Undergraduate Course: Sport and Politics (PLIT10171)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Can sport and politics be separated? How has sport been deployed by governments around the world for political ends? Can international sport escape the trappings of nationalism? How did sport impact colonialism and the Cold War? What are the consequences of the commercialisation of sport? These are some of the questions this course aims to address.
There is a conventional view that sports and politics do not mix but the last decade has seen the increasing prominence of controversies around sports and politics across the globe. These range from debates around football ownership in the UK, the hosting of mega sporting events like the Football World Cup or the Olympics, to the manner in which sport is used for nationalistic purposes by all types of states. The complex relationship between sports and politics is not only a recent phenomenon and it is necessary to appropriately situate each issue within its historical context. Overall, students will be encouraged to expand the scope of their political horizons to think analytically about the political forces and consequences of how sports and politics are related and shape one another. |
| Course description |
This course covers a broad range of critical issues relating to the politics of sport. It introduces students to a range of approaches to study the politics of sport from the everyday, to the national, and to the international level. Students will be encouraged to think analytically about the political forces and consequences of how sports and politics are increasingly intertwined. From controversies over the hosting and purpose of megaevents to acts of protest by athletes, it is clear that sport is a key site of political contestation and spectacle that cannot be divorced from politics.
The course is taught weekly through lectures and tutorials. Overall, it is structured in 2 parts. The first historically situates the contemporary study of sports and politics and introduces students to key concepts and theoretical paradigms. The second covers specific case studies to illustrate the breadth of sports and politics. Practically students will develop the analytical skills to evaluate the relationship between sports and politics across a range of different case studies and regions.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least 4 Politics/International Relations courses, one of which is security themed, at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses.
** as numbers are limited, visiting students should contact the Visiting Student Office directly for admission to this course ** |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 10,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
166 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Reading Portfolio - 30% - max 1500 words
Research Essay - 70% - max 2500 words |
| Feedback |
Essay Outline Peer Review Sessions in Tutorials and formative research outline feedback from Course Organiser.
Ongoing formative feedback on elements of Reading Portfolio offered throughout the course.
Feedback on all assessed work shall normally be returned within three weeks of submission. Where this is not possible, students shall be given clear expectations regarding the timing and methods of feedback. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Critically analyse the relationship between sports, politics, and international relations at national and global levels.
- Apply appropriate theories and concepts to the study of sport and politics.
- Evaluate different theories and approaches to the study of sport and politics.
- Identify and critically analyse the range of ways sport has been deployed for political purposes by a range of actors.
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Reading List
Bairner, Alan, John Kelly, and Jung Woo Lee eds. (2017) Routledge Handbook of Sport and Politics, London: Routledge.
Collins, Tony (2013) Sport in a Capitalist Society: A Short History, Abingdon: Routledge
Grix, Jonathan (2015) Sport Politics An Introduction, London: Bloomsbury Publishing
Harvey, Jean, John Horne, Parissa Safai, Sebastien Courchesne-O'Neill, Simon Darnell (2013) Sport and Social Movements From the Local to the Global, London: Bloomsbury Publishing
Molnár, Gyozo and Rachael Bullingham eds. (2022) The Routledge Handbook of Gender Politics in Sport and Physical Activity, London: Routledge |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
1. Ability to critically engage, appraise, and synthesize a range of diverse academic literature.
2. Enhanced ability to deploy complex theoretical literature to empirical issues.
3. Improved communication skills to present complex theoretical arguments in verbal and written form.
4. Enhanced research skills developed during tutorials to identify and develop a research question. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Benjamin Coulson
Tel:
Email: Ben.Coulson@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | |
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