Upper level courses are on special topics and are more advanced. They often presuppose some basic knowledge in the field and should be more difficult courses than courses at the 1-199 levels.
HIST 240 Sports in American History
Taught as schedule allows (consult the Course Directory)
SEM | R
The fact that Americans are crazy about their games is no news at all; however, the contention that an examination of American sporting culture can teach us meaningful lessons about American history has only recently gained currency with scholars. Sports often appear to embody many of the contradictory impulses of American culture. How else to explain the hero worship of NFL multi-millionaires by a multitude of working class men, or the celebration of amateurism by a culture that has introduced elements of professionalism into middle-school sports? Fans celebrate both the grace and violence of their chosen game, and seem to want star athletes to behave as role models even as they forgive athletes' criminal transgressions. In a society that offers women so many professional opportunities why is it virtually impossible to find women mentioned on the sports pages? This seminar will trace the historic development of American sporting culture from the early days of the Republic, while paying attention to the themes of ethnicity and gender, consumerism and mass media that have shaped contemporary sporting culture.
