Course Description: Why do social movements emerge when they do? Who participates, and why? What kinds of impacts do they have on society? What explains success or failure? In Social Movements we will use sociological tools to explore these questions and more as we study the Civil Rights, Contemporary Women's, and Environmental Movements in historical context.

HTS 3022: Gender and Sports
MWF 10:10 - 11:00 AM
Dr. Mary McDonald

Course Description: One of the most fascinating aspects of contemporary society is how gender shapes the way sports are structured, experienced and represented. This course draws upon sociological, cultural studies and feminist perspectives to examine the pivotal interactions of gender and sports. While we will discuss the significance of gender in reference to the male body and competing masculinities, the course will center on the historical and contemporary experiences and meanings of women's involvement in sport and physical activity in a variety of settings including recreational, high school, college and professional sport. In doing so the course will unveil the largely hidden history of women’s athleticism within US culture as well as the legal, scientific, economic, representational, and political forces which continue to shape gender and sport. We will also explore how race, class, and sexuality all structure opportunities and experiences in sports and the ways in which sporting bodies reinforce and challenge existing bodily norms. Because assumptions about women, men, gender, sexuality and sport have greatly influenced popular and scholarly notions concerning the topic, this course also provides an opportunity to critique existing scholarship and popular sentiment.