RECR 101/SSCI 101 Leisure in Society - Syllabus

• Semester Credit Hours: Three credits

• Course Description: Leisure in Society addresses the major concerns of leisure in American Culture. Leisure and its relationship to issues such as retirement and life planning, the world of work, mental and physical health, the family, the economics of the nation, drug and alcohol abuse, and how human beings can create a sensible leisure ethic will be covered.

• Course Prerequisites/Co-requisites: Exemption from or successful completion of RDNG 101.

The overall course goals are:

Upon completion of this course the student will be able to:

Upon completion of this course the student will be able to:

1. Define the term "leisure" both as a personal term and as a societal phenomenon;

2. Explain the significance of leisure to individuals, communities, society, and the world;

3. Discuss critical concepts of leisure in the context of a multicultural, pluralistic society. These may be in the areas of the family, race, religion, ethnicity, aging, gender, lifestyle, social class, sexual orientation, addiction, work, crime, violence, poverty, capitalism, and commercialism;

4. Converse using leisure-related terminology;

5. Explain the results of evolving social, political, and economic changes on the free time behaviors of the American people;

6. Discuss the contributions of the fields of psychology, sociology, the arts, history, anthropology, business, economics, marketing, law, and science to the study of leisure in today's society;

7. Evaluate American lifestyles and traditions based on moral and ethical considerations;

8. Advocate for the provision of positive leisure opportunities for all humans in society;

9. Anticipate the impact of future leisure on American lives;

10. Identify and evaluate, through the use of a personal time study, actual available free time for personal leisure;

11. Critically evaluate leisure-related media information in the form of newspaper, magazine, and journal articles, television, radio, and other audio and visual media;

12. Develop, write, and utilize a personal leisure philosophy.

The topics covered in this course include:

• Contemporary Leisure - Awareness and Trends
• Benefits of Leisure to the Individual and Society
• History of Leisure in America
• The Commodification of Leisure - "He Who Dies with the Most Toys Wins!"
• The Shady Side of Leisure: morally marginal play
• The Leisure Service System - Eight major types
• Demographic Trends and Leisure - age, family, and socio-economic factors
• Racial and ethnic influences on leisure
  • Multiculturalism, ethnicity, and leisure
  • Leisure involvement of African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and white ethnics
• Gender, sex, and leisure lifestyles
• Sports in contemporary life
  • Role of sports in American education
  • Violence and sports
• Natural resources recreation, travel, & tourism
• Popular culture - the Arts, entertainment, TV, & hobbies
• Environmental concerns affecting leisure participation
• Trends and challenges facing the use of leisure in modern society
  

Rationale for the course: SSCI 101/RECR 101, Leisure in Society, provides students with a societal mirror through which much of our behaviors as human beings can be viewed and understood. According to time-study researchers, one third of our entire lifetime will be spent in available free time, while only fourteen percent will be spent in paid endeavors. Therefore, how we as individuals and as a society organize our lives and thus, our behavior, is often expressed during our leisure time. The tasks of comprehending the massive impact of leisure upon all of us, of learning to creatively and positively utilize time, and of developing a sensible leisure ethic for their lives are critical learning components for students.

Assignments for Unit One	Point Values
Posting personal biography	10
Discussions	20
Leisure Perspectives Chart	20
Interviews	20
Extra credit opportunities	10
Total Points	70(80)

Total Point Values for Leisure in Society	Point Values
Unit 1	70
Unit 2	80
Unit 3	90
Unit 4	60
Unit 5	140
Unit 6	100
Unit 7	60
Final Exam Project	100
Total Points	700

Final Points	Letter Grade
700-630	A
629-560	B
559-490	C
489-420	D
419-000	F

Additional Requirements: This class includes field research.

Grading Policy: Grades are determined based on your accumulated point total. Extra credit is available in most units.

Attendance Policy: Daily participation in Internet classes is essential. If you have never taken an Internet class, this orientation is highly recommended. Click HERE for detailed information on the orientation.

Course Materials:

• Required Text: Kraus, R. Leisure in a Changing America, Trends and Issues for the Twenty-First Century. Allyn & Bacon: New York, 2000.
  
• Special procedures: Please click on this link to view course policies!

Tentative list of dated assignments:

• See "Units of Study" on this site for the dates each unit will begin and end. Also on this page is a link to a sample unit.

Here are some tips you should follow which will help you to succeed in this course:

• Set aside a specific time each week to work on this course. The estimated amount of time you should spend is 12 hours/week.
• Keep in touch with me and your classmates by frequently checking your course e-mail, bulletin board, and calendar. This will help build a sense of community among us. Using the various communications tools provided in this course effectively is the same as "raising your hand" and participating in class discussions.
• Be aware of the time lag that is inherent in most on-line courses. Although the communications tools make it appear that the transfer of information such as assignments is "instantaneous", it does not mean that the reply will be instantaneous. One of the hardest things about an on-line course is becoming comfortable with its asynchronous nature. In general, expect assignments to be returned within 4 school days (excluding weekends and holidays).
• Familiarize yourself with published deadlines.
• Ask for help when you need it.
• Remember that there are traditional ways for keeping in touch. Use the telephone, a fax, or make an appointment to meet with me on campus.
• Work off-line and save your assignments on your computer before submitting them electronically. You can use the saved version of your work to copy and paste to an on-line assignment or you can attach the saved file to an e-mail or discussion board message. This will prevent a lot of frustration should your Internet connection or your system "fail".
• Be sure you check the course syllabus and other course material for instructions on how to submit assignments. In many cases your instructor will specify that you submit your assignments using a specific file format. If your instructor does not specify a particular format for text documents, it is suggested that you save your files in Rich Text Format (.rtf format). This will minimize the potential for inadvertently transmitting computer viruses.
• Be sure to install anti-virus software on your local system and check all downloaded files before opening them.

SMILE! Even if your head is spinning!