79-388 Sports in American Culture

9 units, Carnegie Mellon University

[Note students who have taken course number 79388, with former titles, Race, Gender, and the Politics of Sports in America since 1900 or 79388, History of Sports in the United States, may not enroll. In this course, we will survey the history of sport in the United States from the late nineteenthcentury into the twentyfirst century. While we will discuss star athletes, famous games, and popular teams, we will focus more so on evaluating the significance of sport in American history. Specifically, we will analyze sports through four themes westernizationglobalization the emergence and development of Capitalism industrialization and technological change and democratization. By doing so, we will examine the changing power relationship between the athletes, owners, and consumers fans. We will pay particular attention to athletes changing role in American society and the publics growing expectation that these men and women speak or act on social and political issues. By semesters end, students will look beyond box scores and critically assess how sports has reflected larger trends in our society as well as its continued influence on American life.

Prerequisites: none listed

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