Well, it’s been a hot minute since last you heard from us. And we must say, just a *few* things have happened in the meantime …
What started as a meager blog about sports + museums, “Playing for Keeps,” quickly became a book contract that became an international, seven year, deep dive into sports history interpretation & discussion in public spaces – how museum professional are (and aren’t) discussing sports and what could (and we think should) be happening instead.
The Result: Interpreting Sports at Museums and Historic Sites
In this edited compilation, 32 national and international authors take an honest look at the ways sports impacts culture and culture impacts sports. Six thematic essays uncover the particularities of navigating the sports historical landscape alongside an actively engaged, present-day audience. Then, a wide selection of case studies explore successful and unsuccessful attempts at attracting the public and engaging in educational discussion around both uplifting and difficult sports topics. Grab your copy of Interpreting Sports here and get 30% off here
In Conjunction: We are Now Open for Business!
We have hung are shingle and are offering consulting services as museum professionals who believe that sports history is more than a game–it reflects the core of social identity.
Our goal is simple and not small –
At Interpreting Sports, we are re-centering the international sports conversation around empathy, balanced humanity, and authentic connection, one interpretive project at a time.
Inquire here about working with us + upping your sports interpretation game
Network & Learn at Interpreting Sports Events
We have taken this conversation on the road – hosting workshops, signing books, attending conferences, touring sporting sites, and creating a Community of Practice.
Find an online or in person event in your area or host your own.
More to Come…
Stay Connected with us – we are just getting started and growing rapidly!!
Follow us on Instagram & Facebook @interpretingsports
Be the first to learn about events, news, and discounts by joining our email list
Visit us on the web anytime: www.interpretingsports.com
Reach out via email connect@interpretingsports.com
And keep watching this blog for updates and insights!
We hope to see you soon – until then, keep playing for keeps with your heart all out!
– Kathryn & Doug
Editorial Reviews: Interpreting Sports at Museums and Historic Sites
“In this volume, editors Kathryn Leann Harris and Douglas Stark have created a comprehensive primer and handbook for the interpretation of sports in the context of museums. They’ve assembled an All-Star cast of scholars and museum professionals who’ve examined a topic that is nothing less than both a mirror in which society views itself and a prism through which one can understand as wide a variety of issues as one can possibly imagine. For sports possess the potential to foster understanding while transcending politics. Thus, within the context of museums, resides precious common ground. This remarkable thoroughly researched volume is nothing less than a blueprint for the maximization of such potential.”
– Richard A. Johnson
“Too often, sport museums focus on feel-good stories and commodified nostalgia, but the wide range of case studies in this collection provide plenty of examples of how to critically present and interpret sport history. It’s the book public history practitioners and museum professionals need.”
– Brian M. Ingrassia
Interpreting Sports 
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