Upper School history and social sciences teacher Bryan Boucher has always loved sports. As a kid, he would try to get his hands on any sports literature he could find, a habit he kept as he grew older.
Finding that his passion for sports was shared by many students, this year, Boucher created a new semester-long history elective called Sports in Literature & Society that explores sports literature and the impact of sports in society.
The class is for seniors exclusively, and it counts as half an English 12 credit while also being a history elective. Students in senior year must take two semester-long English related classes, and Boucher’s new class is an option.
This school year, Boucher already has one class per semester of Sports in Literature & Society.
“We’re off to a really good start. I’m really enjoying (teaching the new class,)” Boucher said.
The course is focused on American sports, but it does cover some international subjects, like the Olympics. Students analyze certain crucial windows of sports history along with their study of literature.
In class, Boucher holds frequent discussions, and he plans to cover topics such as race relations in sports, identity in sports and the economics of sports.
“We can often learn more about what’s going on in our culture by thinking about some of the trends we’re seeing in the sports world,” Boucher said.
The class covers lots of nonfiction writing about sports, in the form of long form magazine pieces, newspaper writings, and even biographies. This is different from most other English courses, which are heavily focused on fictional works. Similar to other English courses, the students discuss readings and produce their own pieces of writing.
“(The class) is a great opportunity to introduce students to a type of writing and to writers that they’ve never read before, and perhaps pique their interest in a topic that they’re already interested in,” Boucher said.
Boucher is optimistic about the future of the class, and he plans to continue teaching it if enough interest is shown by students.
“It’s definitely a course that I’ve put a lot of effort into already, so my hope is that it continues into future years,” Boucher said.