Seth S. Tannenbaum
Seth S. Tannenbaum is an assistant professor of sport studies. He earned a PhD in American History at Temple University and a BA in History at Vassar College. He previously worked at Drexel University, Lesley University, and the University of Central Oklahoma. His teaching and research focus on using sport to unpack and understand the world around us. His manuscript, More than a Ballpark: The Baseball Fan Experience as a Window into American Society, examines Americans’ changing understandings of urban areas, inclusion, and the body politic. It analyzes how team owners used ballparks’ designs, locations, and amenities to keep fans coming back to the park amidst significant changes in cities and in leisure consumption patterns. His scholarship has been published in The Journal of African American History, Nine: A Journal of Baseball History & Culture, the Washington Post, and the Philadelphia Inquirer among a number of other venues. More information about Dr. Tannenbaum, including his complete CV, can be found on his personal website.
American Sport History
Baseball and American Society
First-Year Seminar
Introduction to Sport Studies
Reseach Topics in American Sport History
Spectators and Fans
Urban Sports
PhD, Temple University (2019)
BA, Vassar College (2008)
2023-2026. Co-Project Director. “Sport Studies in the 21st Century: Amplifying the Latinx Experience in Curricula, Conversation, and Community.” Awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities’ Humanities Initiatives at Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program.
2021. Honorable Mention, 2019-2020 Dissertation Prize. North American Society for Sport History.
2020-2021. New Teacher-Scholar Award. 21st Century Pedagogy Institute, University of Central Oklahoma.
2018-2019. William and Madeline Welder Smith Research Travel Award. Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin.
2017-2018. Teaching Award for Graduate Student Instructor of Record. College of Liberal Arts, Temple University.
2018. Baron Award for Best Graduate Student Instructor in History. Department of History, Temple University.
2018. Shumpei Okamoto Dissertation Research Travel Award. Awarded by the Department of History, Temple University.
2015-2016, 2012-2013. Elsie Van Dyck DeWitt Scholarship Recipient. Awarded by the Office for Fellowships, Vassar College.
2015. Alvin Achenbaum Travel Grant. John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising, and Marketing History, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
Articles and Chapters:
“How Major League Baseball Parks Reveal the White Middle-Class’s Views on Cities,” Journal of Sport History 50, no. 1 (Spring 2023): 32-47.
“Changing Understandings of the Dodgers’ Move to Los Angeles and the Value of Archival Sources,” NINE: A Journal of Baseball History & Culture 31, no. 1 (Fall 2022): 34-51.
“The Desegregation of Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis: Black Baseball Fans’ Use of the National Pastime to Fight White Supremacy,” The Journal of African American History 106, no. 2 (Spring 2021): 220-248.
“A Ballpark United by Food: Hot Dogs and Bridging the Gap Between the Skyboxes and the Cheap Seats at the Houston Astrodome,” in Conversations with Food, eds. Dorothy Chansky and Sarah W. Tracy (Wilmington, DE: Vernon Press, 2020), 37-51.
“‘The Ever Watchful Eye of the Magnate’: Policing and Ballpark Gambling in the Twentieth Century,” in All In: The Spread of Gambling in Twentieth-Century United States, eds. Jonathan D. Cohen and David. G. Schwartz (Reno, NV: University of Nevada Press, 2018), 44-69.
Op-Eds and Short Articles:
“Phillies Must Do More to Diversify Their Lineup,” in The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 7, 2022.
“The Unbearable Whiteness of Paul Goldberger’s Ballpark,” in Tropics of Meta, July 22, 2019.