Adjunct professor Dennis Deninger paced back and forth across the stage of Stolkin Auditorium, passionately lecturing to more than 100 students. He wasn’t talking about physics or philosophy but about the Super Bowl.

With Super Bowl XLV a few days away, this semester’s newly created class, SPM 199: ‘The Super Bowl and Society,’ has been thrust into the spotlight. Professors Deninger, Rick Burton and Michael Veley, who co-founded the class and teach it collaboratively, believe Super Bowl Sunday is about more than just the teams playing the game.

‘The Super Bowl is a truly American event,’ Deninger said. ‘One of those things that more and more each year defines what America cares about and who we are as a people.’

‘The Super Bowl and Society,’ a three-credit course available from the College of Human Ecology, delves into every conceivable aspect of the Super Bowl, from the telecast’s production and advertising to its cultural and economic effects on society. It gives a behind-the-scenes look at how the game is produced, its history and its growth from 1967 to the present.

‘It’s cool to learn about how much the Super Bowl has evolved over the years,’ said Lauren Klein, a senior advertising major. ‘Aside from just being a football game, it’s a huge, deeply embedded aspect of our society.’

Burton said the professors originally cut off the enrollment capacity of the class at 90 students but eventually added 15 to 20 more students who were begging to be admitted.

The production of game day is complex, Burton said. Several different elements, such as the halftime show, the advertisements and the post-game conferences, come together to make up the popular sporting event.

‘The game has become a massive entertainment conglomerate,’ Burton said. ‘Our integrated approach to teaching the class is designed to fit the nature of the game itself.’

Most students seem to find the class both interesting and worthwhile.

‘For people who enjoy the Super Bowl and want to know more about it, it’s definitely a class to take,’ said Coby Greenberg, a sophomore communication and rhetorical studies major.

The class is taught with a combination of slides, lectures, video clips and several prominent guest speakers. John Antil, a marketing professor at the University of Delaware, spoke in Tuesday’s class about advertising for the big game. Next week’s guest speaker will be Drew Esocoff, director of NBC’s ‘Sunday Night Football.’ Burton said there was a possibility of inviting a player or coach from a past Super Bowl to speak.

Each student in the class is assigned to take notes during the Sunday game about anything they notice about the program, good or bad. Freshman international relations major Hunter Amos said he appreciates the new take on watching the game.

‘I watch football now from a much different perspective than I had before,’ he said.

Burton acknowledges the timing is important with the Super Bowl just four days away. But he still thinks the class will be relevant in April when the ‘Super Bowl is in our rearview mirror.’

The course has a set syllabus that will not change when the game is over. Considering the game’s monumental effect on our society, he said, this year’s game is expected to generate $10 billion in revenue and be watched by 150 million people nationwide.

Deninger said he sees the class as a way to explore the impact of the game on many aspects of American society, such as the community, the economy, the media, advertising and marketing.

‘It’s one of those days that people get together,’ he said. ‘It’s something that causes people to gather and connect socially. There’s an interesting dynamic there worthy of study.’

rjmarvin@syr.edu

Published on February 2, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Rob: rjmarvin@syr.edu