James Jensen

Thomas Franco
Brennan Glynn
Madison Riccardi
Nancy Roche
Writing 1010-013
25 November 2014
Exercise and Sports Science
In the world of human health, the University of Utah is one of the best universities
to study the body and how we can further improve its longevity and health. The College
of Health is overviewed and ran by David H Perrin. Within the College of Health is the
Exercise Sport Science Department and its goal is to enhance health, quality of life, and
human performance through discovery, dissemination, and application of the scientic
foundations of physical activity (ESS WEBSITE). Through the explorations and studies
within this major the department hopes to further be recognized in enhancing the global
goal of universal health. One cannot do this without understanding the complex and
complicated literacy practices within the undergraduate major. Through observations and
research one would conclude that the most important literacy practices are the intricacies
between people within in the domain, and the way the information is mediated to
students.
The interactions between people in the ESS major are largely one sided
conversations with professors and TAs being in positions of power and controlling all
forms of communication. Most of the interactions take place in a lecture type setting.

Students take notes without contributing much to the conversation. This dynamic allows
to the teacher to direct the class in the way they see fit. The person leading the lecture,
generally a professor, decides when communication starts and when it should be stopped.
Exercise and Sports Science requires an enormous amount of hands on
experience. An excellent way for a student in this major at the University of Utah to gain
extra experience is with internship opportunities. The social practice for this text is to
help graduate students get more experience in their major through internships. The
CSME, at the University of Utah, main mission is to promote understanding and
enthusiasm for science and mathematics in present and into the future of their field. From
this article our group has learned how to get more involved with the major and gain
experience through an internship. This written text is helping by promoting how people in
this major can gain more hands on experience. This text was written between 2012 and
2014, and has not changed from when it was printed. The text could have been made
more public by being printed in the university paper, or even by email to students at the
University. The text is coming from the Center for Science and Mathematics, and is
written by the University of Utah
Summer Undergraduate Research Program provided by the University of Utah is
another great opportunity to gain extra experience outside what is required in this major.
The social practice of this text is: teaching undergraduates how to work in a lab. It also
gives students in an opportunity to learn and gain more experience in their field. Certain
practices like prior lab experience would help students navigate within this field. Students
need certain skills already to be able to interact effectively in a biology lab. Students can
receive credit for Biol 4955 or Biol 4995 at the University of Utah. They will also be

more experienced making future classes and merging into the job market easier. This text
was written this year, 2014, meaning that all the information is up to date for current
students. In the past the application process to get into the program would have been
different. The application requirements might have been more relaxed and the pay would
have been less. The text could have been made more exclusive requiring higher standards
for students. The biology department funds the research program and are the people who
select which students make it into the program.
Graduate Studies in Pharmacology and Toxicology . The social practices this text
provides are opportunities to enhance graduate training and education. With researches in
Neurosciences, neurochemistry, neuropharmacology, and molecular and biochemical
toxicology, you will gain a better understanding of what this program entails. Students
will need previous skills that were learned in an undergraduate program, to be able to
understand the written and verbal text used in this graduate program. The written text is
letting people know what this graduate program will be teaching, and what exactly the
program is about. The text was written this year, 2014, so the information is up to date. In
the past, the text and the application for the program would have been vastly different
from what it is now; the application process in the past could have been much more
tedious and long without the advancement and use of email. The text could have gone
into more detail about the application process, and how competitive it is. The Health
Sciences center at the University of Utah is comprised of the School of Medicine,
College of Pharmacy, College of Nursing, and the College of Health. The text is coming
from the College of Pharmacy at the University of Utah.

Through observing the artifacts, classes, and the environments one is surrounded
by one can conclude that literacy in the major is very important. One does not see people
who have not already invested their time in their major. All the pamphlets, websites,
books, and interviews one would notice that the written text and conversations are set up
for graduate level students or people who are very involved within the major. The social
practice of being able to understand the literacy within the major Exercise and Sports
Science is hard, but when you add the text and visuals it makes it even harder for an
outsider to come in and join quickly.
For somebody outside the major of Exercise and Sports Science communication
between them and somebody fluent in the ESS discourse is difficult. Vocabulary used
between members of this major tends to be very complex. Without struggling to
understand the language it is easy to pick out an outsider. Looking at brochures,
pamphlets, and flyers picked up from these building the complexities can be observed.
This is a form of gatekeeping demonstrated by the people in charge of distributing these
artifacts. Gatekeeping weeds out the people they are not looking for and helps draw in
those who can actually contribute in a conversation about Exercise and Sports Science.
Conclusion: As you can see, the major of Exercise and Sports Science is a very complex
one. Between classes, language, and the study of the major, one that is not in the field
would not be able to understand what those that are in the major do. The department as a
whole are looking to enhance universal health, and without the understanding of what is
being taught in this major and the language of this major, you will not be able to
contribute to the the conversations and help of enhancing the health and overall
performance. One that is not inside this major, or even one that just started to learn about

this field of study will not be able to understand the literacy or the visuals that come
along with it. The complexity and importance of ESS is one that is hard to understand.
Those that are planning on majoring in Exercise and Sports Science should plan on
spending a lot of time trying to understand the language so that they in return will be able
to contribute in the conversations within the major.