Academic Courses

Scholar-Athlete: Sports Writing
Scholar-Athlete: Sport Physiology
Scholar-Athlete: Sport and Society

Scholar-Athlete: Sports Writing
EL921-1C Instructor: Mike Stanton

After the game, when the cheering stops, a sports writer's work begins. Learn how to make sport come alive in words -- the drama, the pressure, the pivotal moments, the personalities. You will also gain deeper insights into your own athletic pursuits by learning to communicate the essence of competition. From game coverage to profiles to columns to broader issues, students will receive an overview of being a sports writer today. Weather permitting, the course will feature field trips to a Pawtucket Red Sox game (top minor-league affiliate of the World Series Champion Boston Red Sox) and the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport.

Course Dates - July 13-July 18

Please Note: To register for Scholar-Athlete, you must choose one academic course and one sport (Swimming or Tennis).

Scholar-Athlete: Sport Physiology
BI915-1C Instructor: Smith

How does an Olympic sprinter run 200 meters in 20 seconds, an elite cyclist ride at 30 miles per hour for over 4 hours or a marathoner run 26 miles in just over 2 hours? The science of exercise physiology examines these questions and others related to how the body's organ systems allow for humans to attain high levels of performance. From the heart, which must pump as much as 20 liters of blood per minute, enough to fill an average bath tub in a half hour, to the lungs, which must be ventilated with 4 times this volume of air, the organ systems of the body integrate their function to mobilize and deliver enough fuel and oxygen to maintain exercising muscle. Just as a real fire consumes oxygen and fuel, exercising muscles produce large amounts of heat, carbon dioxide and other waste products, which need to be efficiently disposed of to maintain optimal performance. Complete integration of the body's organ system is necessary for these processes to occur. This course in exercise physiology will provide a glimpse into how the human body functions during exercise. Through a combination of lectures and laboratory exercises, we intend to provide an integrative approach to understanding these processes from the tissue level up to the whole body. We will examine the basic concept of chemical energy and how it is maintained in exercising muscle through the coordination of the cardiovascular (heart and blood vessels), respiratory (lungs and diaphragm), nervous (brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves) and endocrine systems (glands and hormones). The first half of each meeting period will be a lecture followed by an activity that reinforces the material just presented during which students will be exposed to some anatomy and histology as well as some of the techniques used to examine exercise performance, including spirometry and electrocardiography"

Course Dates - July 13-July 18

Please Note: To register for Scholar-Athlete, you must choose one academic course and one sport (Swimming or Tennis).

Scholar-Athlete: Sport and Society
SO903-1C Instructor: Burch

Participants in sports, athletes and fans alike, are more than just players in an American past time or a competition. Rather, they are part of a powerful social vehicle that demonstrates "inherent fundamental truths" central to the American identity. For example, this course will consider how sport perpetuates cultural values embedded in masculinity, with implications that far supersede the social arena of sport itself. Throughout the week, we will attempt to explain how the playing of sports in America both legitimizes and defines basic social ideologies (i.e. gender, sexuality, ethnicity) and chief social institutions (i.e. military, religion, education).

Discussions and debates will play a central role as we attempt to resolve questions including: Why do certain ethnic groups seem to dominate certain sports, or certain positions on teams? Why do men and women observe different sets of rules for similar sports? Why do religion and morality have such a powerful influence on athletics in general? Short reading assignments will help foster discussion, with each day focused on a different topic.

Course Dates - July 13-July 18

Please Note: To register for Scholar-Athlete, you must choose one academic course and one sport (Swimming or Tennis).

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