SPM 2021

Olympic Games: Ancient & Modern

This course will lead students on an in-depth investigation of the history of the Olympic Games, both ancient and modern. To begin, the class will review Greek mythology, writings, and archeological artifacts to gain an understanding of how and why the Greeks first created the Olympic Games, and the importance of the event to the ancient Greek civilization. Next, we’ll follow the career of Pierre de Coubertin, the French Barron who was responsible for the re-birth of the Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens, Greece. From there, we will follow the Games chronologically to the present. Along the way, we’ll see examples of incredible athletic accomplishment, but we will also be faced with issues of race, gender, religion, corruption, politics, technology, drugs, and terrorism (to name just a few). Can the ancient Greek vision of the Olympic Ideal still apply to the Modern Games? Let’s find out!

Units: 3.0