choose to write on one of the following topics:
1. Choose one sport, and apply a functionalist perspective to explain how they help to build
and maintain a sense of community, civic-mindedness, and solidarity in modern society.
2. Choose one sport, and apply a Weberian perspective to describe how they have been
transformed, either positively or negatively, by being rationalized.
3. Choose one sport, and apply a Marxist or neo-Marxist perspective to describe how it
serves as an ideology to mask inequalities and promote values that support the social
order.
4. Choose one sport, and apply a cultural studies perspective to summarize how both
dominant and subordinate groups (e.g., athletes, owners, fans) have struggled with one
another to advance their material interests.
5. Choose one sport, team, or athlete and apply a cultural studies perspective to look at how
they have been confronted with struggles around, and issues related to, race and/or
ethnicity.
6. Choose one sport, team, or athlete and apply a cultural studies perspective to look at how
they have been confronted with struggles around, and issues related to, gender and/or
sexuality.
7. Choose one sport, team, or athlete and apply a cultural studies perspective to look at how
they confirm or refute, or have been affected by, the development of globalization.
