Social History of Sport and Recreation

Catalog description

The main aim of the course is to develop an understanding of the history of sport and recreation, not as isolated activities but in their social contexts; i.e., as they are influenced by, and themselves influence, other aspects of society, including the social, political and economic aspects of culture. Topics which will be explored include, but are not limited to, examinations of: the role of sport in relation to the growth of industrialization and nationalism in the nineteenth century; the role of race, gender, class, and sexuality as determining factors in the evolution of national sporting traditions, the connections between the international aspects of sport and Western dominance in the global marketplace, and finally, the relationship between sport and notions of civilization, masculinity, and femininity. The predominant focus will be on examples drawn from the Anglophone world of the United States, United Kingdom and the former British Empire. EUR. USH