Alec’s research interests are informed by an interdisciplinary humanities background, centered on history. He applies historical methods to a range of sport-specific concerns such as cultural identity, access and recognition, physical infrastructure, and the role of religion. Current projects under those four themes are summarized below:
Cultural Identity – Work in this area involves creating a framework through which to understand how marginalized populations – particularly immigrant groups and sub-state people – maintain and assert cultural identifiers through sport and leisure.
Access & Recognition – Research in this area focuses on the historical precedents and geopolitical realities facing international acknowledgement of non-recognized nations vis-à-vis global sport federations and governing bodies.
Physical Infrastructure – Research examines the cooption of civic buildings and spaces for urban sport, recreation, and leisure. This work centers on a microhistorical approach that highlights connections between the dynamic vitality of urban development and contemporaneous athletic movements.
Role of Religion – This area of research looks at the impact the Catholic Church had on the development of youth sport and recreation from the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth century. In particular, this work seeks to broaden the established sport history narrative of the pre-eminence of the Protestant YMCA.
Refereed Journal Articles
Hurley, A.S., Conor Heffernan. “Wisdom from the Wickets: Cricket Virtues and Colonial Governance in Lord Harris' Bombay."
The International Journal of the History of Sport (2023): 275-288.
DOI: 10.1080/09523367.2023.2186855.
Hurley, A.S., Conor Heffernan. “Cartoon as Satire and Source: Jack Nicolle, Physical Culture, and Cartoons in 1920s Britain."
Sport in History (2022).
DOI: 10.1080/17460263.2022.2140188.
Hurley, A.S. “Champion, Columnist, and Physical Culturist: Arthur F. Gay's Writings and the Making of Rochester's Health and Strength Community,"
Iron Game History 16, no. 1 (Winter 2021): 31-38.
Hurley, A.S., Annette R. Hofmann. “Between Pints and Performances: The Work of George Brosius in the 19th Century Turner Stronghold of Milwaukee." Journal of Sport History 48, no. 2 (Summer 2021): 186-200.
Hurley, A.S. “Soccer, The Saarland, and Statehood: Win, Loss, and Cultural Reunification in Post-War Europe."
Sport in Society 24, no. 11 (2021): 1863-1877.
DOI: 10.1080/17430437.2021.1902992.
Book Chapters
Hurley, A.S. (2021) “Rise of the Machine: On the Prevalence of Indoor Rowing Records under COVID-19." in
Time Out: Global Perspectives on Sport and the Covid-19 Lockdown edited by Jörg Krieger, April Henning, Lindsay Parks Pieper, and Paul Dimeo, 271-284. Champaign, IL: Common Ground.
Invited Talks
Hurley, A.S. (May 10, 2023). “An Analysis of Ethnic Sport and Social Clubs in Rochester, New York, 1880-1915," presented as a part of the Seminar Series at The Center for Olympic Studies and the Globalisation of Sport (CEOGS) at the University of Lausanne.
Hurley, A.S. (February 13, 2023). “On the Intersection of Sport and Digital History: Mapping Urban (Im)Migration through Sport Clubs," presented as part of the
Sport and Leisure History Seminar at the Institute of Historical Research at the University of London's School of Advanced Study. Available via
BSSH Podcast.
Hurley, A.S. (Nov. 12, 2019). “Sport in History." Invited guest appearance on the British Society for Sport History podcast.
Selected Conference Presentations
Hurley, A.S. (Aug. 2023).
Departure of a Champion: examining the rise of a sportswear powerhouse and the city it abandoned. British Society for Sport History Conference, Manchester, UK.
Hurley, A.S. (July 2023).
Legitimize This: Examining the IOC's relationship with non-recognized nation-states vis-à-vis Palestine's inclusion in the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. International Society for the History of Physical Education and Sport Congress, Lausanne, SUI.
Hurley, A.S. (July 2023).
A History of Leisure Through a Single Building: Geva Theater's Fragmented Evolution from Military Depot to Indoor Sports Hall to Community Theater. Leisure Studies Association Conference, Bournemouth, UK.
Hurley, A.S. (June 2023).
A City and Its Champion: examining the rise of a sportswear powerhouse and the city it abandoned. Business & Community in Sport History Conference, Chichester, UK.
Hurley, A.S. (May 2023).
A City in a Building: using microhistory to examine ethnic exchange in a single bowling alley in Rochester, NY, c.1900. North American Society of Sport History Conference, Washington, D.C., USA.
Hurley, A.S. (May 2023).
Laughter or Leisure: Exploring the Fat Man's Race at the turn of the 20th century. North American Society of Sport History Conference, Washington, D.C., USA.
Hurley, A.S. (Jan. 2023).
Physical Culture and Social Conservatism: Examining progress through paradox in Frederick Law Olmsted and Bernard McQuaid's parks development in Rochester, NY. Physical Cultures of the Body Conference III,
Virtual.
Hurley, A.S. (Nov. 2022).
Researching Religious Recreation: Uncovering Rochester's Young Men's Catholic Association. Irish Lives Symposium, Belfast, UK.
Hurley, A.S. (Nov. 2022).
The Other Y.M.C.A.: Reverend McQuaid's Young Men's Catholic Association's Alternative to the Protestant recreation ethic in Rochester, NY, 1872-1909. Irish Lives Symposium, Belfast, UK.
Hurley, A.S. (Sep. 2022).
Celebrity and Adventure: Examining the Legacy of Berlin's Sport Correspondents in the Late 19th Century. German Studies Association Conference, Houston, TX, USA.
Hurley, A.S. (August 2022).
Concern in the Caribbean: Cold War Politics and National Sovereignty at the 1966 Central American and Caribbean Games. British Society for Sport History Conference, Leicester, UK.
Hurley, A.S. (July 2022).
Leisure or Laughter: Exploring the Histories of the “Fat Man's Race" and the “Married Women's Race" at the Ancient Order of the Hibernians' annual picnic. Leisure Studies Association Conference.
Virtual.
Hurley, A.S. (June 2022).
The Other Y.M.C.A.: Reverend McQuaid's Young Men's Catholic Association's Alternative to the Protestant recreation ethic in Rochester, NY, 1872-1909. International Society for the History of Physical Education and Sports Conference, Oslo, NOR.
Hurley, A.S., Hunt, Thomas M. (May 2022).
Double Play: Public Buildings as Indoor Sport Facilities in the Late Nineteenth Century. North American Society for Sport History Conference, Chicago, IL, USA.
Hurley, A.S. (Oct. 2021).
Humor, Sport, and German Literary Tradition: Tales from “the Frog". German Studies Association Conference, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
Hurley, A.S. (Sep. 2021).
Unilateralism As A Threat To Global Sport: An Examination Of The Rodchenkov Act. European Association for Sport Management (EASM) Conference.
Virtual.
Hurley, A.S. (Sep. 2021).
America First? Unilateralism as a Threat to Global Sport: The Rodchenkov Act Examined. CESH/ISHPES Congress.
Virtual.
Hurley, A.S. (Aug. 2021).
Worth 1000 Words: Jack Nicolle's Brief, but Influential Run as the Head Cartoonist for Health & Strength, in the 1920s. Presented at the British Society of Sport History Conference,
Virtual.
Hurley, A.S. (May 2021).
Morality Lessons and Ethical Frameworks through Anthropomorphic Woodland Creatures in Late 19th Century Germany. Sport, Animals, and Ethics Conference.
Virtual.
Hurley, A.S., Hunt, Thomas M. (May 2021).
Resistance through Participation: International Sport and Colonial Defiance in Puerto Rico. North American Society for Sport History Conference.
Virtual.
Hurley, A.S. (Jan. 2021)
Champion Columnist, and (Physical) Culturist: Arthur Gay's Influence on the American Strength Community in the Interwar Period. Physical Cultures of the Body Conference, Virtual.
Hurley, A.S. (Aug. 2020).
Sport, Humor, and the Veneration of Identity in Nineteenth Century Germany. International Society for the History of Physical Education and Sport Conference,
Virtual.
Hurley, A.S., Hunt, Thomas M. (May 2019).
Pints, Performance, and Patriots: Milwaukee's Turners and the Formation of Citizenship. North American Society for Sport History Conference, Boise, ID, USA.
Hurley, A.S., Hunt, Thomas M. (May 2018).
Where There's a Wicket, There's a Way: British Imperialism in India (1835-1880) Through Cricket and the East India Company. North American Society for Sport History Conference, Winnipeg, MB, CAN.
