History of Sport in American Society

Catalog description

AMST 441 / KINES 441 History of Sport in American Society study of the background, establishment, and growth of sport in America from colonial times to the present, and the role of American sports in American culture and society. The course will examine the ways that sports have operated in the United States as the country has developed into a modern, mass society. Issues of national identity, commercialism, race, ethnicity, class, and gender will be discussed in relation to the popularity of sports. Another set of issues will center on language and media; students will employ methods of analysis such as ethnography and rhetorical criticism that emphasize the multiple layers of meaning inherent in sports culture.