Eric Hall

Current Research

My fields of interest include twentieth-century U.S. political and cultural history, African American history, and sports history, as well as biography. I am the author of Arthur Ashe: Tennis and Justice in the Civil Rights Era (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014), which was named a Choice Outstanding Academic Title. My research examines intersections of race, sport, and political activism in modern American society. I am currently working on a project involving race and tennis in apartheid South Africa.

Major Publications

Book

• Arthur Ashe: Tennis and Justice in the Civil Rights Era. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014.

Articles/Book Chapters

• “Foster v. Fourie: Race, Politics, and Betrayal in Apartheid South Africa,” The International Journal of the History of Sport, 2020.
• “Arthur Ashe: Politics, Racism and Tennis,” in Robert Lake and Carol Osborne, eds., The Routledge Handbook of Tennis: History, Culture and Politics. London: Routledge, 2019.

Teaching Interests

I teach a variety of courses focusing on U.S. history, race relations, sports history, and American cultural and political developments in the twentieth century. My courses emphasize critical thinking, source analysis, and the development of effective historical arguments.

Courses Taught

• BKST 200: Racism in American Culture and Society
• HIST 260: American History to 1865
• HIST 261: American History Since 1865
• HIST 359: History of Illinois
• HIST 363: U.S. Sport History
• HIST 391: History of the Black Athlete
• HIST 395: Historical Methods
• HIST 401: Third Clinical Secondary School Experience in History/Social Sciences
• HIST 465: Gilded Age and Progressive Era
• HIST 468: America Since 1960
• HIST 495: Senior Thesis
• HIST 496: History and Social Science Instruction for Secondary/Middle Grades Educators
• ILAS 201: Introductory Clinical Experience