AMST 823 - The History of American Sports

Institution:

Trinity College

Subject:

Description:

This course will examine American sports from their beginnings in Puritan-era games to the multi-billion-dollar industries of today. We will begin by looking at the relationship between work, play, and religion in the colonies. We will trace the beginnings of horseracing, baseball, and boxing, and their connections to saloons, gambling, and the bachelor subculture of the Victorian underworld. We will study the rise of respectable sports in the mid- and late 19th century; follow baseball as it became the national pastime; see how college football took over higher education; and account for the rise of basketball. We will look at sports and war, sports and moral uplift, and sports and the culture of consumption. Finally, we will examine the rise of mass leisure, the impact of radio and television, racial segregation and integration, the rise of women's sports, battles between players and owners in the last 25 years, and the entrance of truly big money into professional sports. Readings in primary and secondary sources will emphasize the historical experience of sports in the United States so that students can develop a framework for understanding current events, including the NHL lockout, the Kobe Bryant affair, and the controversies over steroids. 1.00 units, Seminar

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.Trincoll.edu

Phone Number:

(860) 297-2000

Regional Accreditation:

New England Association of Schools and Colleges

Calendar System:

Semester

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