Biography

Dr. Wrynn's general area of study (and thus her teaching) is focused on the socio-cultural study of sport and exercise, specifically in the areas of history, sociology, and philosophy of sport and physical activity. Her area of research specialization is on the history of the scientific foundations of the field, and most specifically on the role women played in developing a science of kinesiology and physical education. Currently, Dr. Wrynn is conducting research on the history of science and medicine in the Olympic movement. She received a grant from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1999, that allowed her to spend a month in Lausanne, Switzerland at the archives of the IOC. The original grant proposal was to analyze the IOC's understanding of altitude physiology in the context of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. While at the archives, she also examined primary source material on two other significant scientific topics that emerged in the 1960's - drug testing and gender verification. An article on the altitude physiology topic is nearly complete and she made a presentation at the North American Society for Sport History Annual Meeting on Drug Testing and Gender Verification in May 2001. This grant has also allowed her to share more information with her students about the inner workings of the IOC as she has been able to spend a great deal of time observing the organization.