Unit details

HIST2017 The History of Sport: Belonging and Identity, Protest and Celebrity

Credit

6 points

Offering
(see Timetable)

Availability	Location	Mode
Semester 2	UWA (Perth)	Face to face
Semester 2	Albany	Face to face

Details for undergraduate courses

• Level 2 option in the History major sequence

Content

Sport provides a sense of belonging, gives meaning to people's lives, and helps to define how we see ourselves and others. It has shaped the world we live in - being widely used as a forum for establishing and challenging social, racial and gendered power structures. It's also one of the world's most lucrative businesses - generating billions of dollars in advertising revenue and corporate sponsorship and through cutting-edge marketing. This unit examines the changing relationship between sport, society and commerce in a global context between 1850 and 2020. It looks at how sport contributes to understandings of, and is shaped by, issues such as identity, protest, race, gender, celebrity, ethics, marketing, commerce and the media. Specific case studies include: the origins and development of modern sport in Victorian Britain and its Empire; sport and Australian national identity; gender, sexism and sport; the business of sport; sporting brands and celebrities; drugs and racism in sport; and sport as a vehicle for social protest and change. Students will come away with an understanding of different analytical frameworks used in the history of sport; an understanding of the historical context within which to appreciate the changing nature and evolution of sport; and an understanding of how the history of sport can inform pressing issues in society, business and sports science today. The unit has been designed to give it a broad inter-disciplinary appeal. No prior study of history is required.

Outcomes

Students are able to (1) show a broad understanding of key concepts, theories, arguments and developments in sports history
; (2) demonstrate an ability to critically assess key concepts, theories, arguments and developments in sports history
; (3) acquire the bibliographical and research skills necessary to find appropriate sources and produce a viable research proposal in order to undertake a major essay
; (4) analyse appropriate sources for a research essay including textual, visual and primary source materials
; (5) apply the knowledge and skills gained to present arguments in both written and oral form using the conventions of the historical discipline
; and (6) work collaboratively with fellow students on the historical roots of a contemporary problem in sport.

Assessment

Indicative assessments in this unit are as follows: (1) workshop or online participation; (2) research essay; and (3) online quizzes. Further information is available in the unit outline.

For units commencing in May 2022 or later the availability of the supplementary assessment is subject to confirmation.

Student may be offered supplementary assessment in this unit if they meet the eligibility criteria.

Except where supplementary assessment is not available in a unit, it will be offered to students in all units who:

• Are in good academic standing overall;
• Have passed over half the units taken in the teaching period concerned, except where they are only enrolled in two or less units in the period;
• Have submitted all assessment items in the unit;
• Have achieved a mark between 45 and 49 for the unit overall, or the same mark in any failed component item in the unit; and
• No finding of academic misconduct has been made against them in the unit concerned.

Additionally student may apply for supplementary assessment in any unit which is the final unit required for graduation in there course and where they have achieved a mark between 45 and 49 for the unit overall, or the same mark in any failed component item in the unit.

Unit Coordinator(s)

Associate Professor David Barrie

Unit rules

Prerequisites:

12 points of Level 1 units

Co-requisites:

Nil

Incompatibility:

Nil

Contact hours

Two-hour weekly workshops and one-hour weekly recorded lectures over twelve weeks.