Course outline (Subject to change): 

1 - September 16 –Introduction to the course, Colonial and Early National Sports Culture 

2 - September 23 – Baseball’s Origins and Early Development

3 – September 30 – Baseball’s Golden Age

1. “At the Nexus of Labor and Leisure: Baseball, Nativism, and the 1919 Black Sox Scandal” Robin F. Bachin, Journal of Social History, Vol. 36, No. 4 (Summer, 2003), pp. 941-962


2. Babe Ruth, “A Hero to Save the Game”

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ug02/yeung/baberuth/hero.html 

4 - October 7 – The Early Development and Growth of American Football

5 - October 14 – A Game for a Purpose: Basketball’s Invention and Early Development 

1. Ethnicity and early 20^th century urban basketball – America’s Jews

http://www.jewishmag.com/45mag/basketball/basketball.htm

6 - October 21 – The Depression, War, and Sport

7 - October 28 – Boxing and America

1. David Remnick on Muhammad Ali

       http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-outsized-life-of-muhammad-ali

8 – November 4 – The Color Line and American Sport 

9 – November 11 – Midterm examination

10 - November 18 – The Development and Growth of American Football

A. “FOOTBALL UNFIT GAME SAYS PRESIDENT ELIOT” New York Times (1857-1922); Feb 3, 1906

11 - November 25 – The Desegregation of American Sports

12 - December 2 – The NFL: Origins and Rise of America’s Favorite League

13 - December 9 – Women and Modern Sport

1. Women and Basketball (and Bicycles) “American Women and Sport” Jane Curry and Marjorie Bingham, OAH Magazine of History, Vol. 7, No. 1, History of Sport, Recreation, and Leisure (Summer, 1992), pp. 39-49


2.  "Sport: How King Rained on Riggs' Parade,” Time. October 1, 1973.

14 - December 16 – Triumphs and Challenges within America’s Game: Baseball Since the 1950s

15 – December 23 – The Rise of the NBA

A. “Remember the ABA” 

       http://www.remembertheaba.com/ABAArticles/MurphyArticleABA.html

Essay due in class

16 – December 30 – The US and the Olympics 

17 - January 6 – American Soccer: The US and the World’s Game

1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, “Soccer will never be a slam dunk in America” in Time (June 30, 2014)

18 - January 13 – Final Examination 

to be announced 

-  Attendance and participation, occasional pop quizzes (‘perfect attendance’ 0 or 1 absences) – 10%

  -  Mid-term Exam November 11 – 30%

-  Essay – 30% (4-6 pages, typed, double-spaced. Topic: “Significant aspect of an American sports figure”. Due December 23 in class. I will announce more details. Do not email your essay. Late essays (10% grade reduction per week – December 30, 10% reduction; January 6, 20% reduction)

-  Final – January 13 – 30%

see course outline