This module takes a serious anthropological look at the lighter side of life. Every day people play hundreds of sports, games, hobbies and other recreational activities, but why? What is a game and why are they 'fun'? Who can play and how does one 'support' a team? How might anthropology, a discipline concerned with human societies and cultures, unlock the social significance of sport and recreation? Early anthropologists took an interest in children's games and local athletic pursuits, often viewing them as a window into the diffusion of cultural attributes or the level of a society's sophistication. Later work has analysed the symbolic and cognitive significance of play and games, the social structure of fan groups, the variance in styles of play as an expression of underlying cultural difference as well as the economic disparities and social hierarchies (be they racist, ableist, misogynist, etc.) enacted through sport. Recreation is important for business, wellbeing, identity and socialisation, so we will look in depth at ethnographic examples from around the world to understand what play really means. This may include topics such as how professional football affects the communities of those identified as talented, how stereotypes get played into online gaming, or how recreation has become data saturated.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
Evaluate theories and concepts used in the anthropology of sport and recreation.
Assess how sports and games may be shaped by their social context.
Demonstrate familiarity with ethnographic examples of sport and recreation.
Evaluate the usefulness of anthropology as a tool for understanding play.
Assessment
40532-01 : 1500 word written assignment - Essay 1 : Coursework (40%)
40532-02 : 2000 word written assignment - (Essay 2) : Coursework (60%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions
Assessment:
1 x 1500 word written assignment (40%) 1 x 2000 word written assignment (60%)
