Sport, Leisure & Consumer Culture

This course will encourage you to think critically about practices of sport, leisure and consumption through the lens of a social scientist. We will explore the economic, political, and socio-cultural forces that shape sport and leisure consumption, as well as how such consumption shapes individual and collective identities and inequities. You will be encouraged to regularly reflect on your personal relationship with sport and leisure, as well as your own consumer behaviors.

For your final project, you will construct a culminating Adobe Express web page that reflects upon this semester in TLS 150B: Sport, Leisure and Consumer Culture. You can use your University of Arizona log-in information on express.adobe.com (free access, but may need to request it – see screen shots below). Then, create a web page where you can intuitively add text, links, pictures, etc. When you are finished, simply copy the link of your Adobe web page and paste it in the assignment folder labeled “Final Project”. You do not need to attach any document; just the text of your webpage link.

Over the past few months, you’ve been asked to take the perspective of a social scientist, and use a sociological lens, to explore sports, leisure, and consumer culture. In this project, you will need to summarize the key concepts and connections, as well as personal take-aways.

This also is an opportunity to incorporate current events and news stories that relate to course content. For example, the covid-19 pandemic has dramatically changed all our lives. It was (and still is to some degree) most obviously a public health crisis. Tragically, many people have become sick and died from this disease. In order to try to slow the spread of the virus, people around the globe were asked to stay home, socially distance, wear masks, and get vaccinated. As a result, sports completely disappeared for a period of time and then “bubbles” and various safety protocols were created. Our leisure time and activities (where we can spend our free time and with whom) have undoubtedly shifted. The way we behave as consumers is surely different than it was before March 2020; not just because malls, restaurants and recreational businesses were closed for a period of time, but because so many people/families faced terrifyingly insecure financial situations (unemployed, furloughed, etc.). In addition, incidents of police violence against people of color, as well as public outcries (demonstrations, rallies, #blacklivesmatter, etc.) against racism have stayed in the spotlight. Professional athletes and even associations in the United States, in particularly, have been using their platforms like never before to raise awareness of these issues. You might consider incorporating a range of other topics like everything from NCAA rules that allow collegiate players to profit off their “name and likeness” or climate change updates.

You will be creating an Adobe Express web page that creatively summarizes how your ideas and thoughts about sports, leisure, and consumer culture have changed over the course of this semester. Your page content should explore answers to questions like (for example): 

1. What are your main takeaways from TLS 150B? 
2. What content particularly stood out to you and why?
3. What kinds of connections do you make now between sport, leisure, and consumer culture, that you would not have previously?
4. How has your sociological perspective changed during TLS 150B? In other words, how are you more aware of social structures and forces impacting beliefs, values, norms - especially related to sport, leisure, and consumer culture?
5. How do you think about issues of inequality and social justice differently than at the start of the semester?
6. How have your ideas changed about the role sports and athletes should play in society?
7. How has your awareness and values surrounding leisure time and activities been shaped by this course?
8. Are there opportunities to change/improve consumer culture (and the economy more broadly) to be more equitable and environmentally compatible? What roles might the private and public sectors play?
9. What kinds of news stories and current events have you connected to course content in a meaningful way?
10. How has the experience of the covid-19 pandemic (public health crisis, social distancing and economic shutdown), as well as the public struggle for racial justice, and climate change realizations impacted the way you think about sports, leisure and consumer culture? For example:
    1. Do sports seem completely trivial or more important than ever? 
    2.  How does your leisure time look different due to Covid? Is there a “new normal”?
    3. Are there changes in consumer habits (due to the pandemic or otherwise) that could be leveraged to for positive, permanent change?

Feel free to review and utilize pieces from things you have already produced this semester (reflection papers, assignments, etc.). However, the expectation is that there will be new synthesis demonstrated. Also, sensible sections and transitions should be created - NOT, just a list of the questions above. Much of your writing on this page can/should be written in the first person (“I learned…I think…I feel”). It should NOT just be personal feelings though. Instead, personal reflection should be grounded in course content with references to key course content included throughout. Use short paragraphs and bullet points to avoid overly lengthy narrative in this web format.

Get creative! I know a little ambiguity in assignment directions will be tough for some of you, but there really is no “right”, pre-determined format or length. However, there is an expectation that you will be putting serious time, reflective thinking, and concerted energy/focus into a final project worth 50 points. The “Exemplary” descriptions from the rubric on the next page will be used as a guide to grade your project, so be sure to check it out as you plan your web page. The full rubric with less than “exemplary” descriptions can be found in D2L. We can’t wait to see what you come up with!!!

The final signature assignment in TLS 150B is a chance for students to summarize, synthesize, and reflect upon their learning in the course. It is a culminating, creative project that lets students utilize, connect, and build upon the work they have done throughout the semester. Particularly, it gives students a chance to look back at their reflection papers to see how their thinking, learning, and perspective taking has evolved. The creative web-based format allows students to also include imagery, video, and links. This makes connecting to themselves, as well as current events and news stories easier than traditional writing. Students are given a high degree of creative freedom on this project to “summarize how your ideas and thoughts about sports, leisure, and consumer culture have changed over the course of this semester”, but they are also prompted with a series of 10 more specific questions to help guide them. A rubric and previous student examples are also provided, but I do push students to lean into the discomfort of not having rigid word counts and format expectations. In terms of perspective-taking, students are tasked with sharing how their sociological perspectives have changed, as well as directed to speak to issues of inequality and social justice, social roles, and challenging norms (as a social scientist would).