Aims and Relevance of SPO070-3 Contemporary Sociological Perspectives of Sport & Physical Activity 2 Assignment

This unit builds on your understanding of the theories and concepts that
underpin a critical understanding and analysis of sport and physical activity. In this unit, these critical sociological perspectives will be used to explore how sport and social life in the 21st century are being transformed through the emergence of a complex set of social, cultural, economic, technological and environmental conditions. Through its exploration of a number of case studies this unit will extend the depth of your understanding and analyses of these processes and how critical sociological theories and concepts can provide vital insights and perspectives. The intention is to equip you with a critical understanding of contemporary sport and its potential future trajectories and challenges.

Syllabus Content in SPO070-3 Contemporary Sociological Perspectives of Sport & Physical Activity 2 Assignment

Critical sociological theories and their application to sport and physical
activity with reference to the nature of the transformative changes impacting society and their intersection with sport and physical activity including:

• The changing political economy of sport;
• Power relations within sport and the impact of inequality;
• Sport, physical activity, health, well-being and the body;
• Sport in a global-local world;
• Postmodern cultural formations and their impact on identity politics, sport and physical activity;
• port for development and peace;
• Sport in a digital age – technological transformations;
• Sport, the environment and sustainable lifestyles.

Learning outcomes of SPO070-3 Contemporary Sociological Perspectives of Sport & Physical Activity 2 Assignment

On completion of this unit you should be able to:

1. Demonstrate the following knowledge and understanding of

• Contemporary sport issues and case studies through the critical application of appropriate sport sociology theory and concepts.

2. Demonstrate the following skills and abilities

• Identify research and assess the impact of transformative social and cultural conditions on the production and reproduction of contemporary sport and physical activity.

Learner development

This Unit particularly focuses on the development of your abilities in the following areas:

Enquiry

The unit will develop your capacity to confidently undertake self-directed forms of enquiry into the social construction of sport and physical activity in a transforming world. These will require that you develop a range of academic skills that will support how you can use a variety of research strategies (library and media based) to enhance your identification and assessment of a wide range of academic texts, policy documents, media commentaries informing sport and physical activity in its contemporary setting.

Contextual understanding

Throughout the unit but more specifically within the first half of the unit you will use a ‘close reading’ analytical approach designed to enhance how you structure your approach to the reading of sport sociology texts. These skills allied with tutor support will be used to aid your confident deconstruction of texts to enhance your conceptual and critical understanding of sport and physical education in its contemporary setting. This knowledge will be highly relevant to a career within a diverse field of sport careers. The knowledge developed will require you to be aware of a diverse array of issues relating to:
Ethical issues such as justice and equity;
Cultural diversity and its impacts on the world of sport especially in community contexts; The development of sustainable change and programmes that have the capacity to promote enduring lifestyle change within problematic groups (e.g. lifestyle choices in respect to physical activity and diet); The social effectiveness of sport and physical activity programmes; How current research is impacting how we understand the significance of sport within a rapidly changing world.

Collaboration

The seminars and workshops will require you to further develop a range of skills essential to successful collaborative work and learning with both your fellow students and the academic staff on the unit. The most important element of this will occur through the development of a collaborative approach to learning that reduces and at times reverses the responsibility for learning based on traditional tutor lead approaches.