Sports culture offers a sociological analysis of the complex relationship between sport, the media and culture. This module draws on both historical and contemporary understandings of sports as a pursuit which has gradually shifted into the corporate domain. Analysing the major social changes that have impacted on the development of sports as a vehicle for celebrity and the dissemination of norms and values. The module considers the effects of globalisation, industrialisation, new technologies and political economy as factors in the development of sport. Lectures will cover a range of topics and seminars will discuss both historical and contemporary developments in sport and its relationship with society and the media and seminars will provide a platform to debate these issues in a group environment

Sports governance will focus on the examination of critical issues in sports governance through theoretical analysis, indicating wherever possible the potential for the use of theory to inform practice. Issues will include globalisation, commodification, ethics and finance.
Topics are drawn from current issues on the structure and administration of sport including rules, regulation of individual sports like football (FIFA, UEFA, FA), Cycling (UCI) Olympics (IOC), Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and many other sporting bodies.

Assessment 1 (LO 1, 2, 3)

Assessment 2 (LO 4, 5)


Employability

Assessment 2 is precisely the sort of article that a student would be required to produce for an employer, on the subject of a relevant, contemporary sports governance issue. It is an authentic assessment.


Diversity

The sports culture part of the module has multiple areas in which diversity, both historical and contemporary will be widely discussed e.g. the way in which all popular British sports were exported around the British empire (cricket being the most obvious example but this also applies to football and rugby). This will also enable the student to examine and contemplate issues surrounding De-colonisation. The role of women in British sports culture will also be widely examined and discussed. The history of British sports culture is also deeply founded in Victorian class division and this will be studied in a modern context.

The sports governance part of the module will also touch on many of these issues e.g. the historic, the way in which sports governing bodies dealt with Apartheid-era South Africa and the contemporary, the way in which football governing bodies deal with issues ranging from racism to “sports washing” (sovereign states buying English football clubs in order to better their damaged reputations globally)

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities (39 hours)
19.5 Hours of lectures will form an important part of the learning process, increasing students¿ knowledge of crucial issues that underpin the module.
19.5 hours seminars will form an important part of learning and reflection, allowing students to debate crucial issues.
Guided Independent Study Hours (131 hours) including assessment preparation and wider reading.

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the centrality of sport to the media and to society/culture, both historically and as a contemporary phenomenon

2. Analyse and evaluate theories to explain the growth, diversification and global presence of sport and sport in the media

3. Examine the central role of the media in diffusing, promoting and perpetuating hierarchies within sports culture

4. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of relevant theoretical positions underpinning objective examination of critical issues in sport governance

5. evaluate the governance of sport

Newsroom facilities

Blackboard

Library

Barnes, Simon, Epic: In Search of the Soul of Sport and Why It Matters (2019). Simon & Schuster

Bennett, A., Carpenter, K, Wilson, R. Sports Governance Handbook (2019). ICSA.

Bose, Mihir. The Spirit of the Game: How Sport Made the Modern World (2011). Constable.

Boyle/Haynes. Power Play: Sport, The Media and Popular Culture (2009). Pearson Education.

Chappelet, J-L. International Olympic Committee and the Olympic System: the governance of world sport (2008), Routledge.

Colls, Robert. This Sporting Life, Sport & Liberty in England, 1760-1960, (2020). Oxford

Cuskelly, G., Hoye, R. Sport Governance (2007), Routledge.

Geeraert, A. International Sports Governance: a principal agency perspective on EU control of FIFA and UEFA (2016). Play the Game.

Hassan, D. Who Owns Football? Models of football governance and management in international sport (2013) Routledge.

Jarvie, Grant. Sport, Culture and Society (2018, 3rd ed). Routledge.

King, N. Sport Governance - an introduction (2016), Routledge.

Nicholson/Kerr/Sherwood. Sport and The Media: Managing the Nexus (2015). Routledge.
Schirato, Tony. Understanding Sports Culture (2007). Sage.
Sugden/Tomlinson. Sport and Peace-Building in Divided Societies (2019). Routledge.

Toffoletti/Mewett. Sport and Its Female Fans (2012). Routledge.

An academic module which examines the culture of sport globally, the way in which it is portrayed and the way in which sports is governed domestically and overseas.

Sports culture asks the question why is sport so important to our everyday lives? How has it evolved to become so important to society and, in turn, the media?

Sports governance looks at organisations such as FIFA, UEFA, IOC, CAS and many more. The governing bodies and regulatory authorities who lay down the laws and rules of sport. But who are they, and what do they really do? This is essential knowledge for any good sports journalist.