My teaching and research involve the historical and socio-cultural aspects of sport and physical activity. The undergraduate courses that I teach include, The History and Philosophy of Kinesiology (a core course), The History of Physical Culture and Sports Medicine (available for History credit),...
My teaching and research involve the historical and socio-cultural aspects of sport and physical activity. The undergraduate courses that I teach include, The History and Philosophy of Kinesiology (a core course), The History of Physical Culture and Sports Medicine (available for History credit), and Historical Interpretations of Sport and Physical Activity. They examine the social and cultural dimensions of how people in the past have engaged in organized physical activities, and in how, historically, exercise has been an important part of both social life and medical practice in the western world.
My research focuses particularly on issues of gender, social class, the environment, and locality in the history of sport and physical activity. I am also broadly interested in the relationship between sport and hegemony. With my colleague Ken Cruikshank I am currently working on a SSHRCC-funded book examining the history of environment, the state, and recreation on the Burlington Bay. I have just completed another book manuscript on the rise of amateur sport in nineteenth century Ontario towns.