Master of Arts Interdisciplinary Studies (MAIS) 752

Overview

Welcome to MAIS 752: Special Topics Graduate Seminar—Writing the Body in Motion, Canadian Sport Literature. The aim of this seminar is for students to learn to read sport literature with an understanding of genre, technique, and form; to apply various critical strategies to literary texts; to develop analytical writing skills appropriate to essays at the graduate level; and to experiment with creative writing about sport. Students will develop the ability to read with increased understanding of the art of literature and therefore with more enjoyment and a better grasp of sport literature’s contribution to their understanding of the moral, social, and political forces that shape modern life. Students will be encouraged to send their final papers to the Sport Literature Association’s Lyle Olsen Graduate Student Essay Contest, with the possibility of presenting papers at the annual SLA conference.

According to Don Morrow at the University of Western Ontario, sport literature is never just about sport. Rather, it explores the human condition using sport as the dominant metaphor. In this course, students will examine the various ways sport functions metaphorically. Students will also consider various recurring themes of sport literature, including: sport and the body; sport and violence; sport and gender; sport and society; sport and sexuality; sport and heroism; and sport literature and intertextuality. The goal is an increased understanding of both sport and literature.

The course’s two major projects (one creative and one critical) will be completed with the goal of submitting them for publication in the Sport Literature Association’s journal Aethelon or presenting them at the Sport Literature Association’s annual conference.

Outline

MAIS 752 is divided into eight units:

• Unit 1: The First Lap: Introduction to Canadian Sport Literature
• Unit 2: Sprints: Reading Short Fiction
• Unit 3: Team Games: Hockey Literature, Canadian Identity, and Aging Athletes
• Unit 4: Subbing In: Sport Literature as an Alternative Approach to Sport History
• Unit 5: Going Multisport: Reading Sport Lit to Write Sport Lit
• Unit 6: Writing Whose Body in Motion? Race and Gender in Sport Literature
• Unit 7: The Last Length: Preparing for the Final Paper
• Unit 8: Review

Learning outcomes

After completing MAIS 752, students should be able to:

1. Read sport literature with an understanding of genre, technique, and form.
2. Apply various critical strategies to sport literature.
3. Develop analytical writing skills appropriate to essays at the graduate level.
4. Experiment with creative writing about sport.
5. Read with increased understanding of the art of literature, grasping sport literature’s contribution to the moral, social, and political forces that shape modern life.
6. Demonstrate an increased knowledge and understanding of themselves and others through their experience with sport literature.

Evaluation

To receive credit for MAIS 752, students must complete and submit all of the assignments, and achieve a minimum grade of C− (60 percent) for the course.

Students will be evaluated on their understanding of the concepts presented in the course and on their ability to apply those concepts. The final grade in the course will be based on the marks achieved for the following activities.

Materials

Important links

• Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies
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