IL211-15 Sport, Philosophy, and Practice

Department: Institute for Advanced Teaching and Learning
Level: Undergraduate Level 2
Module leader: Jonathan Heron
Credit value: 15
Module duration: 10 weeks
Assessment: 100% coursework
Study location: University of Warwick main campus, Coventry

Introductory description

Sport has profound connections with our physical, social, and psychological lives. It perforates our everyday experiences whether we participate in it or not. What precisely do we understand as 'sport' and what constitutes a sporting environment? What is the distinctive value and nature of sport in human experience? How do ethics, aesthetics, and a search for knowledge about ourselves and the world factor into our sporting endeavours? Where does sport as an extra-curricular activity meet established curricula? These are just some of the questions this module will invite you to explore. In addressing them you will encounter theories from a variety of disciplines, have the chance to analyse film, literature, and your own sporting practice, and engage in practical field work through active learning.

Module aims

The module will cover three philosophical approaches to sport, as outlined in the core readings (see below). These overarching principles will inform particular sessions on play, movement and beauty in sport as well as issues of identity, coaching and health. Finally, we will explore the ways in which sporting cultures and philosophical study can develop your own personal practice. Students will be able to identify their own topics and examples around these themes. All practical activities will be designed to be as inclusive and participatory as possible, and students can have any engagement in sport which will be broadly defined to include amateur and community settings, as well as professional and commercial contexts. You do not need to be able to play sport to a high level in order to engage with this module, but you will need to identity a practical example through observation or participation.

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

10 week module

Introduction: session will cover (a) the main approaches of the module, i.e. aesthetics (bodies), ethics (dilemmas) and phenomena (experiences), (b) allocating the cohort into groups around these three themes for the student presentations, (c) students’ personal experiences of sport and physical culture.

Unit A - Aesthetics

Play – examples of play theory in sporting practice; critical readings on play theory (e.g. Caillois, Bateson, and Sutton-Smith); reflection on body-based culture (e.g. dance, sports, ritual); sports that involve aesthetic judgements (e.g. diving, gymnastics, bodybuilding); community contexts.
Movement – interactive workshop with guest practitioner and/or tutors focused on play and movement; physical activities will be inclusive to engage all students to participate in, and then reflect upon, movement practices from a philosophical (and artistic) perspective.
Beauty – aesthetic traditions of beauty and the sublime across cultures and readings in the philosophy of sport (Borge, Connor, Ryall, Young); issues of body dysmorphia and conceptions of endurance/resilience in sport; student assessments discussed, and groupings reviewed.

Unit 2 - Ethics

Identities – consideration of representations of gendered identity in social media (e.g. Instagram, TikTok, YouTube) and cinema (e.g. Billy Elliot, Bend it Like Beckham, and The Wrestler) alongside critical readings in gender studies.
Coaching – practical experience of being coached and reflection upon the rules being set as part of this relationship; critical readings in social politics and current philosophical thinking re. rule-bound activity in sports. Possible guest speaker/practitioner.
Health – input from medical/health sciences; readings in public health and recreation readings (e.g. school and young sports programmes, public health campaigns, international development schemes); consideration of disability and inclusion in sport; return to core readings in philosophy of sport from Week 4 (Young, Ryall, Connor).

Unit 3 – Phenomenology

Environment – Classical histories of sport and recreation and their legacy within contemporary philosophies of sport (e.g. Csikzsentmihalyi, Merleau-Ponty), especially where these relate to ideas of space/place; possible field trip or walk.
Event – Collaborative student presentations on the introductory themes, working as a group to identify examples from practice; possible guests and practitioners to inform student assessments; return to core readings from Wk 4.
Extra-curriculum – Peer review and tutorials towards student assessed projects; plenary discussion on the relationship between the academic curriculum and extra-curricular activities; looking ahead to practical presentations.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

identify different philsophical approaches to sport by analysing aesthetic, ethical and experiential concepts
reflect upon their practice within a philosophical approach and demonstrate this through practical presentation
integrate perspectives from multiple disciplines and apply them to the study of sport
critically examine the interrelationship between sporting cultures, philosophical study, and personal practice
undertake a critical analysis of a sporting event and propose ways of understanding the sporting practice

Indicative reading list

Required Reading:

Borge, S. 2024. Two concepts of sporting excellence. Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, 1–14. (https://doi.org/10.1080/00948705.2024.233287)

Connor S. 2011. A Philosophy of Sport (https://go.exlibris.link/3Csfq2Ns)

Ryall, E. 2016. Philosophy of Sport: Key Questions (https://go.exlibris.link/9WWs4Dm3)

Young, D. 2015. How to Think about Exercise (available online, not currently in library)

Interdisciplinary

One of IATL's original flagship interdisciplinary modules, demonstrating a practical approach to open-space learning for a cross-faculty cohort of students.

International

The module engages in international perspectives on sporting cultures and student can bring their own international or intercultural examples into all assessments.

Subject specific skills

A good theoretical knowledge of well-established positions in the various disciplines concerned with the ethical, aesthetic, and phenomenological aspects of sporting practice.
Have an understanding of the different disciplinary languages pertaining to the subject matter.
Have a knowledge of the material of the module through the lens of their ascribed presentation topic – i.e. aesthetics, ethics, or phenomenology.

Transferable skills

Communicate their ideas in written, oral, or other forms.
Communicate with their peers and other academics.
Work in groups and successfully collaborate on workshop-length projects.
Be able to use a variety of disciplinary terms in communication of ideas.
Independently use research tools and resources and reference these correctly.
Take responsibility for self-management in meeting short and long term deadlines.
Develop a project that reflects upon the best form of expression their content needs.
Communicate at an interdisciplinary level with peers and academics in order to address the module’s themes.

Study time

Type	Required
Practical classes	10 sessions of 2 hours (13%)
Private study	30 hours (20%)
Assessment	100 hours (67%)
Total	150 hours

Private study description

Guided tasks relating to core module reading, student blogs, group presentations, critical review and practical exam.

Costs

Category	Description	Funded by	Cost to student
Field trips, placements and study abroad	There may be an organized trip to a sporting event or centre. We will apply for a Pedagogic Intervention to fund this. If funding cannot be secured we will organise and advertise the trip as extra-curricular and any practical details to make the trip accessible to all students.	Department	£0.00

You do not need to pass all assessment components to pass the module.

Assessment group A

	Weighting	Study time	Eligible for self-certification
Assessment component
Practical Presentation	50%	50 hours	No
Submitted written plan & 15 mins Presentation (10 activity/5 Q&A): Students will plan and lead the group in a 10min activity designed to address their reflections on the module. They will demonstrate through the activity their critical understanding of a specific concept, issue, and/or practice that the module has covered. This will take the form of a participatory, physical activity which they will be asked to reflect upon during the 5min debrief. They will also submit a written plan of the activity on Tabula.
Reassessment component
Practical Presentation			No
This will only be used in the event of reassessment.
Assessment component
Critical review/essay	50%	50 hours	Yes (extension)
The critical review of a sporting event takes the form of an essay.
Reassessment component is the same

Feedback on assessment

Formative feedback will be given:
a) as part of tutor-responses to student presentations/writing task;
b) in discussion with students in Week 7 about their progress to-date;
c) in discussion with students during their presentations in week 9;
d) in Week 10 when tutors discuss with student progress re. final two assessments.

Detailed written and/or oral summative feedback will be provided by module tutors to individual students for each element of assessed work.

Courses

This module is Optional for:

All UG students (with home departmental approval, if required)