Labor 120 – Fall 2024
Striffler
Drawing from our readings and films, answer all of the following questions (in about 2-3 paragraphs per answer). Do not draw from sources outside the class. The exam should be submitted by 11:59 pm on Monday (12/16) via Blackboard.
1) Drawing on the Boston Globe article on racism and sports within Boston (“The Bigot in the Stands”), answer the following: What factors/events/reasons related to sports explain why people sometimes consider Boston to be racist? Do you think the idea that Boston is racist is more a product of its past legacy with race and sports (say, around Jackie Robinson or Bill Russell), or are their current factors that create a racist environment around contemporary Boston sports? Back up your argument with specifics from the article and course. (30 points)
2) Who would you argue are the two most influential sports figures examined in this course? Why? In constructing your argument, you might consider discussing: their influence within and outside of sports; their long-term legacy on sport and society as a whole; the political context in which they emerged as major figures within sports and society, etc. (30 points)
3)
We are now at the end of a course called “Sports and Inequality.” Taking two sports that we explored in the course discuss and compare the histories of inequality and injustice within those sports. How has inequality/injustice emerged in different/similar ways in those particular sports? What has sustained and/or changed inequality within those sports over time? Who benefitted? Who was harmed? What are some possible solutions to alleviate inequality within the sport? (40 points)
