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

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 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

Northwestern University

Sports Marketing (Coursera)

Marketing & Communication Business

Today, there is demand for people skilled in Sports Marketing. Organizations want your expertise to strength and grow customer bases and teams want to enlarge their fan base, attract new sponsors to their sport, build strong programs with existing sponsors, and run their fan conventions and other events. In addition, a wide range of companies recognize the value sports relationships have in positioning and building their brands.

Aug 10th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Marketing Sports Sports Marketing

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 Michigan

Foundations of Sports Analytics: Data, Representation, and Models in Sports (Coursera)

Statistics & Data Analysis Data Science

This course provides an introduction to using Python to analyze team performance in sports. Learners will discover a variety of techniques that can be used to represent sports data and how to extract narratives based on these analytical techniques. The main focus of the introduction will be on the use of regression analysis to analyze team and player performance data, using examples drawn from the National Football League (NFL), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Hockey League (NHL), the English Premier LEague (EPL, soccer) and the Indian Premier League (IPL, cricket).

Aug 3rd 2026

5-12 Weeks

Python Regression Sports

Coursera

Università Bocconi

Corporate Sustainability. Understanding and Seizing the Strategic Opportunity (Coursera)

Business

In this course, thought leaders in a wide variety of management and economics fields illustrate how to assess and seize the opportunities offered by these global emergencies. They will offer new ways to understand the purpose and the logic of success of the business enterprise in this new context, providing ideas and examples on how to manage the transition process to realize the value creation potential from corporate sustainability for all involved stakeholders.

Aug 10th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Business Sustainability Strategy

Coursera

University of Minnesota

Community Awareness Course: Sexuality and Disability (Coursera)

Health & Society

This community awareness course from the University of Minnesota Program on Human Sexuality will provide you with a solid introduction to human sexuality for those living with disabilities. Often there are assumptions that the disabled or differently abled people are not sexual, do not have sexual needs, or cannot be involved sexually. In this professionally produced one-hour course, you'll learn about the basics of disabilities and human sexuality.

Aug 10th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Health Healthcare Sexuality

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

University of Manchester

Global Health and Humanitarianism (Coursera)

Social Sciences

Welcome to the Global Health and Humanitarianism MOOC. We are delighted to have you with us, and hope that the next six weeks will provide an interesting and thoughtful experience for you. We hope the course will give you an overview of global health and humanitarianism in theory and in practice.

Aug 24th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Health Evolution Society

Coursera

Northwestern University

Teaching the Violin and Viola: Creating a Healthy Foundation (Coursera)

Film & Audio

Join us as we explore the fundamental principles and early stages of teaching violin and viola through a series of engaging video lectures and lesson demonstrations, including: 1) Master classes with some of the world’s top string pedagogues, 2) Individual lesson demos of teaching violin/viola set up, left and right hand technique and pieces from the early violin/viola repertoire, 3) Group lesson demos of teaching music theory, ear training and fun activities that encourage good playing habits, and 4) A “field trip” to the violin shop, where we will outfit a new beginning student with a proper instrument and bow.

Aug 3rd 2026

5-12 Weeks

Music Art Healthy

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

Coursera

Leiden University,LDE Centre for Safety and Security

Risk in Modern Society (Coursera)

Social Sciences

Risk has become one of the defining features of modern society. Almost daily, we are preoccupied with assessing, discussing, or preventing a wide variety of risks. It is a cornerstone notion for businesses and organizations, but also for nation states and their many levels of government. And even for individuals, risk and the avoidance or embracing thereof, is a key theme. The course Risk in Modern Society sheds light on the broad concept of risk.

Aug 3rd 2026

5-12 Weeks

Risk Security Government