Sport, Leisure and Social History

The aims for this module are set into the context of the QAA Framework for Higher Education Qualifications and they relate to the SEEC level descriptors for level 1 study.

• To develop an understanding of how concepts of leisure, sport and work changed from the developing industrial society of Britain during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to contemporary times
• To  identify the stages of development of sport and leisure through the study of a number of popular leisure activities and experiences
• To gain insight into the social, political and economic factors which influence sport and leisure in order to understand its nature and significance, and to recognise the contexts within which the different types of leisure providers have developed.
• To recognise that sport and leisure is certainly not experienced in the same way by everyone; some individuals and groups in society get not only more, but significantly different opportunities from others. Age, social class, gender, ethnicity and disability are amongst the factors that help to structure leisure relations and influence experiences within the case studies.

In relation to the QAA Framework for Higher Education Qualifications and the SEEC level descriptors for level 1 study, by the end of the module students should be able to:

1. Discuss ways in which concepts of sport, leisure and work changed across different historical contexts in Britain
2. Identify key stages of development in selected case studies of sport and leisure
3. Identify and evaluate the influence of the more important social, political, economic and technological changes within specific leisure and sporting spaces
4. Discuss and analyse ways in which differing social relations influence sport and leisure opportunities and experiences 

• Concepts of leisure, sport and work
• Social change and the socio-historic development of leisure and sport as it emerged from the  industrial  revolution in Britain  through the 19^th and 20^th century
• The role of media in constructing sporting history
• Growing access and opportunity- challenging white, male, able bodied and heterosexual sporting spaces
• Leisure spaces and the growing significance of sport – selected case studies such as the cinema; the public house and the seaside holiday;
• Case studies of selected popular sports and sports events - 1800 to date, identifying significant social, economic, political influences in their development;
• key leisure providers; factors influencing access and opportunity for different social groups; and contemporary issues

Contact time:

Key note lectures

Film and video observation and analysis

Tutor led sessions

Group seminars and discussion

Student presentations and discussions

Formative assessment for learning

Non-contact time:

Guided reading and question sheets

Writing tasks and research

Case study library based investigation

Revision, planning and completion of assessment tasks

Books:

Clarke, J. & Critcher, C. (1985), The Devil Makes Work. Leisure in Capitalist Britain. London: Macmillan.

Craig, P. and Beedie, P. (2008) (eds.), Sport Sociology. Exeter: Learning Matters.

Hill, J. (2002) Sport, Leisure and Culture in the 20^th Century. Basingstoke: Palgrave.

Horne, J., Tomlinson, A. and Whannel, G. (1999). Understanding Sport. An introduction to the Sociological and Cultural Analysis of Sport. London: E & FN Spon.

Mangan, J. A. (2006) (ed.), A Sport-Loving Society. Victorian and Edwardian Middle-class England at Play. London: Routledge.

Roberts, K. (1999), Leisure in Contemporary Society. Wallingford, Oxon: CABI Publishing.

Walvin, J. (1978), Leisure and Society 1830-1950. London: Longman.

Journals:

Leisure Studies

The Sports Historian/ Sport in History 

Electronic sources:

The British Society of Sports History www. BSSH.MCS-creations.com/ (accessed 25 October 2008)