uwloo

HIST 205History of Western Sport

Units
0.50
Faculty
Arts
Subject
History
Cross-listed
REC 202

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 2 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 2 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

This course considers the historical impact of Western sport. It traces the history from individual play through amateurism to professionalism, big business, and media. It examines sport's social role within local, national, and international communities, and its relationship to class, gender, leisure, race, and politics.

Prerequisites

None listed.

Antirequisites

None listed.

Leads to

No course lists it as a requisite.

Winter 2027 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
LEC 00141390 / 60T 19:00–21:50
LEC 701162722 / 9999Online or by arrangement

Reviewed on UW Flow

59% liked it81% easy34% useful

From 17 ratings and 5 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • I hated this course. I found the content relatively interesting, but the layout of the course was annoying and the marking for the discussions was ridiculous. From what I understand, it was dependent on your TA. My TA was VERY condescending when providing feedback and wanted extremely particular answers for the discussions and if you didn't give those, then you didn't get the greatest marks. Also, apparently drawing from personal experiences was not correct (although it does not state that anywhere) and also doing more than the required posts would result in marks being deducted. I guess the only good thing about this course is that the work load was small, but I still wish I had taken…

    Sep 2017 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • I took this course online. It wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be, the content was surprisingly dry, focusing mostly on connections of sport to other issues like politics, race, class, etc. so if you are expecting fun historical facts about sports you know, this is not it. 5 discussion posts, 2 quizzes and a paper. The paper had a very strict format but I found it useful to learn how to critically analyze a text. The discussions weren't super active and the articles they were based on weren't the most interesting, so those could have been better. The quizzes were fairly easy but short time period so you had to know the answer or know where to find it. Between the lecture content…

    Aug 2024 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • The course lacked a lot of things. The assignments were not extremely clear and the professor did not create many lectures/content for us but instead told us to listen to a podcast instead of actually doing the work himself. The lectures were easy to complete but the marking and assignments were not very consistent

    Jun 2022 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Very intriguing content and TAs were very fair when it came to marking seminars so far. Doing well in the class, and expect to finish well. TAs do help a lot and guide you to how to get that 100 on assignments.

    Mar 2022 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • The prof and his style of teaching os talking at you and reading off his notes, not engaging at all. He was an old guy so pretty traditional. TAs were pretty liberal with marks though.

    Apr 2013 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

11 posts and comments in 10 threads mention HIST 205, March 2015 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Fall 2021

Winter 2021

Winter 2020

Spring 2019

Spring Term 5 points, 5 comments

“Anyone recommend an interesting and/or easy-ish (bird) course (which can be online or in class, preferably online but idc) that I can possibly take during the spring term, other than HRM 200.”

u/kingpin2496: “Hist 205 was really easy.”

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Winter 2019

Fall 2017

Online courses without final (or online final) ? 10 points, 5 comments

“Heyyy, so I am gonna be doing my coop away from waterloo, and I need to take a course during coop. What are some easy & completely online courses that I can take ? I don't mind essays.”

u/OG_PANDA_KING: “… These are the ones I've taken with no exams: FINE 130, FINE 252, HIST 200, HIST 205. Use this site to find an online course you want and look at the previous term's syllabus which is usually linked. Most of the time you can find a grades breakdown somewhere there. …”

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HIST 200 2 points, 7 comments

“Anyone taken HIST 200 ? How were the assignments? Was the prof a hard marker?”

u/OG_PANDA_KING: “I took it online during coop. Somewhat subjective in the markings. If you want an easy 70 with not much work take it. If you want an 80 or higher it might be harder to get.”

u/OG_PANDA_KING: “Online courses: hist 205 got me an easy 80 but you have to be active in the weekly discussions. I heard HRM 200 is also an option but you actually have to study for that. Edit: thinking about it now hist 200 could've been an easy 80... I just got lazy. …”

u/artsyOG: “Hist 205 isnt offered next term :( and I have already taken HRM. I will probs stick with HIST 200 just cause it has no exam loll Thanks for your help”

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Winter 2015

What is a good HIST course to take based on how interesting it is, its evaluations, and workload. 7 points, 14 comments

“So far, I am interested in HIST 262. Any comments on that course?”

u/RhysHollis: “HIST 205 - History of Western Sport. Workload- Very mild: occasional weekly discussions, I-clicker questions Evaluations - 1 midterm, 1 assignment, No final. Interesting - The textbook is quite interesting, lectures are abit of a drag but they aren't terrible.”

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Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar