Program Overview

Programmes

The University of Hong Kong's Department of Sociology offers a range of programmes for students.

Undergraduate

• Criminology Major/Minor
• Media & Cultural Studies Major/Minor
• Sociology Major/Minor

Taught Postgraduate

• MSocSc Criminology
• MSocSc Media, Culture & Creative Cities
• MSocSc Sociology

MPhil / PhD Sociology

The department also offers research-based programmes, including the MPhil and PhD in Sociology.

Research

The department is involved in various research projects and clusters, including:

• Research Projects
• Research Clusters
• Centre for Criminology
• Global Society and Sustainability Lab

Courses

The department offers a variety of courses, including:

CCGL9010: Sports Culture Under Global Capitalism

Course Description

Sports capture the minds and bodies of billions of people around the world and have an immense significance in our everyday lives. This course engages different cross-cultural examples of sport and introduces students to the relationship between sport and its sociocultural settings.

Study Load

Course Learning Outcomes

1. Analyze sports and games in an anthropological and sociological manner.
2. Describe the history and development of games and sports, highlighting their role in “traditional” and contemporary societies.
3. Demonstrate the complexity and interrelatedness of sports, society, and culture--even for those that are completely uninterested in sports.
4. Examine critically their own engagement with sports (as practitioners, spectators, or other roles) in their everyday lives.
5. Conduct an ethnographic project and effectively communicate research findings as a group.

Assessment

Required Reading

• Blanchard, Kendall. 2000. “The Anthropology of Sport.” In Jay Coakley and Eric Dunning, eds., Handbook of Sports Studies, pp. 144-156.
• Fox, Robin J. 1961. “Pueblo Baseball: A New Use for Old Witchcraft.” The Journal of American Folklore 74 (291): 9-16.
• Guttmann, Allen. 2000. “The Development of Modern Sports.” In Jay Coakley and Eric Dunning, eds., Handbook of Sports Studies, pp. 248-259.
• Coakley, Jay J. 2009. “Sport in Society: An Inspiration or an Opiate?” In Stanley Eitzen, ed., Sport in Contemporary Society: An Anthology, pp. 16-32.
• Real, Michael R. 2003. “Super Bowl: Mythic Spectacle.” In Eric Dunning and Dominic Malcolm, eds., Sport: Critical Concepts in Sociology, pp. 187-199.
• Gmelch, George. 2003. “Baseball Magic.” In James Spradley & David M. McCurdy, eds., Conformity and Conflict: Readings in Cultural Anthropology, pp. 348-357.
• Eitzen, Stanley D. 2009. “Ethical Dilemmas in Sport: The Dark Side of Competition.” In Eitzen, Stanley, ed., Sport in Contemporary Society: An Anthology (8thed.), pp. 161-170.
• Bryson, Lois. 1987. “Sport and the Maintenance of Masculine Hegemony.” Women’s Studies International Forum 10(4): 349-360.
• Hartmann, Douglas. 2003. “The Sanctity of Sunday Football: Why Men Love Sports.” Contexts 2(4):13-19.
• Messner, Michael A. 1990. “When Bodies Are Weapons: Masculinity and Violence in Sport,” International Review for the Sociology of Sports 25(3): 203-218.
• Kottak, Conrad. 1995. “Swimming in Cross-Cultural Currents.” In David J. Hess and Roberto A. DaMatta, eds., The Brazilian Puzzle, pp. 49-58.
• Alter, Joseph S. 2000. “Kabaddi, a National Sport of India: The Internationalism of Nationalism and the Foreignness of Indianness”, In Noel Dyck, ed. 2000. Games, Sports and Cultures, pp. 83-115.
• Foley, Douglas E. 1990. “The Great American Football Ritual: Reproducing Race, Class, and Gender Inequality.” Sociology of Sport Journal 7:111-135.
• Klein, Alan M. 2006. “Growing the Game: The Globalization of Major League Baseball.” In Stanley Eitzen, ed., Sport in Contemporary Society: An Anthology.
• Miah, Andy. 2010. “The DREAM Gene for the Post-human Athlete: Reducing Exercise-Induced Pain Sensations Using Gene Transfer”, in Sands, R.R. & Sands, L. The Anthropology of Sport and Human Movement: A Biocultural Perspective, Lexington Books, pp. 327-341.
• Witkowski, Emma. 2012. “On the Digital Playing Field: How We ‘Do Sport’ With Networked Computer Games”, Games and Culture 7(5): 349-374.

Recommended Reading

All required and recommended readings will be provided at the beginning of the semester.

Course Co-ordinator and Teachers

Dr Marco Montagner Lecturer

Offer Semester

1st semester

Lecture Time

Wednesday, 17:00 - 18:50

Lecture Venue

LE5

Credits Awarded

6