In his autobiography, Jackie Robinson recalls his legendary first meeting with Branch Rickey, who warns him that their journey to integrate Major League Baseball will entail far "more than just playing":
"I wish it meant only hits, runs, and errors—only the things they put in the box score. Because you know—yes, you would know, Robinson, that a baseball box score is a democratic thing. It doesn't tell how big you are, what church you attend, what color you are, or how your father voted in the last election. It just tells us what kind of baseball player you were on that particular day."
I interrupted. "But it's the box score that really counts—that and that alone, isn't it?"
"It's all that ought to count," he replied. "But it isn't. Maybe one of these days it will be all that counts."
This course uses the game of baseball to explore this longstanding cultural tension between what does and does not "count." Should we define sports and the athletes who play them through objective rules and metrics—through the countable data of hits, runs, and errors? Or should we define them through their subjective, nonquantifiable relationship to history and society? How has baseball functioned as a unique and historically influential laboratory for isolating the objective from the subjective and, in turn, drawing them into renewed tension?
Students in this course will use literary, historical, and critical texts about baseball to address numerous ethical issues at the intersection of media, race, labor, and gender. The course does not require any technical or historical knowledge of baseball, and it will undoubtedly rely upon class discussion about other sports, but it will require a willingness to focus primarily on baseball over the course of a semester.
Required Films:
Required Texts:
Final grades will be calculated from a composite of six items throughout the semester:
This course will be conducted in a seminar format, and a high participation grade will reflect regular, attentive, and thoughtful contributions to our discussion. Be prepared to ask questions, to make claims about the assigned reading, and to respond to other students' questions and claims.
Discussion, like any other skill, requires time, patience, and practice to develop. Everyone is coming to this course with different levels of exposure to the course's concepts and with various ranges of experience in analyzing texts. My only expectation is that everyone will try to keep discussions generative and inclusive.
Students are allowed three absences (the equivalent of one week of class). Additional absences will result in an immediate reduction of the participation grade.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Throughout the semester students will write nine responses to the assigned readings and share them as "discussion posts" on Canvas. You may choose which readings you will respond to. The first three discussion posts must be completed by Week 6 (9/27), the next three must be completed by Week 10 (10/29), and the final three must be completed by Week 16 (12/8).
Each discussion post should be submitted by 9am prior to the class for the assigned reading or film (i.e. 3.5 hours before class meets). After 9am the discussion board will lock, and you will no longer be able to add a discussion post. When writing your discussion post, you may choose either to begin a brand new thread or to respond to a thread already started by a classmate.
CONTENT GUIDELINES
Discussion posts should include any of the following: reflections, questions, close readings; you can discuss how a particular text relates to the course as a whole, you can draw comparisons and contrasts with prior readings, and you can comment upon your classmates' responses. In order to keep the conversation open to your classmates, please refrain from discussing media not assigned in this course.
Each response should include substantive analytical engagement with the assigned reading. If you ask a question, you should tell us why you are asking this question—why, in other words, is it important for us to seek an answer to this question? If, alternatively, you want to reflect on an interesting passage, do not simply inform us of your opinion; tell us why the text interests you, how it contributes to the themes previously explored throughout the course, etc. If, alternatively, you respond to a classmates' discussion post, be careful not to simply agree or disagree with them; you must find a way to build upon what they have already contributed.
Discussion posts may be brief (~250 words), but be prepared to comment upon them at greater length. It is possible that your responses will be referenced and discussed during class.
| Failed Quizzes |
Quiz Grade |
|---|---|
| 0 | A |
| 1 | A |
| 2 | B |
| 3 | C |
| 4 | D |
| 5 | F |
Reading quizzes will be administered at random through the semester. Each quiz will be graded on a pass/fail basis. You only need to score 50% or higher to pass.
Everyone will begin the semester with a quiz grade of "A." After a first quiz failure, this grade will remain unchanged. After a second quiz failure, this grade will be reduced to a "B," and then, after a third failure, to a "C," and so on.
I do not generally enjoy giving reading quizzes because they take up classroom time and (potentially) establish an adversarial relationship between students and instructors. However, studies show that reading quizzes vastly improve student engagement in the classroom. Thus while I will try to keep quizzes scarce, I reserve the right to institute regular quizzes if flagging participation indicates that students are not keeping up with the readings.
A 5-page analytical essay will be assigned during Week 5 and will be due in my mailbox (430 Burrowes Bldg) by 4:59pm on October 18, 2021.
A 3-page summary and response to a piece of sportswriting about a historical subject in any sport will be assigned during Week 9 and will be due in class on November 15, 2021.
A 7-page analytical essay will be assigned during week 13 and will be due on Canvas by 11:59pm on December 14, 2021.
Students must submit the midterm and final essays in order to pass the course. Late midterm and final essays will receive a grade no higher than "D."
If you have questions or concerns regarding these assignments or grading systems, I will gladly discuss them with you.
Please bring the following items to each class:
I expect myself and everyone else to maintain a safe classroom environment. Discrimination or harassment of any form—and particularly on the basis of race, color, disability status, nationality, sexual and gender identity, or religion—will not be tolerated.
If you require any acommodations in order to participate in this course, please let me and/or Penn State's Student Disability Resources office know as soon as possible. It is your right to have these accommodations met.
The Pennsylvania State University is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to programs, facilities, admission, and employment without regard to personal characteristics not related to ability, performance, or qualifications as determined by University policy or by state of federal authorities. The Pennsylvania State University does not discriminate against any person because of age, ancestry, color, disability or handicap, national origin, race, religious creed, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status.
Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University’s educational programs. Every Penn State campus has an office for students with disabilities. The Student Disability Resources Web site provides contact information for every Penn State campus: http://equity.psu.edu/sdr/disability-coordinator. For further information, please visit the Student Disability Resources Web site: http://equity.psu.edu/sdr.
In order to receive consideration for reasonable accommodations, you must contact the appropriate disability services office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation: http://equity.psu.edu/sdr/applying-for-services. If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus’s disability services office will provide you with an accommodation letter. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. You must follow this process for every semester that you request accommodations.
Except for the "required texts" listed above, all readings are available on Canvas, including PDF copies of articles from the web. Readings should be completed prior to, not after, the date listed. Due dates are marked in red.
Week One (8/23)
Week Two (8/30)
Week Three (9/6)
Week Four (9/13)
Week Five (9/20)
Week Six (9/27)
Week Seven (10/4)
Week Eight (10/11)
Week Nine (10/18)
Week Ten (10/25)
Week Eleven (11/1)
Week Twelve (11/8)
Week Thirteen (11/15)
Week Fourteen (11/22)
Week Fifteen (11/29)
Week Sixteen (12/6)
Finals Week (12/13)
header image: from John M. Humphreys, "Electric Base Ball Register" (US Patent No. 727,633), 1903.