Sports Culture: The Perception of the Collegiate Athlete II

Anderson, Eric

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/8752 Copy

Description

Title

Sports Culture: The Perception of the Collegiate Athlete II

Author(s)

Anderson, Eric

Contributor(s)

Latarski, Adam

Issue Date

2008

Keyword(s)

• Student athlete
• stigmas
• academic integrity
• stereotypes
• KIN442 S08

Abstract

Student athletes on this campus are perceived differently based on their athletic prowess. As long as the players continue to be glorified and celebrated throughout the community, the division will most likely remain. People support athletics and athletes in an attempt to build community and camaraderie. This forms a hierarchy in which athletes are automatically inserted into once they become part of the team. However, not all of the athletes are perceived accolades or scrutiny. Most of this attention is placed on “money athletes”, or the “basketball and football” players. These athletes attract the eye of the public interest. Public interest and TV contracts cast these students as more than athletes’ representatives of the university. Are there different perceptions by the student body towards the athletes? Do athletes feel pressured by these stigmas placed on them, and how do they deal with those stereotypes? Is the public’s perception related to the division of athletes? Is this linked to performance? Athletes are targeted by different populations on campus because of their reflection of the university; these athletes deal with these pressures with different levels of emotion.

Series/Report Name or Number

Kin 442, Bodies, Culture & Society, Prof. Melissa Littlefield: Students participating in this course examine bodies in history, in particular cultural contexts, in international and national forums. Questions guiding research include: What is a body? Is there such a thing as “the” body? How are bodies produced? What do they represent? Who gets to represent them? Course readings vary widely to include anthropological, historical, psychological and sociological perspectives. Student projects focus on exercise, health and sport practices in general and on the University of Illinois campus in particular. The course syllabus is available at: www.eui.uiuc.edu/docs/syllabi/KINES442S08.doc

Type of Resource

text

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/8752

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