HIST 342: History of the Olympics and the United States

HIST 342-001: African American Experience in Modern Sport
(Fall 2010)

10:30 AM to 11:45 AM MW

Krug Hall 210

Section Information for Fall 2010

The arena of sport provides a particularly appropriate microcosm in which to study the racial dynamics that have shaped American culture during the twentieth century. In particular, the African American experience in sport is an important prism into black/white American cultural relationships. How has the notion of race in the United States affected African American athletes—their athletic competition and public persona? We will explore the official and unofficial color lines in national sports and their eventual erosion; the century-long debate on scientific racism in relationship to race, ethnicity and sport; the national public memory of several 20th-century racial sports “heroes”; and the experience of African American women athletes. Throughout the course, we will seek to understand how events, movements, and race relations in the broader culture affected race in sport as we keep pace with segregation, hot and cold wars, the civil rights, and black power.

Tags:

Course Information from the University Catalog

Credits: 3

Traces history of American participation in the Olympics from 1896 to the present. Topics may include American leadership in the Olympic Movement, the historical legacy of American Olympic host cities, American Imperialism, Nazism, issues of race, gender and ethnicity in the Olympics, the Cold War and Olympic boycotts, and commercialization of sport. Limited to three attempts.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.

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