JRN 573 - Sports Literature

Rich Hanley, Associate ProfessorSpring 2015/Introduction

JRN 573 - Sports Literature

Welcome!

Rich Hanleyrhanley@quinnipiac.edu@richardhanleyhttp://www.facebook.com/groups/qujournalism/

JRN 573 - Sports Literature

Introduction - 1

● The origins of this course began with a conversation among sports editors and ended with the following statement:

● The most successful sportswriters understand they are part of a literary tradition that starts with Homer and extends through their careers.

JRN 573 - Sports Literature

Introduction - 2

● That’s right.

● Even in an era where 140-character tweets seem to dominate sports coverage, sportswriting retains appealing literary characteristics that can be traced to the earliest works of ancient Greece.

JRN 573 - Sports Literature

Introduction - 3

● And most importantly, sports editors who reviewed the class enthusiastically supported it, for good reason.

● Editors want writers who understand the literary side of the craft to make them better, particularly when it comes to long-form articles that audiences increasingly crave.

JRN 573 - Sports Literature

Introduction - 4

● We carry a broad definition of sports literature to the course.

● We will read both factual works and fictional works and watch two films, fictionalized works that are based on reality.

JRN 573 - Sports Literature

Introduction - 5

● The importance of understanding sportswriting as a literary craft may be the most important aspect of your graduate program.

● And the importance of understanding the role of sports literature in the larger context of culture will deepen coverage of even the most routine of sporting events.

JRN 573 - Sports Literature

Introduction - 6

● So please do not think of this class as a chore, or a bore, because it doesn’t involve pushing multimedia buttons or tweeting or doing any of the other wonderful things that technology presents.

● This class is about reading, discussing the material and writing about it.

JRN 573 - Sports Literature

Introduction - 7

● The course begins with introductory material on how writers operate to secure a sense of the process of the literary life. That’s Week One.

● The course ends with a major paper that requires students to critically assess a significant book in the history of sports literature.

JRN 573 - Sports Literature

Introduction - 8

● In between, students will do the following through a series of weekly assignments:

o Read. Write. Discuss.o Repeat that sequence most weeks.

JRN 573 - Sports Literature

Introduction - 9

● Required texts (part 1):

• Sport and the Spirit of Play in American Fiction: Hawthorne to Faulkner by Christopher Messenger. 1983. Paperback. This is available free as an e-book from the Arnold Bernhard Library. Used versions are available at attractive prices from Amazon.com.

JRN 573 - Sports Literature

Introduction - 10

● Required texts (part 2):

● The Only Game in Town: Sportswriting from The New Yorker by David Remnick. 2011. Used versions are available at attractive prices from Amazon.com.

JRN 573 - Sports Literature

Introduction - 11

● Required film:

• North Dallas Forty (1979). Netflix.

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Introduction - 12

● In addition to the required texts and films, online articles and other materials will be posted for each weekly Learning Module.

● Make sure to log on to Blackboard at the start of each week, see what is due that week and work toward completing the work by the end of the week.

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Introduction - 13

● There are 10 brief reading response papers and one major paper due during the semester. A response paper is simply a review of the week’s reading.

● Students must post reactions to the readings and to comments from classmates within the board. The minimum: 3 per week (one original, two replies)

JRN 573 - Sports Literature

Introduction - 14

● One final note on the discussion boards: engage with your classmates and avoid the trap of simply posting the minimum required figure.

● And make sure to read the Syllabus!

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Introduction - 15

● Good luck!