among others). Students will also have the opportunity to travel to Chicago for an experiential-learning module on careers in sports and media. Primary forms of assessment will include exams, a research project, and class engagement. Students of all majors who have an interest in sports, communication, and/or media are encouraged to enroll.