Noah Cohan

About ME

I’m a writer and Sports Studies scholar in St. Louis, where I work as Assistant Director of American Culture Studies at WashU. I am also co-editor of Power Plays: The New Sports Studies, a new book series from the University of Oklahoma Press.

My writing has appeared in Slate, the Conversation, and the Common Reader, among other platforms, and my expertise has been featured in interviews with The New York Times, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis On the Air, Bleacher Report, and KCBS Radio.

I’m currently at work on a cultural history of the football helmet. I’ve presented my helmet research at multiple conferences, as well as via invitation to the University of Iowa and Notre Dame.

My first book, We Average Unbeautiful Watchers: Fan Narratives and the Reading of American Sports was published by the University of Nebraska Press in 2019.

CV

For more on my academic writing and teaching, access my Curriculum Vitae here.

Contact me at noah dot cohan at gmail.

Whereas hoops

With John Early, I am co-creator of Whereas Hoops, an interdisciplinary work of scholarship, creative practice, and community engagement addressing the anti-Black racism underlying the absence of basketball courts in St. Louis’s 1,300-acre Forest Park.

RECENT WRITING

New NFL helmet accessory reduces concussions − but players and fans may not be ready to embrace safety over swag
The Conversation
September 5, 2024

Fandom usually means tracking your favorite team for years − so why are the Olympics so good at making us root for sports and athletes we tune out most of the time?
The Conversation
July 3, 2024

Red Tackles, Blue Flags:
In California, the political divide over youth football is getting interesting
Slate
January 24, 2024

Why a Hot Idea for Making Football Safer Is Such a Hard Sell for the NFL
Slate
November 26, 2023

WHEREAS HOOPS resources

Instagram Account: instagram.com/whereas_hoops

Artist’s Book
bit.ly/whereashoopsbook

Podcast
bit.ly/whereashoopspod