Sports History and Culture (Taught)

Our well-established Sports History and Culture distance-learning MA will give you a firm grounding in the development of modern sport, from its traditional forms to present-day practices. This is a flexible and interactive programme that, thanks to its close links with the International Centre for Sports History and Culture (ICSHC), ensures your learning is at the cutting edge of research in this area.

You will investigate the origins of modern sport, examine its cultural and global significance, discover how sport can help us understand society and different communities, as well as consider how historians of sport can use primary sources. The scope of the course is global, not only analysing how modern sport spread from its British origins but also how other nations embraced sport within their own cultural contexts.

The course is set up in such a way as to allow you to personalise your study. Though there are multiple core elements, all students have a choice of module options, select where and when to undertake certain assignments within their chosen study pathway and can customise essays and, especially, dissertation topics to reflect their interests.

In this fully online MA degree, module materials such as written lectures and related reading and tasks are all placed in our Virtual Learning Environment – Learning Zone – at regular intervals. Though course staff will offer broad recommendations on when certain module tasks should be completed, and while there are set assignment deadlines to work towards, students have a great degree of freedom over how they approach and organise their study.

Though it is a distance-learning degree, course staff are easily accessible through video/phone calls and tutorials, email communication and, where practicable, in-person. You will also be invited to attend numerous seminars and conferences, such as those organised by the ICSHC and partnership groups such as the British Society of Sports History and the European Committee for Sports History. These partnerships, coupled with our academic team’s expertise and real-world experience, will provide you with a challenging and rewarding intellectual experience.

Alongside gaining a deep understanding of the history of sport, you will develop skills in independent research by producing sustained pieces of writing and primary source analysis assignments. As a graduate, you will be ideally placed for a career in sports writing, sport development, management, the media, teaching or to undertake PhD research.

The course comprises of four taught modules, plus a final project.

Social and Cultural Themes of Sport
This module examines the development of sport and physical culture in Britain and continental Europe from the 1850s. This includes the emergence of amateurism and the on-going tension between the amateur ethos and the commercialisation of sport as well as the codification, modernisation and globalisation of sporting practices. Particular reference is made to the importance of social divisions, such as class, gender and race.

Sport, Politics and Policy
This module examines the relationship between sport and international politics, and looks at how government public policies have impacted on sport and explores identity politics in sport. The module is based around the history of mega-events such as the Olympic Games and also global sporting institutions like the International Olympic Committee and FIFA. In addition, sport in the Cold War is also examined.

Investigating Sports History: Research Methods
The primary aim of this module is to prepare students for their dissertation. It looks at project planning, research methodologies (including archival research, oral history and the use of various forms of media) and effective writing techniques.

In addition, to help you specialise, you will choose one from the following:
Sport, Writing and History
The module considers written social and cultural aspects of the representation of sport in Britain and in an international context. The central aim is to promote appreciation of an historical approach to imaginative literature and non-fiction including autobiography, sports journalism and popular writing. This will enable students better to identify and explain long-term changes in the representation of sport and recreation and its transmission to a wide range of readers and audiences.

Football: Past and Present
This module explores the history of the game, from its origins, and its development from both domestic and international perspectives. It is arranged both thematically and chronologically and includes: the origins of football; the early professionalization and commercialisation of the game; the emergence of international football; football and the media; the football manager; football fans; the modernisation of football and global actors, such as FIFA.

Final Project options (choose one):

Dissertation
With this option, students write a 15,000 word dissertation on a subject of your choice selected in consultation with your tutor.

Heritage Project
With this option, students focus on a heritage-based project, understanding “heritage” in its broader sense. This can include major projects such as exhibitions, cataloguing or digitising collections, creating databases, etc. Students will be expected to develop a heritage project in conjunction with an existing organisation. The heritage project needs have a clear outcome achievable by the deadline. Students will submit a Proposal, a formal proposal about the intended heritage project, including the concept, structure, and format; the Heritage Project itself, in an appropriate format; and a Report, a critical evaluation and analysis of the project.

Note: All modules are indicative and based on the current academic session. Course information is correct at the time of publication and is subject to review. Exact modules may, therefore, vary for your intake in order to keep content current. If there are changes to your course we will, where reasonable, take steps to inform you as appropriate.