3 credits
Fall 2025 Lecture JEDIUpper Division
This course counters the cultural myth that sports are "simply a form of entertainment" or an "escape from reality" and takes seriously the notion that sports matter as a social, cultural, and political force. Students will use academically informed inquiry and investigation to examine broader cultural dynamics through a critical examination of the National Football League. Course topics include how the NFL shapes social identities including race, gender, sexuality, and American identity, the connection between football and militarism, the relationship between the NFL and commercialism, the role the NFL plays in the triad of men's violence, among other topics.
Learning Outcomes1At the end of this course you will be able to summarize the evidence and conceptual arguments that the NFL is a cultural institution by which we can understand American society by exploring key topics covered in course in class activities, film response papers, and exams.
2At the end of the course you will be able to explain how the National Football League matters as a social, political, and cultural force.
3At the end of the course, you will be able to respond, from a critically informed academic perspective, to common sense beliefs that the NFL is simply "entertainment" or an "escape from reality."
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