Gambling in America

Catalog description

In 2025, Americans wagered upwards of $150 billion dollars on sports games alone. Betting in the United States in the twenty-first century is widespread, highly politically contested, and rapidly growing. But for as long as there have been humans on the North American continent, there have been humans placing bets. From Native American games of chance to the colossal modern casinos of Las Vegas, Americans have constantly used gambling to make sense of an uncertain world. In this course, we will explore the history of gambling in America, showing how Americans have articulated ideas about risk, citizenship, state-building, and modernity through the games they play.