Notebook for Module One

Total Worth: 10% of Final Grade

Prompt One

Worth 2 marks                 /2

Prompt Two:

Part One: Connect this discussion to Darnell and Millington’s analysis of neoliberalism and “sport for development”  in the “Sport, Sociology, and Social Justice” article.  How does the film position the project (the Homeless World Cup or Vinny’s reclamation more generally) in relation to larger questions of both individual and social responsibility? Does it interrogate larger structural issues within the realm of professional sport more generally? If so, how?

(200 words)

Part Two: Now consider the discussion of hockey, homelessness, and gender in the previous section. How does the film engage with the question of homelessness and masculinity (through Vinny) or with the question of gender and inclusion more generally (note that the American team is comprised solely of women players)?

(200 words)

Be specific, use examples, and no AI!  400 words total.                         /3

Worth 3 marks

Prompt Three

What is feminism?

What does it mean to you? Choose one of the images (Blackboard Part Two of Chapter of One) and explain how it captures your understanding of feminism (or find one that does speak to you and paste this into your pressbook with an explanation of why it matters to you).  Now read Scraton and Flintoff’s article dealing with sports feminism but also outlining the different forms feminism can take. What stood out for you in their discussion? Did it make you rethink or reassess any of your assumptions about feminism, especially as it relates to sport?

No generic responses please. I’m interested in your personal response rather than a detached, overly formal essay, but I would also like to see specific references to the Scraton and Flintoff reading that demonstrate your familiarity with this text (which will figure prominently on the midterm quiz.

250-300 words

/3

Prompt Four

Do you think sportswashing works? In other words, do sporting events make you forget or overlook a country’s human rights record?  (Did the Berlin Olympics actually change people’s impression of Nazi Germany?) Consider a recent example of a sporting event that was held in controversial setting. What was controversial? How obvious was the attempt on the part of the nation to improve its image, or normalize and minimize its human rights abuses? Please discuss in relation to the assigned article. (200 words in your journal). /2

Padlet Participation

Please screenshot or paste in your responses to the padlets below. Remember that your participation is evaluated based on the originality, conciseness (no essays!) and specificity of your responses. No need for formality. Each time you contribute, please make sure you circle back to comment on one of your classmates’ posts in a constructive and congenial way!

Criteria for determining grade:

• o All prompts completed
• o Engagement with peers
• o Responses are thoughtful, to the point, specific, and original.

2% of overall mark.

Part One Padlets:

Choose one of these points and speculate on why they might be untrue for some people or from a certain perspective

Metanarratives about Sport

How might sport and social justice actually co-exist?

Part Two Padlets:

Feminism word cloud

Professional Women’s Sport

Part Three Padlets:

Debate: Hosting major sporting events in countries accused of human rights violations (or hosting teams/athletes from these countries) should be banned.

After the last discussion and the content of this section, has your perspective on sportswashing and social justice changed? If yes, how? If no, why not? Please write 2 sentences at the most

Chapter Two

Module Journal Assignment Rubric

Total Worth: 10% of Final Grade
Note: The final prompt is worth 50% of the total assignment grade.

The journal for this module is worth 10% of the final grade, with the last prompt accounting for 50% of the total grade.

PROMPT ONE

 We are asked to honour these stories with open hearts and open minds.

/1

Prompt Two

1) Sport as Medicine and Sport for Development Ideology

a) Watch the “Sport is Medicine” youtube video in this section.

Make note of the many ways sport is considered medicine by the people interviewed in this video. What did you learn from this video? How much does your view of sport align with this concept?

(150 words)

b) For a more concrete idea of how sport has historically and to this day may reflect a self-serving ideology that positions Indigenous peoples as the fortunate beneficiaries of colonial benevolence, read Forsyth and McKee’s case study of  hockey  (pp. 57-65) as the sport “most commonly endowed with the capacity to unify Canadians by establishing a shared set set of experiences.

What does Waneek Horn-Miller mean when she says that the government is “trying but still approaching Indigenous sport development in a very colonial way”?  How does the treatment of “sport for development” in these video clips and in the Decolonizing Sport chapters relate to last module’s discussion?

(200-300 words)

/2

PROMPT Three

1) Settler Homonationalism and Sport

So far in this course, we have been exploring the co-opting of sport for nationalist or neoliberal purposes. If we accept Sykes’s argument, the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games sought to pinkwash Canada’s colonial project, essentially using one group’s struggle for equity and recognition to paper over the ongoing marginalization of Indigenous peoples. In this regard, “settler homonationalism” directly obstructs intersectional activism, which takes as its rallying cry, “none are free until all are free.”  How might athletes, athletic organizations, and sporting events organizers resist a neoliberal agenda and ensure that solidarity efforts are inherently decolonial? Does Sykes point to any strategies in her article? What does a decolonial, intersectional solidarity look like to you?

200-300 words                          /2

Prompt Four

 Calls to Action

Read the TRC’s 94 Calls to Action specific to sport again.

Now visit this federal site to learn how the Government of Canada is responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action 87 to 91.

1. a) These actions include large-scale programs and initiatives, but what can communities and individuals (particularly settlers) do to address these calls to action?  Be specific.

1. b) More generally, what actions can be taken to dismantle colonial structures in sport, and how can Indigenous perspectives and practices be integrated into modern sport? If sport can be coopted to serve a neoliberal agenda, can it also serve as a site of resistance? How?

Draw upon at least two readings from this chapter to inform your reflection in Parts A and Part B. No AI.

500 words.

/5

Chapter Three

Prompt One

History and Context

In Episode Three of Tested, Rose Eveleth dives into the history of women’s struggles to compete in the Olympics and the controversial practice of sex testing. As you listen, think about what aspects of this history surprised you or challenged your understanding. Was there anything new you learned about how gender, identity, and athleticism intersect in the context of the Olympics?

What would you add to this discussion?

(50 words; point form ok)

/1

Prompt Two

Please note you can choose between ONE of the following options:

Unfair Advantage?

What does the host and writer, Rose Eveleth, have to say on the issue of unfair advantage?

Can you think of other examples of unique biological or circumstantial advantages from which athletes have benefitted enormously that have nothing to do with gender? Note these in your Notebook. If you’re a Kinesiology student, please feel welcome to draw upon your background knowledge of this subject.

50 words (point form ok)

/1

                                                                0R

Transvestigating Athletes at the Paris Olympics

Read this Arthur piece by Evan Robins responding to eruptions of transphobia aimed at cis women, notably the Algerian boxer, Imane Khelif ) in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

What does Evan Robins mean when she argues that “The aims of transvestigating an Olympic athlete are not, in any meaningful sense, anything to do with sports, or fairness, or even with women (cis women, at least) as a social category. Rather, they have everything to do with transness, and the public expression of transfemininity.

For my money this has never been about sport.

What it has always been is an excuse to publicly relitigate the existence of trans women.”

/1

Prompt Three

 Homophobia in Sport

In both real-life sports and popular culture, “coming out scenes” are often framed as moments of courage, progress, and inclusion. Yet scholars like Brian Pronger argue that sport is structured by limits that tightly regulate what kinds of identities and expressions are visible or acceptable.

Reflect on this tension:

• Why do you think coming out moments for athletes are treated as such extraordinary events in sport?
• How might television or media coverage both challenge homophobia by making queer athletes visible and, at the same time, contain queer identity by packaging it into safe, inspirational storylines?
• Do you see these representations as signs of genuine change in sport, or do they reveal how low our expectations still are for equality and inclusion?

In your response, draw on examples you know from either real sports culture (e.g., Michael Sam, Megan Rapinoe) or fictional sports narratives (e.g., Colin in Ted Lasso). Consider how the philosophy of the limit — the idea that boundaries both restrict and expose possibilities — might help us think about the role of these moments in shaping sport today.

Use examples, be specific, employ proper paragraph structure, engage with Brian Pronger’s article, and cite any other sources you draw upon.

300 words

/3

Final Prompt

In recent years, transgender athletes have become the focus of intense debates in competitive sport. Supporters argue that sport should be inclusive and recognize athletes’ right to compete in line with their gender identity. Critics often frame the issue in terms of “fairness” and preserving a level playing field.

Reflect on this debate:

• What do you think these arguments reveal about how sport defines and polices the boundaries of gender?
• How might the controversy around transgender athletes echo broader cultural anxieties about identity, bodies, and belonging?
• Do you think sport has the potential to move beyond these rigid boundaries, or are its rules and traditions too tied to fixed ideas of sex and gender?

In your response, consider how the very structure of competitive sport — its reliance on categories, divisions, and limits — both includes and excludes certain bodies.

Use examples, be specific, employ proper paragraph structure, and cite any sources you employ. Engage at least once with Katie Barnes, Eveleth’s podcast, and one of the other sources from this chapter.

(400 words).

/4