Course Description
Sports have been a critical aspect of human culture from prehistoric times. Angling contests were held in Ancient Sumer; sports are described in the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Iliad. This course focuses on how sports have both reflected and facilitated the historical change from ancient times to now.
Athena Title
The History of Sport
Pre or Corequisite
One course in HIST or INTL or GLOB or PBHL or KINS or PEDB or SOCI or ENGL or POLS
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
- By the end of this course, students will be able to arrive at conclusions about the history of sport by gathering and weighing evidence, logical argument, and listening to counter argument.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to write stylistically appropriate papers and essays. Students will be able to analyze ideas and evidence, organize their thoughts, and revise and edit their finished essays.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to identify how the history of sport shaped diverse social and cultural attitudes toward competition and recreation, ethics and morality, and race and gender, encouraging them to understand diverse worldviews and experiences.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to apply appropriate methodological approaches to their analysis of primary sources and to organize their evidence to show historical continuities and discontinuities.
Topical Outline
- Do animals play sports?
- What sports did our prehistoric ancestors play?
- What role do sports generally play in human culture?
- What are the origins of the major sports: track and field, soccer, football, basketball, boxing, baseball, golf?
- From early sports betting to moneyball, what role has money played in sports, and what role have sports played in the global economy?
- How has media changed sports and vice versa?
- How have sports been particularly important to the history of race and gender?
Institutional Competencies
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
Communication
The ability to effectively develop, express, and exchange ideas in written, oral, interpersonal, or visual form.
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
