WOMEN'S STUDIES 4110
Historical and Contemporary Issues in Women, Sport and Leisure
Dr. Lori Chambers, RB 3016
Winter 2007
Tuesday, 7-10pm, CB 4058
Course Description:
We will examine historical constructions of sport and recreation as the exclusive prerogative of men. When and under what conditions were women included in the sporting community? Contemporary issues for women athletes and recreational enthusiasts will also be explored.
Required Texts:
All required readings are on reserve at the library.
Evaluation:
Tutorial participation: 15%
Tutorial presentation:15%
Article critique:25%Due: February 6, 2007
Book review: 25%Due: March 6, 2007
Portfolio assignment:20%Due: March 20, 2007
Tutorial participation grades will reflect both attendance and willingness to contribute to class discussions. A full mark out of 15 will be subtracted for each absence, unless the student provides written documentation regarding the reason for the absence.
All students must make formal presentations to the class. In the first week of class students will pick topics and be assigned times for such presentations. Presentations should be approximately 15 minutes in length, can involve audio-visual or other aids (although I must know in advance to ensure that equipment is available) and will include both a precis and a critique of one of the articles scheduled to be read by the class for the week. The purpose of this assignment is to help the student develop skills in critical analysis and in public speaking.
The article review should be approximately 8 typed, double-spaced pages in length. You should begin with a statement with regard to the effectiveness of the article under review. Then provide a brief overview of the article's central arguments and methodology. The critique of the article - which should be half of the paper - should examine the strengths and weaknesses of the sources, methodology and arguments of the author. The student must find an article, to be approved in advance by the instructor. This must be an article that is not included in the course pack.
The book review should be approximately 8 typed, double-spaced pages in length. You should begin with a statement with regard to the effectiveness of the book under review. Then provide a brief overview of the book's central arguments and methodology. The critique of the book - which should be half of the paper - should examine the strengths and weaknesses of the sources, methodology and arguments of the author. Remember that your paper will be marked for clarity, grammar and organization as well as content. Students will review: Varda Burstyn, The Rites of Men; Shirley Tillotson, The Public at Play; or Laura Robinson, Black Tights.
The objective of the portfolio exercise is to produce a series of different short writings (5 in total). The writings should engage, discuss, explore or reflect upon ideas raised in class. Show the relevance of these ideas to the world around you in a scrap book, reflective journal, zine, web page or creative writing. The purpose of this assignment is to encourage students to continuously engage with course ideas, topics and texts and to explore their own responses to the readings with a variety of textual formats and styles. A complete assignment will contain 5 different pieces of writing, each a minimum of 250 words (1 typed, double spaced page) in length. Each piece of writing must explore a different topic/theory/idea from the course materials. This means that you must begin working on this assignment early in the term. If you like working with visual images, you may wish to produce a zine (a self-produced photocopied magazine). If you have technical skills, you may wish to create a website. If you prefer to focus on the written work, you may produce a reflective journal. You may incorporate any other materials (clippings from the newspaper or magazines, music, stories, creative writing, artwork) into the work that you wish. Such additions do not, however, replace the written work that is required in this assignment. You are encouraged to experiment and to have fun with this work. Any visual imagery must be accompanied by an artist’s statement, explicitly connecting the image to the theme/idea you are exploring. You may critique theories, relate them to your own life, summarize arguments from the readings, or simply raise questions about the works we are exploring. There really are not any limits on the writing formats you may choose. It is important that you make reference to specific ideas from the course. This is not simply a personal journal, but a reflexive exercise. You must take into consideration ideas outside the realm of the personal (although relating them to personal experience is encouraged).
Weekly Schedule for Lectures and Readings:
- January 9, 2007
Introduction: Why Does Sport Matter to Feminism?
Readings:
a)Helen Lenskyj, "What's Sport Got To Do With It?" Canadian Woman Studies 5 (4) (Fall 1995), 6-10.
- January 16, 2007
Gender, History and Sport: Nineteenth Century Beginnings
Readings:
a)Kevin Wamsley, "The Public Importance of Men and the Importance of Public Men: Sport and Masculinities in Nineteenth-Century Canada", in Philip White and Kevin Young, eds., Sport and Gender in Canada (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1999), 24-39.
b)Katherine Murtha, "Cycling in the 1890s: An Orgasmic Experience?" Canadian Woman Studies 21 (3) (winter/spring 2002), 119-121.
c)Rachel Vorspan, "Rational Recreation and the Law", McGill Law Journal 45 (2000), 891-973.
- January 23, 2007
Physical Education, Organized Sport and the Marginalization of Girls
Readings:
a)Helen Lenskyj, "Femininity First: Sport and Physical Education for Ontario Girls, 1890-1930", Canadian Journal of the History of Sport 13 (1982), 4-17.
b)Michael Smith, "Graceful Athleticism or Robust Womanhood?", Journal of Canadian Studies23 (1988/1989), 120-137.
c)Bonnie Slade, "Not Just Little Ladies in Hockey Gear", Canadian Woman Studies 21 (3) (winter-spring 2002), 155-156.
d)Kristin Anderson, "Snowboarding: The Construction of Gender in an Emerging Sport", Journal of Sport and Social Issues 23 (1) (1999), 55-79.
- January 30, 2007
Violence in Sport and Sport as Big Business
Readings:
a)Michael Messner, "When Bodies are Weapons: Masculinity and Violence in Sport", International Review for the Sociology of Sport 25 (1990), 203-218.Dayna
b)Varda Burstyn, The Rites of Men: Manhood, Politics and the Culture of Sport (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999), chapter 4, 103-131.
c)Angela Baxter, "Hockey Violence", Manitoba Law Journal 31 (2005), 281-299.
- February 6, 2007
The (Female) Athlete's Body
Readings:
a)Sandra Bordo, "Feminism, Western Culture and the Body", Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture and the Body (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993), 1-42.Janine
b)Jennifer Ellison, "Women and Sport: An Examination of Advertisements between 1950 and 2002", Canadian Woman Studies 21 (3) (winter/spring 2002), 77-82.Ryan
c)P. Markula, "Firm but Shapely, Fit but Sexy, Strong but Thin: The Postmodern Aerobicizing Female Bodies", Sociology of Sport Journal 12 (4) (1995), 424-453.KerriAnn
d)Christine Brooks, "Using Sex Appeal as a Sport Promotion Strategy", WSPAJ 10 (1) (Spring 2001), 1-16. Dayna
Note: Article review assignment is due, in class, today!
- February 13, 2007
The Right to Equality in Participation
Readings:
a)Blainey v. Ontario Hockey Association [1986] 26 DLR 4th 728 Ont. CA.
b)Megan Williams, "Women's Hockey: Heating Up the Equity Debate", Canadian Woman Studies 15 (4) (1995), 78-81.
c)R. Beamish, "The Persistence of Inequality: An Analysis of Participation Patterns among Canada's High Performance Athletes", International Review for the Sociology of Sport 25 (2) (1990), 143-153.
- February 20, 2007
READING WEEK
- February 27, 2007
Recreation and Fitness: Non-Competitive Models of Sport
Readings:
a)Robert Kossuth, "Spaces and Places to Play: The Formation of a Municipal Parks System", Ontario History XCVII (2) (Autumn 2005), 160-190.
b)Helen Lenskyj, "Measured Time: Women, Sport and Leisure", Leisure Studies 7 (1988), 233-240.
c)Tara Barbazon, "Fitness is a Feminist Issue", Australian Feminist Studies 121 (49) (March 2006), 65-83.Lindsey
d)Karen Warren, "The Power and Promise of Ecological Feminism", Environmental Ethics 12 (1990), 125-146. Janine
- March 6, 2007
Homophobia in Women's Sport
Readings:
a)S. Cahn, "From the Muscle Moll to the Butch Ballplayer", Feminist Studies 19 (2) (summer 1993), 343-368.
b)Helen Lenskyj, "Women, Sport and Sexualities: Breaking the Silences", in Philip White and Kevin Young, eds., Sport and Gender in Canada (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1999), 170-181.
c)Helen Lenskyj, "Combatting Homophobia in Sport and Physical Education", Sociology of Sport Journal 8 91) (1991), 61-69.Ryan
Note: Book review assignment is due, in class, today!
- March 13, 2007
Racism in Sport and Leisure: First Nations Women
Readings:
a)Victoria Paraschak, "Invisible But Not Absent: Aboriginal Women in Sport and Recreation", Canadian Woman Studies 15 (1995), 71-72.Annie
b)Victoria Paraschak, "Doing Race, Doing Gender: First Nations, 'Sport' and Gender Relations", in Philip White and Kevin Young, eds., Sport and Gender in Canada (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1999), 153-169.
c)Audrey Giles, "Sport Nunavut's Gender Equity Policy", Canadian Woman Studies 21 (3) (winter/spring 2002), 95-99.
- March 20, 2007
Barriers and Exclusion: Poverty and Disability
Readings:
a)Peter Donnelly and Jean Harvey, "Class and Gender: Intersections in Sport and Physical Activity", in Philip White and Kevin Young, eds., Sport and Gender in Canada (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1999), 40-64.
b)Jennifer Hoyle and Philip White, "Physical Activity in the Lives of Women with Disabilities", in Philip White and Kevin Young, eds., Sport and Gender in Canada (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1999), 254-268.Annie
c)C. Crawford, "A View from the Sidelines", Journal of Leisurability 16 (1989), 3-19.
Note: Portfolio assignment is due, in class, today!
- March 27, 2007
Sexual Harassment and the Female Athlete
Readings:
a)Sandra Kirby, "Not in My Backyard: Sexual Harassment and Abuse in Sport", Canadian Woman Studies 15 (4) (1995), 58-62.
b)Peter Donnelly, "Who's Fair Game? Sport, Sexual Harassment and Abuse", in Philip White and Kevin Young, eds., Sport and Gender in Canada (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1999), 107-128.Lindsey
c)C. Brackenridge, "He Owned Me Basically…: Women's Experiences of Sexual Abuse in Sport", International Review for the Sociology of Sport 32 (2) (1997), 115-130.
- April 3, 2007
Sporting Heroines, the Media and Changing Public Attitudes
Readings:
a)L. Armstrong, "Mainstreaming Martina", Canadian Woman Studies 16 (2) (1996), 10-14.KerriAnn
b)Nikki Kumar, "The Genderized, Sexualized and Racialized Portrayal of Catriona LeMay Doan's Post Olympic Gold Medal", Canadian Woman Studies 21 (3) (winter/spring 2002), 83-87.
c)A.C. Billings, "In Search of Women Athletes", Journal of Sport and Social Issues 24 (4) (November 2000), 415-421.