Lectures in History

Emory University professor Felix Harcourt teaches a class on how conspiracy theories about UFOs have shaped America culture. He begins in the late 1940s and describes how public opinion about extraterrestrials changed over the course of the 20th century, often paralleling societal anxieties. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of California, Riverside professor Catherine Allgor teaches a class on the lives of women during the American Revolution and the Early Republic. The history of the period has often focused on the actions of men and battlefields, with women portrayed as strictly home-centered and only achieving political influence through their husbands. Professor Allgor argues for a broader view of Revolutionary-era women, looking at how they exercised a small but increasing amount of political and economic freedom during and after the war. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brown University professor Megan Kate Nelson teaches a class about guerilla warfare, which is largely characterized by its tactics, including ambushes and surprise raids on unsuspecting troops and towns. She talks about the guerrilla soldiers fighting on both the Union and Confederate sides during the Civil War. These small bands of men on horseback were nimble and difficult to capture, especially Confederate guerrillas who often did not wear uniforms and blended back into the population after an attack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Northeastern University professor William Fowler taught a class about early Atlantic exploration, Christopher Columbus and the discovery of the Caribbean and the Americas by Europeans. He described the oceanic ventures of the Vikings, Portuguese and Spanish as well as the navigation assumptions of the time period. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Johns Hopkins University professor Nathan Connolly teaches a class about the “promise of suburbia” after the civil rights movement. He explores the role of zoning, eminent domain, and property rights in the making of racial housing categories. He also explains how these tools were often used by local governments to impede desegregation of neighborhoods. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a guest lecturer at the Citadel Military College in Charleston, South Carolina in 2012, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld gives a talk he calls “The Bush Doctrine, Compassionate Conservatism, and the War on Terror." This class is from a course called “The Conservative Intellectual Tradition in America” taught by Citadel International Politics and American Government professor Mallory Factor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We visit the James Madison University classroom of professor Rebecca Brannon as she teaches about the concept of age around the time of the Revolutionary War. She debunks the myth that the Founding Fathers were all old men, and describes how fertility rates and perceptions of childhood changed during this founding period, leading to a more child-centric family culture by the early 1800s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of Delaware professor Alison Parker teaches a class about activist Mary Church Terrell's 1923 fight against the United Daughters of the Confederacy's attempt to erect a black "Mammy" statue in Washington, D.C. She describes how Terrell, a civil rights activist and suffragist, organized opposition and successfully prevented this "Lost Cause" statue from being built.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Virginia Tech professor Jessica Taylor teaches a class about trade relationships between English colonists and Native peoples in Virginia. She talks about the trade networks between tribes prior to European contact, periods of conflict between colonists and Native Americans, and how slavery impacted the economy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of Dayton professors John Heitmann and Todd Uhlman teach a class about 1970s American car culture and films of the era. Using examples like "Easy Rider," "American Graffiti" and "Badlands," they argue these films reflected many Americans' disillusionment and glorified the open road as a way to take back control in the face of societal changes. They also talk about the impact of oil shortages, the rise of coast-to-coast races called "Cannonball Runs," and the popularity of trucker movies and music. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices