Conclusion - Week 15

I started out taking this class because I enjoyed SM 221 and I needed another elective to fill up my schedule. Now that it's over, I can honestly say that I would have taken the class whether I needed it for an elective or not. Even though I didn't always voice my opinions on articles or video clips during the class, (mostly because there was generally one or two people who controlled conversation) I really enjoyed being able to post my reflections about subjects that we discussed on my blog.

I've learned so much in this class about how sport and gender have been constructed by our society and by the media especially. I've also been opened up to several unique issues in sport and how they have been handled or resolved by institutions such as LPGA, NBA, or other league. I've also learned about how males look at the construction of sport and gender through hearing their opinions on issues in class. Even though I didn't always agree with them, it was nice to get their perspective and a different way of looking at the issues. The thing I found most useful from class was having the videos to supplement the PowerPoint presentations. It was nice to be able to read the articles and then pick out the key points in class through the notes, but having the videos helped me the most. It was like having something to compare what I just learned to.

I would have to say that one of the readings/topics that I found most interesting was the one I talked about during our blog presentations, The River Jordan. I found this interesting because it just seemed really interesting to me that the author was comparing the type of change that Martin Luther King Jr made to the potential that Michael Jordan had. In my mind, I think that was just over the top. Martin Luther King Jr did incredible things for civil rights. Even though MJ was an amazing athlete, I think it's ridiculous for anyone to try and hold him to the standards as Dr. King. Another topic I really enjoyed was Serena and Venus Williams at Indian Wells. We discussed this topic a little bit in the 221 class I took, but we went into the topic in depth a lot more in this class. I also enjoyed reading Serena's version of what happened that day and her reactions.

Keeping a blog has already worked out great for me in this class and other classes I've taken. Normally when you take a class you might think about the topics again a little after the class, but it's not likely. With a blog, I had the opportunity to actually go back and reflect on the topics we discussed in class. The blogs also gave me the opportunity to consider my own life experiences with sport and how they compare to the topics were discussing.

My career will be in the field of event planning and tourism, but even though this class doesn't relate specifically to my career, I will definitely take the concepts we discussed with me. I also think I may be interested in doing event planning for an athletic facility someday! Besides that, I really do like the concept of keeping a blog to post my reflections, so this may be something I continue with as part of my career profile.