- Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: Holt Paperbacks; First Edition edition (Sep 1 2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0805068112
- ISBN-13: 978-0805068115
- Product Dimensions: 20.9 x 14.1 x 2.4 cm
- Shipping Weight: 327 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #792,710 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
A stunning outline of the contemporary educational landscape, Sperber's book provides a stark analysis of academia's abandonment of its undergraduate students. Alluding to the ancient Roman practice of placating people with cheap bread and ostentatious spectacles, Sperber argues that an ever-growing number of state universities lure undergraduates to their schools with halcyon images of booze-filled parties and prominent sports programs while abandoning their commitment to the students' education. Administrators use the students' sorely needed tuition dollars to fund sports, build research facilities and hire world-class faculty members, who give the school prestige but scarcely give their legions of undergraduate charges the time of day. With an eye fastened on the dangerous phenomenon of binge drinking, Sperber (College Sports Inc.) backs his assertions with responses to a questionnaire he circulated to students across the country, interviews with professors and administrators and frequent citations from sociological studies. Sperber methodically attempts to persuade readers that at the largest universities, where the majority of young Americans attain their undergraduate degrees, "the party scene connected to big-time sports events replaces meaningful undergraduate education." Though he admits his work deals mainly with anecdotal rather than scientific proof, the wealth of evidence Sperber amasses to support his convictions makes for a striking, sobering read. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Sperber, an academic who has written extensively on college sports and their role in American culture (Onward to Victory: The Crises That Shaped College Sports), examines the impact of intercollegiate athletics on undergraduate education, particularly at large public research universities with high-profile football and men's basketball teams playing at the top National College Athletics Association level. Using questionnaires and interviews with students, faculty, and administrators in all parts of the country, he makes a strong case that many schools, because of their emphasis on research and graduate programs, no longer give a majority of their undergraduates a meaningful education. Instead, they substitute "beer and circus"Dthe party scene surrounding college sportsDto keep their students content and distracted while bringing in tuition. Sperber uses concrete examples to make his case and concludes by offering a plan to remedy the situation, considering both what should happen and what will more likely happen. Essential reading for current and future university students as well as parents, educators, and policy makers, this is recommended for both academic and public libraries.DLeroy Hommerding, Fort Myers Beach P.L. Dist., FL
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
The 1960s marked a low point for the collegiate subculture on American campuses; numerous fraternities and sororities down-sized or closed their doors as some of their members, and many incoming students, joined the rebel subculture. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
The 1960s marked a low point for the collegiate subculture on American campuses; numerous fraternities and sororities down-sized or closed their doors as some of their members, and many incoming students, joined the rebel subculture. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Undergraduate Education Comes Up Way Short Next to Sports,
By
This review is from: Beer and Circus: How Big-Time College Sports Has Crippled Undergraduate Education (Paperback)
There is not much doubt that undergraduate education for the typical student at large universities is most unsatisfactory: one is, with few exceptions, a nonentity with no opportunity to shape the educational experience. The only option is to follow the rules; then it is swim or sink. Furthermore, there is no doubt that forming farm teams for professional leagues with substandard students has no place in a university.The author shows through his survey data that major sports teams in Division 1-A of the NCAA give a focal point to the incessant partying that occurs at most major, large universities. It is the essential point of the book that college administrators are more than willing to give undergraduates "beer and the circus" of big-time sports in lieu of drastically overhauling undergraduate programs. The need for tuition dollars leads large colleges to pack freshman courses, virtually precluding a chance to learn. Sports and partying is the cynical substitute. Clearly, the prestige focus of top college officials precludes quality education for most students. It is all about image and reputations. Good sports teams increase recognition. So do adding prestigious faculty, engaging in research for corporate America, and having special, honors education for a select minority of undergraduates. The author makes abundantly clear that well-known faculty and elaborate research do not benefit the typical student. Furthermore, athletic programs are invariably a drain on the finances of the university. Even with Fat TV contracts, athletic programs are net losers. The author breaks down the main student subcultures into "collegiate, vocational, rebel, and academic." They have different goals and different problems interacting with the substandard educational regime. The fact that the party element, the collegiate group, is content, or resigned to, with the current educational situation hardly justifies the de-emphasis on education. The author does briefly touch on the purposes of college education. Is college mostly a social experience; is it to obtain job skills; or is it to be liberally educated. And do colleges actually support all of those goals for all students. There is much wrong with universities and the author makes some effort to shed light on the problems. But much more can be said. Should universities perform a special social role, or are they simply big corporations looking out for the bottom line, cutting costs where they can, while paying lip service to a grand mission? It is clear that universities will not perform that mission with the distorting impact of big time sports.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent!,
By SEC Fan (Baton Rouge, LA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Beer and Circus: How Big-Time College Sports Has Crippled Undergraduate Education (Paperback)
Finally someone speaks the truth!Dr. Sperber is a leading proponent for reforming the NCAA and it's about time people start listening... END THE SHAM OF AMATEUR COLLEGE ATHLETICS!
1.0 out of 5 stars
Sperber's Writing Binge,
By Edward Saint-Ivan author of The Black Knights God (Tampa, Fl. USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Beer and Circus: How Big-Time College Sports Has Crippled Undergraduate Education (Paperback)
Did Murray Sperber ever learn to think critically? If he tried to talk tough with Bobby Knight using sports jargon he would be laughed out of the room! Who knows more sports jargon and has all the winning cards, the dumb jock or the arrogant book worm?Sperber argues that scholar/teachers are outdated but a rank/tenure committee can count papers or books or cites where as only the worst and best teachers have a record. Ironicly, coaches are one of the few teaching species that have a demonstrable record which is why Knight could get away with anything. Grade schools have discouraged teachers in droves by trying to justify raises using test scores and bias evaluations. Should research universities turn into popularity contests and experiments in test taking or should the public trust traditional proven methods of retention and promotion?
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