UW Press: Teaching U.S. History through Sports

“This volume, stuffed with insightful scholarship and thoughtful suggestions for teaching, will be invaluable for anyone interested in bringing sports into the classroom. I'll certainly be using it!”
—Katherine Mooney, Florida State University

Few areas of study offer more insight into American culture than competitive sports. The games played throughout this nation's history dramatically illuminate social, economic, and cultural developments, from the balance of power in world affairs to changing conceptions of race, gender, and sexuality.

Teaching U.S. History through Sports provides strategies for incorporating sports into any U.S. history curriculum. Drawing upon their own classroom experiences, the authors suggest creative ways to use sports as a lens to examine a broad range of historical subjects, including Puritan culture, the rise of Jim Crow, the Cold War, the civil rights movement, and the women's movement. Essays focus on the experiences of African American women, working-class southerners, Latinos, and members of LGBTQ communities, as well as topics including the controversy over Native American mascots and the globalization of U.S. sports.

Brad Austin is a professor of history and a secondary education coordinator at Salem State University. He has run dozens of professional development seminars and institutes for K-12 teachers and is the author of Democratic Sports: Men’s and Women’s College Sports during the Depression.

Pamela Grundy is an independent scholar and the author of several books on sports history, including Learning to Win: Sports, Education and Social Change in Twentieth-Century North Carolina.

“A highly readable and effective introduction to the use of sports history as a means of engaging and motivating students. This collection of original essays provides the classroom teacher with a wide range of examples of how to connect with today’s students. For teachers seeking to infuse their classroom with meaningful and significant material, this book is just the ticket.”
—Richard Davies, University of Nevada–Reno

“If Teaching U.S. History through Sports were a team, it would be the best in its league. . . . A must-have for teachers who want to incorporate sports into their curriculum, whether for a complete course or simply for the occasional unit. Anyone who teaches courses on women, gender, or race, ethnicity, and indigeneity will find merit here.”
—The History Teacher