Final Project Prospectus

The field of sport history has expanded dramatically in the last twenty-five years. However, the subject area continues to fight for acceptance and recognition due in part to the overwhelming presence of popular histories authored by sports journalists who engage more in hero worship than historical analysis. No where is this more the case that in the area of new media.

Darlene Hard congratulates Althea Gibson for her first Wimbledon singles title following their 1957 match.

 My plan is to develop a web site proposal that addresses the need for a scholarly approach to sport history. I also plan to address another gap in the literature by focusing on female, rather than male, athletes -- specifically, black women athletes. The study of sport, given its importance in American popular culture, has much to tell us about American society and culture. Moreover, sport also grants us an entryway into studying such issues as the cultural constructions of race, gender, and class in American society. Indeed, it is these very issues that I plan to examine in my web site.

The site will focus on the careers of 1940s track and field athlete, Alice Coachman, and 1950s tennis great, Althea Gibson, and the white and black press’s construction of their public sporting images. Through these two athletes, visitors will be able to explore issues of race, gender, and class, as well as delve into the status of women's track and field and tennis of the 1940s and 1950s. I plan to develop a site that falls into the hybrid category of online essay and teaching.

Alice Coachman captures the gold medal for the high jump at the 1948 Olympics.
One potential problem may be access to certain press images I hope to obtain from the Library of Congress. While I plan to use these sparingly mainly as a tie-in to my sources, portions of several key articles from both the black and white press would illustrate well some of the themes of gender and race that will be important to the site.
Home / Clio I Main Page

 
Alice Coachman waits to receive her gold medal Althea Gibson following her 1957 Wimbledon win