Overview

US versus Brazil in women's soccer

Sydney Leroux - USWNT vs. Brazil - Mane Garrincha Stadium (December 14, 2014 - Getty Images)

So … the question: Why sports?

It’s a question many sport historians deal with on a fairly regular basis—often asked by other researchers, friends, and family. Many people assume that sports are simply about scores and stats: occasionally, they’re about something else. It doesn’t take long, however, to understand the outsized role of athletics in modern-day societies.

Sports have long shaped various forms of identity across the Americas. Upper- and middle-class citizens first embraced organized sports in the late-19th century as “civilizing” tools. Soon, activities like fútbol (soccer), boxing, and béisbol (baseball) became popular with the masses. In HIS 3310, we will discover how sports (re)defined gender, class, race, and national identity from Canada to the Southern Cone, and US-Latin America relations.

See Modules for specific readings and assignments. Also see: Syllabus and the “Assignments-Summer” page for a detailed look at your assignments.

Primary objective

Evaluate to what degree sports have shaped identity over time across the Americas

Specific objectives

  1. Analyze identity formation in sport history through the use of primary and secondary sources
  2. Examine socio-political issues related to sports within a larger historical context
  3. Identify ways sports affected other forms of mass culture (cinema, music), politics, and social movements–and vice versa
  4. Generate new perspectives on the complexity and diversity of the Americas (and trace similarities)

Pedagogical goals & Practices

This course aligns with the ASU Dept. of History’s goals and practices for 3000-level courses:

  • Identification, analysis, and use of primary and secondary sources
  • Written prospectus
  • Outline
  • Rough draft (and revisions)
  • Historical Narrative
  • Oral history
  • Chicago Manual style documentation
  • Historiographical essays
  • Annotated bibliography
  • Oral presentations
  • Reading and writing book reviews
  • Identification & comparison of multiple interpretations
  • Introduction to theory
  • Use of interdisciplinary methods
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