The Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, 2009-2010 - by William M Simons (Paperback)

About the Book

The Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, 2009-2010 is an anthology of scholarly essays that utilize the national game to examine topics whose import extends beyond the ballpark. The articles in this collection constitute a significant academic contribution to baseball literature. The essays represent sixteen of the leading presentations from the two most recent proceedings of the annual Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, held, respectively, on June 3-5, 2009, and June 2-4, 2010. The anthology is divided into five parts. Baseball as Culture: Dance, Literature, National Character, and Myth constitutes a sporting odyssey of diverse components of the American culture. Constructing Baseball Heroes explores the processes that create icons of the game and nation. Blacks in Baseball: From Segregation to Conflicted Integration provides social and historical contextualization of evolving race relations in the national pastime. The Enterprise of Baseball: Economics and Entrepreneurs links business and labor practices in the game to phenomena beyond the playing field. The Genesis and Legacy of Baseball Scholarship features but one essay written by the co-creator of baseball scholarship, Dorothy Jane Mills. The entry provides important reflection on the inception and evolution of academic writing about the national pastime. Each part contains essays related by theme and topic.

Book Synopsis

The Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, 2009-2010 is an anthology of scholarly essays that utilize the national game to examine topics whose import extends beyond the ballpark and constitute a significant academic contribution to baseball literature. The essays represent sixteen of the leading presentations from the two most recent proceedings of the annual Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, held, respectively, on June 3-5, 2009, and June 2-4, 2010.

The anthology is divided into five parts: Baseball as Culture: Dance, Literature, National Character, and Myth; Constructing Baseball Heroes; Blacks in Baseball: From Segregation to Conflicted Integration; The Enterprise of Baseball: Economics and Entrepreneurs; and Genesis and Legacy of Baseball Scholarship, which features an essay written by the co-creator of baseball scholarship, Dorothy Seymour Mills.

Review Quotes

"excellent...useful and engaging...essential"-Journal of Sport History.

About the Author

William M. Simons is professor of history at the State University of New York-Oneonta.