Baseball as Narrative: Baseball, Literature, and American Culture

In this course, we learn about baseball, and its history and essence. While baseball is a vibrant and longstanding part of our culture, we try to keep in mind that it is not an artifact; it is a game played today too, and the source of some wonderful expression: it has a literature of imaginative depth and quality. The baseball hero in literature and in life, the sports hero generally, is a powerful symbol of youth and vitality; yet he lives in a world of limits and time. The athlete dies twice: once symbolically at the end of his career and then also a literal death. These “deadlines” give meaning to their quests for greatness, and ours too. (Students who have taken AMST 0221 are not eligible to register for this course). 3 hrs. lect./disc.