Coursera

Sports and Society (Coursera)

Offered by Duke University,

Sports play a giant role in contemporary society worldwide. But few of us pause to think about the larger questions of money, politics, race, sex, culture, and commercialization that surround sports everywhere. This course draws on the tools of anthropology, sociology, history, and other disciplines to give you new perspectives on the games we watch and play.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

It's the new and improved version of Professor Orin Starn's original "Sports and Society" for Coursera, which drew more than 40,000 students. We will focus on both popular sports like soccer (or “football,” as anyone outside America calls it), basketball, and baseball, and also lesser-known ones like mountain-climbing and fishing. You will never watch or think about sports in the same way again.

Syllabus

WEEK 1: Getting Started! Games, Play, and Sports
WEEK 2: Globalization, Nationalism, and the Politics of Sports
WEEK 3: Race, Cultural Identity, and the Sports World
WEEK 4: Gender, Sexuality, and the Rise of Women's Sports
WEEK 5: Why Do We Care So Much about Sports?
WEEK 6: The Megabusiness of Sports
WEEK 7: Outdoor Sports, Extreme Sports, and the Search for Adventure

Go to Class

MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Coursera

University of Lausanne

Doping : Sports, Organizations and Sciences (Coursera)

Social Sciences Sports

The objective of this course is to encourage a critical understanding of doping. To achieve this goal, this course will rely on a multidisciplinary approach that allow you to see how different disciplines get into a single object, in different perspectives and in often complementary ways. This approach will also allow us to appreciate the complexity of a subject like doping. Doping in sports is a complex practice whose definition and identification is the result of socially and historically constructed norms. This course offers to shed light on the processes that led to the use and prohibition of doping substances.

Aug 3rd 2026

4 Weeks

Health Sports Social Sciences

Coursera

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Fundamental Sports related Musculoskeletal Anatomy (Coursera)

Health & Society

This is an online course on fundamental sports-related musculoskeletal anatomy which provides students with a basic understanding of the musculoskeletal structure and function of different body regions. Topics include an overview of the musculoskeletal system, spine, upper limb, and lower limb.

Aug 3rd 2026

5-12 Weeks

Sports Anatomy Upper Limb

Coursera

Johns Hopkins University

Black Lives Matter (Coursera)

History

The #BlackLivesMatter movement is the most significant political movement in African American life in the United States in the last fifty years. BLM leaders denounced anti-black racism, white supremacy, and police brutality and reshaped how we think about gender, sexuality, social justice, economic injustice, and crime.

Aug 3rd 2026

4 Weeks

Culture Justice United States

Coursera

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Race and Cultural Diversity in American Life and History (Coursera)

Personal and Professional Development

Learners will deepen their understanding and appreciation of ways in which race, ethnicity and cultural diversity have shaped American institutions, ideology, law, and social relationships from the colonial era to the present. Race and ethnicity are ideological and cultural categories that include all groups and individuals. Hence, this course is designed in significant part to take a broad look at the ideology of race and cultural diversity in America’s past and present.

Aug 10th 2026

4 Weeks

Legacies United States Identity

Coursera

University of Colorado Boulder

Anti-Racism I (Coursera)

Social Sciences

Anti-Racism I is an introduction to the topic of race and racism in the United States. The primary audience for this course is anyone who is interested in learning about race/racism in the US who has never taken a course in critical race or ethnic studies or affiliated fields (indeed, who may not know what the fields of critical race studies or ethnic studies are), who has never read a book about race/racism, or attended any race equity or diversity trainings on the topic of race/racism.

Aug 3rd 2026

3 Weeks

Social Sciences United States Racism

Coursera

University of Colorado Boulder

Anti-Racism II (Coursera)

Social Sciences

Anti-Racism II is an intermediate course between Anti-Racism I and Anti-Racism III, focusing on the topic of race, racism, and strategies regarding how to be an anti-racist. Anti-Racism II is for anyone who has previously taken Anti-Racism I, or who has basic knowledge of the racial issues plaguing the United States, and globally. Anti-Racism I focused upon how to have open dialogue and conversations about race and racism. Anti-Racism II takes on the vital role assisting students in guiding their own conversations regarding race, and additionally gender and sexuality.

Aug 3rd 2026

4 Weeks

Racism Race Anti-Racism

Coursera

New York University

Richard Schechner's Introduction to Performance Studies (Coursera)

Film & Audio

Performance Studies: An Introduction explores the wide world of performance--from theatre, dance, and music to ritual, play, political campaigns, social media, and the performances of everyday life. Performance studies also ranges across cultures--Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, the Americas. And it spans historical periods from the art of the paleolithic caves to YouTube and the avantgarde. This course is devised by Richard Schechner, one of the pioneers of performance studies, in dialogue with more than a dozen expert scholars and artists.

Aug 3rd 2026

13-24 Weeks

Music Art Theatre

Coursera

Morehouse College

Activism in Sports and Culture (Coursera)

Art and Culture History

Sports have become an ever-present reflection of American culture, and an important symbol of the divisions and alliances in our society. Sports and political change walk hand in hand in America. The way that athletes and institutions deal with questions of race, economic hardship, nationalism, and political ties have become central to the way that we understand ourselves and our society. And yet, there are those who would prefer their sports free of controversy and opinion.

Aug 3rd 2026

4 Weeks

Culture Sports Activism

Coursera

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Sports Turf Management: Best Practices (Coursera)

Sci: Environment

The Sports Turf Management: Best Practices course will cover the construction, management, and challenges in maintaining athletic fields intended for football, soccer, and baseball. You will learn the fundamental management practices for maintaining athletic fields, such as fertilization, irrigation, mowing, and pest control. An overview of athletic field construction, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of native soil versus modified soil fields, will be provided. Lastly, you will explore the effects of traffic and compaction on athletic fields and the development of artificial turf.

Aug 17th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Sports Irrigation Construction

Coursera

The University of Sydney

Ethical Social Media (Coursera)

Social Sciences

Social media connects us across space and time, allowing us to find like-minded communities and participate creatively in public life as never before. We may often use social media without thinking much about the possible consequences. But there is a shadow side associated with social media use, which takes the form of hate speech, increased surveillance, lack of anonymity and questionable use of our data. What do we need to know to use social media spaces effectively, in a way that is safe and productive for all?

Aug 10th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Ethics Society Social Sciences

Coursera

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Structuring Values in Modern China (Coursera)

Humanities History

This sequence of four courses will propose a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of Chinese cultural history conceived of as a succession of modes of rationality (philosophical, bureaucratic, and economic). The focus will be on the moments of paradigm shift from one mode of rationality to another. For each of these moments, cultural facts and artifacts—thought, literature, ritual—will be examined in relationship to changing social, political, and economic systems.

Aug 17th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Science History China

Coursera

Duke University

Civic Engagement in American Democracy (Coursera)

Social Sciences

So how does the American political system work? Who are some of the key actors? What are key concepts for a student trying to understand what’s going on? How can I as a citizen influence politics? Civic Engagement in American Democracy takes on these and other key questions. We’re Dr. Nicholas Carnes and Dr. Bruce Jentleson, the principal course instructors. Along with our Duke faculty colleagues who also contributed modules, we’ve designed the course to provide a strong foundational introduction to US politics.

Aug 10th 2026

4 Weeks

Government Politics Democracy