If you were not able to attend the Sports and Popular Culture Panel, here’s the video.
Sports and Popular Culture; Faculty Panel Discussion from Arizona State University on Vimeo.
Category Archives: Sports Studies
ASU: Sports and Popular Culture Panel
What is the moral and philosophic value of sport?
Does sport provide, even in its competitive construction, an essential space for social cohesion in the modern world?
How does sport provide a means to explore the broader ideas and institutions in society?
Discussion about these questions and more at ASU’s School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies Sports and Popular Culture Panel.
Moderated by Jason Bruner (School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies).
Panelists:
- Terry Shoemaker (School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies)
- Shawn Klein (School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies)
- Victoria Jackson (School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies)
- Lindsey Meân (School of Social and Behavioral Sciences)
- Luke Brenneman (Global Sports Institute)
Date/Time: November 16, 12 pm.
Location: SCOB 210 (620 E Orange St, Tempe, AZ 85281)
Filed under Arizona State, Sports Studies
New ASU Course: Philosophy of Sport
I’m excited to announce a new online course being offered in Session A of Spring 2018: PHI 394: Philosophy of Sport.
Course Description:
An inquiry into philosophical ideas and issues in sport. Topics and readings will vary, but may include: the nature and definition of sport, the mind-body relationship in sport, the effects of technology on sport, epistemological issues in officiating, and the aesthetics of sport. Since our “Sports Ethics” course examines ethical issues in sport, this course will not deal with primarily ethical issues.
Likely Topics:
- The Nature and Definition of Sport:
- Can we, should we, define sport?
- How does sport relate to: play, games, art?
- The Mind and Body in Sport:
- What can we learn about the mind/body relationship from sport?
- What does sport presupposed about mind and body?
- What can we learn about epistemology and metaphysics through sport? Does sport presuppose particular theories about reality or knowledge?
- Technology and Officiating
- How does technology change the ways we understand and engage in sport?
- What role should technology have in officiating sports?
- How do referees, umpires, etc., relate to the rules? What parallels are there to how we might understand law?
This course counts an upper-division elective credit. Talk with your advisor if you are interested in taking this course.
Filed under Arizona State, Classes, Philosophy, Sports Studies
The Sum Less Than the Parts: A Review of The Ethics of Sport: Essential Readings
Idrottsform.org, Nordic Sport Science Forum, published my review of The Ethics of Sport: Essential Readings, edited by Arthur L. Caplan & Brendan Parent (Oxford University Press).
Here’s the opening of the review:
Most of the papers collected in The Ethics of Sport are interesting and informative. They provide insight into many different aspects of the study of sport and of sport itself, and they do so from different disciplinary perspectives.
Nevertheless, this collection as a whole is a disappointment.
Writing a critical, negative review is difficult. There are many things I liked about the book, and I tried to highlight these even as a point out the book’s many flaws.
You can read the rest of the review here: http://idrottsforum.org/klesha_caplan-parent170906/
Filed under Books, Reviews, Sports Ethics, Sports Studies
Review of _Defining Sport_
Anne Tjønndal of Nord University, Norway writes a kind review of my anthology Defining Sport at idrottsforum.org, Nordic Sport Science Forum. From the penultimate paragraph:
In my opinion, it has great potential to be a standard tome for many of these groups of readers. If you are looking for a book to give you a short but full introduction to theories of what sport as a concept is, and empirical contributions based on these theoretic approaches, this is the book for you.
Filed under Books, Reviews, Sports Studies
PHI 394: Sports Ethics (Fall 2017)
I will be teaching Sports Ethics at ASU this Fall. For ASU students: this course can be used to meet part of your upper-division elective requirement.
A study of moral issues in sports, including, but not limited to, the value of sport, the nature of sportsmanship, the prohibition of performance-enhancing drugs, the value of fandom, the social effects of sport, and the role of danger and violence in sport.
The class will meet Tuesdays/Thursdays 10:30 – 11:45 am.
Here’s the reading list from Fall 2016 (Bear in mind there will likely be some changes to readings and/or topics): https://sportsethicist.com/2016/08/12/sports-ethics-at-asu-fall-2016/
Filed under Arizona State, Classes, Sports Ethics, Sports Studies
New Masters in Sports Ethics and Integrity
At the Penn State Sports Ethics conference, Mike McNamee mentioned a new Masters program that looks really exciting.
Bringing together scholars and experts from several European universities and international sporting federations, the degree says it will prepare students for careers in the administration and governance of sports organizations.
At the conference Mike discussed the need for sport organizations to have what he called “Sport Integrity Officers.” This degree sounds like a step towards creating that career and training the people to fill those positions.
Check out the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree in Sports Ethics and Integrity website for more information (including the possibility of scholarships).
Filed under Sports Ethics, Sports Studies
Defining Sport Published
I’m proud to announce the publication of my edited volume: Defining Sport: Conceptions and Borderlines. 
This is the first volume in Lexington Books’ Studies in the Philosophy of Sport series. [As editor of this series, I’d love to hear ideas for contributions to this series. Contact me with ideas.]
Part One examines several of the standard and influential approaches to defining sport. Part Two uses these approaches to examine various challenging borderline cases (e.g. bullfighting, skateboarding, esport, Crossfit). These chapters examine the interplay of the borderline cases with the definition and provide a more thorough and clearer understanding of the definition and the given cases.
See the full listing of chapters and contributors on my blog.
It is available from Lexington, Amazon, and other booksellers. There is also an ebook version.
Filed under Books, Philosophy, Sports Studies
CFA: The 10th Anniversary Summit on Communication and Sport
The International Association for Communication and Sport (IACS) is hosting the 10th Summit on Communication and Sport. The Summit is scheduled for March 30 – April 2, 2016 in Phoenix, Arizona.
They recently sent out the Call for Abstracts for papers and panels. The deadline is October 14, 2016. Information on submission is at the IACS website.
For conference events inquiries, please contact Dr. Jeff Kassing (jkassing@asu.edu) or Dr. Lauren Smith (LS35@iu.edu)
For conference submission inquiries, please contact Dr. Lauren Smith
Filed under Arizona State, CFP, Sports Studies
Sports Ethics at ASU Fall 2016
Here are the topics and readings for my Sports Ethics this fall at ASU.
What is Sport?
Reid, “Socrates at the Ballpark”
How can Sport affect Society?
Eig, Excerpt from Opening Day;
Leavy, Excerpt from Sandy Koufax;
The 16th Man (Video)
What is Sportsmanship?
Keating, “Sportsmanship as a Moral Category”;
Feezell, “Sportsmanship”
Is it ethical to run up the score?
Dixon, “On Sportsmanship and ‘Running Up the Score”;
Feezell, “Sportmanship and Blowouts: Baseball and Beyond”
Is it wrong to foul?
Fraleigh, “Intentional rules violations”;
Simon, “The ethics of strategic fouling”
Is competition moral?
Kretchmar, “In Defense of Winning”;
Simon, “The Critique of Competition in Sports”;
Kohn, “Fun and Fitness w/o competition”
Is violence in sport okay?
Dixon, “A Critique of Violent Retaliation in Sport” ;
Zakhem, “The Virtues of a Good Fight”
Should football be banned?
Russell, “The Value of Dangerous Sport” ;
Sailors, “Personal Foul: an evaluation of moral status of football”
Should PEDs be banned?
Savulescu and Devine, Oxford Debate: PED;
Simon,”Good competition and drug-enhanced performance”;
Hemphill, “Performance enhancement and drug control in sport ethical considerations”
What is the role of money in sport?
Duncan, “Does A-Rod Deserve So Much Money? Yes!”;
Shuman, “Does A-Rod Deserve So Much Money? No!”;
Collins, “Does the Salary Cap Make the NFL a Fairer League?”;
Sheehan, “Salary Cap”;
Is it ethical to be a sports fan?
Dixon, “The Ethics of supporting sports teams”;
The Philosophy of Sports Fan by Stephen Mumford (videos);
Aikin, “Responsible Sports Spectatorship and the Problem of Fantasy Leagues”
Filed under Arizona State, Classes, Sports Ethics, Sports Studies
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