In this course, the long residuals approach has been central in our examination of the historical foundations of contemporary physical culture. In lectures, discussions, readings, and assignments, we have explored the historical continuities and discontinuities of physical culture as we have sought a deeper understanding of the historical roots of sport and physical activity in contemporary American society.

In your final exam response essay, you must demonstrate your understanding of the long residuals of physical culture by analyzing ONE (1) of the following issues within contemporary physical culture. In your answer, you MUST examine the issue in terms of its political, economic, geographic, and scientific histories as these histories have been discussed within the course.

Issues

Sports Illustrated features plus sized model Ashley Graham on the cover of its swimsuit issue
Link: http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/26/living/si-cheryl-tiegs-ashley-graham-unhealthy-feat/ (Links to an external site.)

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton criticized for cockiness
Link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/cam-newton-and-the-long-history-of-double-standards-for-black-athletes/2016/02/04/03050162-cb5a-11e5-88ff-e2d1b4289c2f_story.html (Links to an external site.)

Study finds 40% of former NFL players suffer from brain injuries
Link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/for-nfl-draft-picks-the-dangers-of-football-are-a-price-worth-paying/2016/04/29/3d204eb4-0e18-11e6-a6b6-2e6de3695b0e_story.html (Links to an external site.)

Members of US Women’s Soccer team file wage discrimination complaint
Link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp01/2016/03/31/five-u-s-womens-soccer-players-file-wage-discrimination-complaint/ (Links to an external site.)

The Rams move from St. Louis to Los Angeles
Link: http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/nfl/bs-sp-schmuck-column-rams-0117-20160116-column.html (Links to an external site.)

The required length for your entry is 1500-1750 words (this does NOT include the reference section). This length provides you with sufficient space to answer the question both concisely and efficiently, as well as provide a necessary level of detail within your analysis. As such, it is recommended that your essay be closer to the maximum length in order to answer the question appropriately. Essays that fail to reach the minimum or greatly exceed the maximum will have points deducted. Please use a 12-point font, 1-inch margins, and double-space your essay. Grades will be based on the indicators listed on page 10 of the syllabus and the rubric on page four of these instructions.

You must submit the essay before the scheduled time of the final exam of Friday, May 13 at 1:00pm. Submissions must be made through ELMS. Files must be submitted as a Microsoft Word file (.doc or .docx).

The Final Exam Response Essay is expected to be an individual piece of work as per the University’s Code of Academic Integrity. Students must include the Honor Code on your submissions.

ESSAY INSTRUCTIONS

Review assigned readings and your notes from lectures and discussions.
Although you are required to interrogate a contemporary issue, the issue is the STARTING POINT for historical analysis. The majority of your essay MUST examine, discuss and analyze the historical aspects of the issue. Essays that focus more on the contemporary moment than the underlying historical issues and antecedents will not earn a score above 70%. This means that you need to engage in a dialectical analysis of the issue within its historical context.
Introduction (1 paragraph): You need to write a formal thesis statement and describe the long residual approach and your use of it. In the introduction, you must explain what it means to be critical about contemporary moment and how excavating the past can help us understand the present.
Issue Overview (1 paragraph): You need to describe the issue you are examining, as it exists in the contemporary moment with all relevant details. This is the only paragraph in the body of the paper in which you are to focus on the contemporary moment, but you must do so in a manner that logically connects to the histories and concepts we have engaged in the course. As such, you need to explicitly state and concisely justify which specific course concepts are the most relevant towards explaining your chosen issue.
Main Body (4 paragraphs): The main body should be your critical analysis of the issue in terms of its political, economic, geographic, and scientific histories. You should allocate ONE (1) paragraph of your essay to each of these histories. In doing so, you need to answer each of the following questions by examining the issue’s historical foundations, contexts and dimensions. It is in this section where you need to discuss the long residuals as you conduct a dialectical analysis between each course module and the issue.
How has your issue been impacted by historical political relations and formations of power within physical culture?
How has your issue been impacted by historical economic relations and the realization of capital through physical culture?
How has your issue been impacted by historical geographic relations and the production of space through physical culture?
How has your issue been impacted by historical scientific understandings and knowledges of the body within physical culture?
Please note that some of the answers to these questions may not be intuitively clear as some issues are more obviously related to one of the structures of power, capital, space or knowledge than the others. However, all four structures are applicable to each issue and you will be assessed through your ability to develop a coherent and well-supported argument based in relevant course concepts and materials (lectures, readings, discussions).

Conclusion (1 paragraph): The conclusion needs to address the broader social significance of the issue you have chosen within the contemporary context and how your examination of the long residuals contributes to understanding of this context. As such, the conclusion is not a simple restatement of the argument you have made, but provides a “big picture” analysis of how and why histories of physical culture matter.
Use at least FIVE (5) of the assigned readings (no additional credit will be given for using outside sources) to conduct the required critical analysis.
These readings should be drawn from each of the different topics of the course to inform the paragraph associated with the topic. Your use of reading materials will be assessed by the degree to which it is evident that your analysis has been informed by these
Please do not directly quote readings or lectures. Paraphrasing will better demonstrate your understanding of course materials and concepts.
You must properly use in-text citations (including lecture material) and include all sources referenced (with the exception of lectures) in bibliography. Referencing must be done in an appropriate academic style (APA is preferred, MLA or Chicago will be accepted). Reference information for articles will be found on pages 5-6 of the syllabus.
You are not required to find outside sources (though it is suggested that you do so).

Rubric

Components

Points Possible

Introduction

• Clear thesis statement

• Definition & discussion of the long residuals approach (including use)

10

Issue Overview

• Description of issue with relevant detail

• Identification and justification of course concepts most directly engaged by issue

10

Critical Analysis of Issue in Terms of Its Political Aspects

• Definitions of relevant concepts relating to politics and power

• Dialectical discussion of issue as impacted by historical relations of politics and power

• Discussion of issue’s political aspects within historical context

• Analysis of long residuals in terms of continuities and discontinuities within historical context

15

Critical Analysis of Issue in Terms of Its Economic Aspects

• Definitions of relevant concepts relating to economics and capital

• Dialectical discussion of issue as impacted by historical economic relations and realization of capital

• Discussion of issue’s economic aspects within historical context

• Analysis of long residuals in terms of continuities and discontinuities within historical context

15

Critical Analysis of Issue in Terms of Its Geographic Aspects

• Definitions of relevant concepts relating to geography and space

• Dialectical discussion of issue as impacted by historical geographic relations and the production of space

• Discussion of issue’s spatial aspects within historical context

• Analysis of long residuals in terms of continuities and discontinuities within historical context

15

Critical Analysis of Issue in Terms of Its Scientific Aspects

• Definitions of relevant concepts relating to science and knowledge

• Dialectical discussion of issue as impacted by historical scientific understandings and knowledges of the body

• Discussion of issue’s scientific aspects within historical context

• Analysis of long residuals in terms of continuities and discontinuities within historical context

15

Conclusion

• The broader significance of history within the context of the issue you are examining

• How and why histories of physical culture matter

10

Technical Elements

• Writing style, grammar, spelling

• Reference page, properly formatted, with at least three sources

• Effective use of sources

• Conforms to formatting & length requirements