Education and research
Sports history
Sports history deals with cultural phenomena of movement at all times and in all cultures, from the origin of sport, the ball game of the Maya and Japanese sumo, to the ancient world, medieval and modern age culture of movement, to the contemporary history of sport during the times of National Socialism and the German Democratic Republic (GDR).
"History" does not simply exist as a given past, but emerges ( permanently new) in the mind of every human being. As a subdiscipline of sport science, sports history attempts to explore the past of sport, oriented toward socially relevant issues, with the help of methodical instruments of history science in order to increase historical knowledge and contribute to the formation of human identity.
Research
- Academic didactical and methodological principles of sports history
- Theories of the origins of sport
- "Health" as a guiding principle of being human in premodern times: in the Neolithic Age, during the time of the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, in the Middle Ages, among the Maya, and the ancient Chinese and Indians
- The social and political meaning of the time of gladiators in ancient Rome
- The 1954 football World Cup and its importance for identity formation in Germany
Education
Whether gladiator combats in ancient Rome, medieval tennis matches, structures of competitive sport in the GDR or the development of eSports: In the discipline of sports history, students gain insights into the historical development of the human culture of movement, the methodical approaches of this field and the importance of (sports) history-based thinking for the formation of human identity.
- The introductory lectures on sports history and sports sociology for the B.A. degree programmes, module 7, are usually scheduled during the winter semester.
- Seminars for the B. A. degree programmes, Module 7, are provided each semester. They are designed to expand the contents of the lectures, but can also be taken before or parallel to the lectures.
- Seminars for the M. Ed. programme, module 2, are provided regularly.
- The module for optional subjects "Movement Culture and Sport in Historical Perspective" is provided when required.
