Mason Welcomes Sport and American Culture Minor

Lansbury says minor provides insight into American life.

by B.J. Koubaroulis

Mason Welcomes Sport and American Culture Minor

Sport and American culture is a new minor at George Mason University. Minor director Jennifer Lansbury recently answered a few questions about the new minor. Here’s what she had to say:

1. Why is the Sport and American Culture minor unique?

This minor provides an interdisciplinary approach to understanding how sport has influenced and been influenced by American culture. The two disciplines that are collaborating--sport management and history--provide approaches that will allow students to examine important questions from two different angles of study. History courses that support the minor will focus on issues such as the origins of U.S. sports, how sport became so prominent in American culture, and the roles women and African Americans have played in the history of sport in the United States. Alternatively, the courses supported by sport management will use a historical perspective but also examine more closely the inter-relationship between sport and culture in present-day America, exploring historical and present-day issues from economic, political, social and cultural perspectives.

2. What should students expect from the minor?

Students should expect to gain a good understanding of the important inter-relationship between sport and American culture. This will be achieved largely through readings, lectures, discussions, informal and formal writing assignments, films, and group exercises. The academic literature for sport history and sport management has grown dramatically in the last 15 to 20 years, and students will be exposed to many fine books in their courses.

3. What are the goals of the minor?

The minor takes seriously the idea that the study of sport yields interesting and important insights into American life. The central goal of the minor is to trace the history of sport in America and understand the role of sport in today's society. Students will come away with a basic narrative of the emergence of sport in American society; its explosion during the early part of the 20th century along with other forms of entertainment; the roles of African Americans and women in American sport; and the political, social, economic, and commercial aspects to American sport in general as well as to certain specific American sporting institutions, such as baseball, football, and America's relationship to the modern Olympic games.

4. In your opinion, how has sport influenced American culture?

I think the more important question is how have sport and American culture influenced one another, for they enjoy a reciprocal relationship. Certainly sport has become a central part of American culture. Just think of the sport metaphors/expressions that Americans use regularly—step up to the plate, hit one out of the park, and par for the course to name a few. Moreover, sport, both at the professional and amateur levels, provide Americans with a shared language to discuss issues rooted deep in the American culture, such as individualism and teamwork, commercialism, fair play, and classic "rags to riches" stories played out repeatedly on the playing field. Yet American culture has also influenced sport in the United States, shaping it in ways that distinguish it from its counterpart in other cultures. Color lines in many professional sports resulted in separate African American leagues and sport organizations. And American women struggled through much of the twentieth century to break into the masculine domain of the sporting world in ways that often differed significantly from their European "sisters." Understanding the reciprocal relationship between sport and American culture, both historically and in the present, is the real strength of this minor.

5. What kind of careers will this minor prepare students for?

History teachers, particularly those in secondary and collegiate settings, will discover new and interesting ways to approach important historical topics related to race, gender, and class in American society. Physical education teachers as well as students pursuing careers in tourism and recreation, health and leisure fields will gain a more in-depth historical perspective to their field, and its trajectory in American culture. Sport management majors who enter careers in marketing, managing, or advertising at the professional or amateur level will better understand both the historical background to their field but also the relationship between sport and American culture in present-day America. Sociology majors that are looking towards careers in social services or government can differentiate their degree and create a niche in which to work in the public, private, or governmental sectors or to pursue further study.

6. Please add any other comments you'd like or perhaps any topic you'd like to discuss.

Sport provides an interesting way to approach so many issues important in American culture, both historically and in our present culture. For example, while the color line is a thing of the past in professional sports, dating back to the mid-twentieth century, the number of African Americans in professional managerial positions today remains a starkly low percentage of those available. Moreover, juxtaposing ice hockey with tennis immediately opens up a discussion on class in American culture that supplements and enriches labor studies. In sum, if students are interested in statistics, they should check out a sports almanac. If, however, they're interested in the ways in which sport and American culture have and continue to influence one another, then we have an interesting and exciting minor for them.