| Unit name | Sports and Societies in South America: 1860-1930 |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HISP30097 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Brown |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | Department of Hispanic, Portuguese and Latin American Studies |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important?
Sports are important to many people around the world. Sports provide a way for us to identify with the communities we form part of, a way for us to express ourselves and to use our bodies to interact creatively, enjoyably and competitively with others. How did this come to be? Why are there so few opportunities to study sports in universities when they are so significant to so many people? This unit looks back to the period at the start of the twentieth century when our present ways of thinking about sports came into being. It explores the profound changes in South American culture and society in the period when the continent was rapidly inserted into the global economy, focusing in particular on the relationship between popular culture, sports, and nation-building. The unit explores indigenous and colonial games, as well as the formation of the first modern sporting clubs in the continent, and concludes with the organization of the first men’s football World Cup in Uruguay in 1930. Students will explore several sources in detail and will analyse them within their political and historical contexts.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
The unit will provide you with the conceptual and contextual knowledge to analyse the historical developments of sports in South America, and to help you understand where the contemporary politics, cultures and economics of sports emerged from. Building on historical and social foundations provided in years 1 and 2 it will introduce you to the sources, methods, and concepts that have underpinned new approaches to sports history. It will also prepare you for undertaking independent advanced-level research in the sports history of South America.
An overview of content
You will explore the different games and sports that were played in South America at the end of the nineteenth-century, from indigenous games like tejo to colonial sports like bullfighting and cockfighting. We will examine the formation of major international sporting events like the Olympic Games (from 1896), the South American football championships (from 1916) and the FIFA men’s football World Cup (from 1930). You will explore the creation of sporting spectacles, looking at who was in the crowd at horse-racing, athletics and cycling events. Who were the professional sportsmen and women of the time? How were they presented in the media, and rewarded (or not!) in society?
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
The creative component of the assessment will enable you to make an imaginative leap through history into a different way of thinking about bodies and how they interact on sports fields. By studying primary sources produced by contemporaries (news reports, photographs, films, memoirs) you will develop your critical thinking and engagement, and may well just reconsider your own attitude to physical activities like running, cycling and ski-ing. During each seminar we will recreate one or more of the activities we are discussing, which will leave you enthused and energised about the day ahead, as well as full of ideas and questions to take into the weekend.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit students will be able to:
Teaching will be delivered through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous sessions, including group seminar-style discussion and self-directed exercises.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
The unit director will provide informal feedback on attendance and participation in seminars, knowledge of sources set for discussion in class, and engagement with the themes of the unit. In seminars we will do 3 exercises that will be similar to the exam questions, and feedback will be provided.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Creative critical source analysis, 2,500 words (50%) [ILOs 1-2, 4-5]
Written exam, 2 hours (50%) [ILOs 1-4]. The exam will feature short unseen primary sources. You will be asked to write a short history-themed article for a sports event programme contextualising and reflecting upon the sources. This exercise (and the preparation that we will do for it in seminars) will enable you to hone your analytical and presentational skills, writing accessibly in order to bring sports history to interested general readers.
When assessment does not go to plan
When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the form or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are normally confirmed by the School shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the academic year.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. HISP30097).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
