due after 48 hrs

ASB 252: Sports and Culture

Take Home Midterm Exam Fall 2015 Due: Friday, October 14th at 10:00 am

**Late exams will loose points in accordance with the course policy outlined in the syllabus**

Answer each of the following four questions. Your response to each question should be about one page each (12 Point Font; Double-Spaced; 1-Inch Margins). Answers of only a few sentences or even a single paragraph will NOT be sufficient. Responses must be typed and can be turned in on Canvas or in class. This assignment is worth 100 points.

Answer the question and provide support (from the class or other sources) for your response. Make an effort to think through the question and your response. This is a take home exam so I expect well thought out and well written answers. Your grade will depend on the ideas you put forth and the effort you put into this assignment. Support your answer with information from class whenever possible. Do your own work please; this is not a group project identical responses will receive zero grades. DO NOT cut & paste from the internet; plagiarism will result in zero grades.

Questions:

1) A number of theories for sport were presented in class. First, pick one of these theories that you support (i.e. makes sense to you), tell me what the theory is and then why you support it or why it makes sense to you. Your answer must be supported with course material. Second, pick one of these theories that you don’t support (i.e. it didn’t make sense to you) and tell me what the theory is and why it didn’t make sense to you. This response must also be supported by course material.

2) Define sport in your words. How does sport differ from recreation and play? Was Dani (New Guinea) “warfare” sport, yes or no and why? How does Dani warfare differ from sport according to your definition and how is it the same as sport? How does Dani warfare differ from play; how does it differ from popular U.S. sports such as baseball, football, or basketball?

3) Thinking of sports in primitive cultures using one of the following cultures, explain the role that sporting competitions play in said culture. (the ancient Greek Olympics, the Mesoamerican Ballgame, Traditional Lacrosse (so in the past or modern Medicine Games), or Cricket in the Trobriand Islands) How does this sport reflect the cultural beliefs, attitudes, and values in this culture? How connected to religious or spiritual beliefs and practices is sport in this culture? What theory or theories for sport seem to best explain the role of sport in this culture? Make sure to support your answers with information from class.

4) The relationships between sport and culture in a society is indicated by the value placed on sport in a society. What is the value placed on sport in the United States today? How does sport in the United States mesh with the American Dream (explain the American Dream), an important component of our culture? What does sport tell us about American culture today?