A possible topic for my discovery essay would ask the question “what is America’s fascination with football?” I think that this would be a good topic because I myself am a football fanatic. I think this topic has a lot of room to discover what components of activities lure the public to participate or even be a spectator. I also think this topic could open a door to some personal discovery; I think that I could find out why I struggle to do anything BUT watch football on Sundays. This topic has a lot of room for opinion but if I chose it, I might be a little nervous about what actual factual research I could do.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
This is a great topic! There's all sorts of literature out there on the function sports fulfills in human society(often, sports--especially violent ones--provide us with a sanctioned outlet for aggression and competition, tendencies that are often suppressed in "polite," middle-class society, post-industrial societey. This holds true for both players and spectators, who experience these things vicariously through the players. ) You needn't get super philosophical about it all, but this perspective might help you think through the issue.
You might look for some stats on how many Americans watch football regularly, and how those numbers have changed (grown, I imagine?) over the last several decades. When did football supplant baseball as the "national pastime"? Why do you think that is?
You might read social commentary on football in America (perhaps look in periodicals like the New Yorker or the editorial section of a few national newspapers) and then do your own speculating about why people become obsessed with football (based upon your own experience as a football fanatic and your observations of others). What need do you think this fulfills?
Maybe you want to stick to televised sports or NFL football (which is just fine), but you might also consider speculating about the role football (especially highschool football)plays in Texas culture, in particular. Is football actually a bigger deal in Texas than other places? Do you think that people are "lured" to the highschool football stadium for the same reasons they're drawn to televised or professional football?
Okay, those are just questions to get you thinking. I hope the research/writing is going well...good luck :)
Post a Comment