Exam 2

In case you missed the in-class review......
Here are some concepts to focus on as you prepare for exam #2.

Deviance
Formal and informal norms
Title IX
Government involvement in sports
Race
Ethnicity
Minority
Social Class
Media and "re-presentations" of sports
Politics
Power
Authority

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Reminder:  Exam #2 is Monday!  Be prepared to answer one of the following essay questions:

Answer one of the following essays.




1. Recent research in biology and genetics has led to the conclusion that the concept of race has no biological validity. Explain what this means, why it is so difficult for many people to accept, and how race is different from ethnicity.



2. The author outlines a sociological hypothesis for explaining the achievements of black male athletes in certain sports. Identify the main points in his explanation and indicate whether you think the hypothesis is reasonable or naïve.



3. Why are most people surprised when they are told that blacks are seriously underrepresented in most amateur and professional sports? What factors account for this underrepresentation?

Exam #2

Exam #2 will cover chapters 6, 8, 9, 10, 12 and 13.  You should also be familiar with the article by Harry Edwards and Dr. Naison's talk about The Rat that Got Away.  The exam will consist of 50 multiple choice questions and one essay.  You will have three essays to choose from.  All of the essays will focus on the issue race and sports. 

Important Announcements

Please read chapter 13 for class tomorrow.

The second exam is NOT tomorrow.  The exam is Monday, November 29, 2010. 

Reminder:  The first draft of the final research paper is due Wednesday, November 24, 2010. 

See you in class!

Gender and sports

From Tim McCormack

Those of you writing about gender and sports for your projects should definitely read this article.  An international perspective might be a good thing to add to any project.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/18/sports/18SAUDISPORTS.html?ref=sports

Of course if you are in need of performance points, you should comment thoroughly below.

"Trickle Down" by Dr. Naison

Trickle Down

Dr. Naison Video Clip

Dr. Naison talks about writing a book via email.

Dr. Mark Naison talks about his research and the Paterson Houses

Dr. Mark Naison

The Rat that Got Away-Book Review

The Rat That Got Away

Book Review

By Dr. Lori Latrice Martin

Assistant Professor

John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Department of African-American Studies

The Rat That Got Away is much more than a memoir. Sure, within the pages, one can read about a youngster’s transition from boyhood to manhood. One can also read about a sojourn from the hallways of Paterson Houses in the Bronx, to legendary outdoor basketball courts, to the floors of financial institutions in the Europe. Equally significant, are the reflections about a host of issues of interest to scholars and laypersons alike. These issues include: neighborhood change; the influence of various agents of socialization like the family, peers, and religion; the impact of social movements on local communities; variations in the quality of education by race and place; culture shock; the challenges facing student athletes; delinquency; and even identity formation.

As Allen Jones begins his tale, we find the Paterson Houses as a place friendly to families. It began as a multiracial, multiethnic, mixed socioeconomic community with dual-headed households employed in an array of occupations. As time passes, the Paterson Houses becomes a very different place. The change from a stable to a distressed community is attributed to a number of factors, including: white flight, the exodus of middle class blacks, drug use, and drug abuse.

Jones comes of age during some of the most tumultuous times in modern American history, the 1960s and 1970s. Namely, Jones and others lived through the Civil Rights Movement, the black power movement, the antiwar movement, neighborhood blight, drug epidemics, and like many others did not come out unscathed.

As the nation struggled, Allen struggled. His struggles were both internal and external; both personal and communal. Although raised in the Catholic faith, Jones would soon stray from the church’s teachings. He found the sparkle and shine associated with those involved in the underground economy, (i.e. hustlers, drug dealers, drug users, prostitutes, etc.), more attractive. The former church boy would exchange his devotion to the church for “street credibility” which ultimately led to petty theft, a heroin addiction, and a stay in one of New York City’s most notorious penal institutions.

While the nation, the neighborhood and Allen Jones, experienced a lot of changes, one thing that was constant in Allen’s life was his love for basketball. Clearly, Jones was a gifted athlete and like many young people today, he had dreams of becoming a professional athlete. Many young people envision success as a professional athlete as their best chance of escaping a distressed community. Ironically, basketball was not his ticket out of a distressed community; rather, in some ways basketball kept him connected to it.

Among the individuals with the greatest street credibility, a great commodity in the Paterson Houses and other distressed communities, were hustlers, drug dealers, musicians, and athletes. Not only was he treated with the utmost respect by individuals contributing to the decline of the quality of life in the community, but the star treatment he received, left him ill prepared for the “real world,” for the “world” outside of the Paterson Houses.

Because of the special treatment that Allen Jones received as an elite basketball player, he bought into the notion that as long as he excelled in athletics, little else would be expected of him. This clearly conflicted with the expectations that his parents had for him and the expectations he once had for himself. This cost Allen tremendously. Allen was under the mistaken belief, as is the case for far too many student athletes; that they will just get a pass through life. That teachers and/or professors will promote student athletes regardless of their academic performance. Needless to say, Allen Jones did not receive the quality of education that would facilitate admission into the type of college that is part of the professional athletics pipeline. This was partly Allen’s fault as well as a failure on the part of the educational system. Allen, like some other student athletes, forgot that they he was a student first and an athlete second.

Once Jones realizes the importance of excelling on and off the court, his eyes widen, his universe expands. This is evidenced in the culture shock he experiences. Allen Jones does not need to go to Europe before experiencing culture shock, much like students of color on predominately white college campuses today, he experienced culture shock without ever leaving the U.S.

He was surprised by the disparities in wealth he witnessed. The level of wealth that existed among the faculty and the students at the junior college and the people living in and around Paterson Houses was very apparent. Moreover, Allen Jones was shocked at the audacity shown by some white students in their drug use compared to the secrecy, paranoia and covert use in more distressed communities such as the community surrounding the Paterson Houses. Allen was becoming acutely aware of the benefits associated with what some scholars call white privilege.

The life and times of Allen Jones are reflective of the many challenges facing individuals, families, communities, and the nation as whole. Although Allen’s story has a happy ending, it is reflective of a concept that is getting increased attention in the sociological literature, strategic assimilation. Strategic assimilation is generally applied to the black middle class and holds that some members of the black middle class attempt to maintain various social ties in the “black world” while maintaining a foothold in the “white world.” Their ties to the black community often times involves membership in historically black institutions like the black church or organizations like Jack and Jill and their foothold in the “white world” involves taking up residency in predominately white neighborhoods, employment in predominately white professions, and enrollment in predominately white high schools, preparatory schools and colleges.

Allen, like many young people living in distressed communities that are often also racially and ethnically homogeneous, faced the challenge of trying to maintain credibility with those involved in illicit activities, while at the same time reaching for higher heights. The book offers some insight into the struggle that young people face and some explanation as to why some succumb to the pressures while others do not.

For one, it is evident that the amount of pressure placed on young people in distressed communities may vary by gender. Young males may be more likely to succumb to such pressures than young females, which is not to say that young females are immune. Strong family values and the presence of positive adult role models is important too as is the accumulation of not only monetary capital but social capital. Much of Allen’s ultimate success came from the strong foundation laid by his parents and from the social capital and social networks he developed and nurtured due in large part to his status as an elite athlete.

The Rat That Got Away , in many ways, serves as a model for helping a subset of young people that all too often find themselves in the same situation as Allen, torn between the glitter and glamour of illicit activities and legitimate pathways to wealth, status and power. The Rat That Got Away , is a must read for high school and first generation college students who are but one poor decision away from realizing the proverbial American dream.

Class Tomorrow: November 3, 2010

Posted by Dr. Martin

Sorry for the confusion!  Classes which begin at 4:00 PM or later are required to meet as scheduled. Since our class begins at 3:35, we will not meet.  I will be in my office if you wish to discuss the paper or any other matter concerning the course.  Thanks!

See you all Monday!

How to comment

From Tim McCormack

Neither Professor Martin nor I have ever used Blogspot before.  So, we have had a little trouble getting this thing rolling.  Follow the rules below to begin using the blog by reading it and offering comments to various posts.

Only one person can "lead the blog."  So all initial posts will be listed as coming from Professor Martin.  However, when I post something I will write at the top "From Tim McCormack" so you will know it is from me. (As I did above.)

There is some confusion about what followers can do on the blog as far as posting.  Followers cannot make initial posts.  They can only "post comments."  The post comment box appears below the post.  You are able to read others comments as well.

So, I just posted a chance to join the blog conversation.  See my post below and start commenting.  More opportunities to follow.

A chance to Post Comments

From Tim McCormack


I wanted to give those willing yet another chance to begin a dialogue on the blog here about topics that matter to our courses. This is especially important as I review your midterm performance grade and quite frankly, many of you could use the points. 

There have been two stories involving the NFL that have received a lot of attention lately. One of them is the story of how the NFL has a big safety issue and how their players are at risk for injury. However, the NFL also markets violent play as a positive thing. See the discussion of this issue in the NY Times by clicking on the link below or cutting and pasting this url into your browser search box. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/22/sports/football/22hits.html?scp=4&sq=NFL%20violence%20marketing&st=cse



And then there was this column on NFL cheerleaders. Click on this link or cut and paste it into your browser.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/17/sports/football/17rhoden.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=NFL%20cheerleaders&st=cse

I am especially interested in the ideas of sexism of cheerleading as sport, and the idea that the use of cheerleaders in the NFL and NBA undermines the athletic skill required. Do you think cheerleaders are athletes? 

If the URL links do not work, just go to the NY TIMES and put NFL cheerleaders or NFL violence into the search box. 

Looking forward to seeing you all comment here.  

Rhetorical Vocabulary

From tim McCormack

Below is the rhetorical vocabulary list to write the reflective letter for your portfolio and to talk about your work in our conference.  You may have to research some of these words to be able to use them effectively.  Choose the words that apply to what you have learned so far this semester.  Be able to give examples from your work that relate to the rhetorical terms you use.

Have you figured out yet that the letter and conference are really the same assignment:  one is written and the other is spoken.

No class this week.  See you in conference.

Tim

Redundancy:

Meaningless Words:

Meta discourse:

Trust

Form

Genre                                   

Organization

Structure

Opening

Closing

Theme/Hypothesis/Research Question(s)

Explicit/Implicit/Extended

Argument

Audience

Voice

Flow

Research                       

Evidence

Sources

Pace

Point of View

Direct

Diction

Tension Point

Summary

Paraphrase

Quotes

Insert Quote

Block Quote

Documentation                       

Citation

Transitions

Tone

Subheads

Order

Choppy

Overstatement

Rhythm

Wordplay

Syntax

Format

Sentence Structure

Surrender Moments                       

Writer/Reader/Text

Risk Taking

All the world is a text                                               

Worthy Message                                   

Binary

Writer Choice

Two Research Paradigms                                               

Explicit/Implicit/Extended                       

Narrator Presence

Topic à ThesisàFocus                                                                                                           

Entertainment

Storytelling                                                                                                                                   

Analysis vs Opinion

Evidence

Corroboration

Naming (Creating Terms)