Lectures in History

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

Professor Alan Kraut lectured at American University on the economic progress made by the South during the 1920s as part of his history course on the South since Reconstruction. He said that at half a century after the Civil War it was necessary for the South to turn from its past in order to chart a new future.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christopher Newport University professor Jonathan White teaches a class about the 1864 presidential election pitting incumbent Abraham Lincoln against his former top general, Democrat George McClellan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Iowa State University History Professor Charles Dobbs talked about President John F. Kennedy’s foreign policy. Topics included the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba, the raising of the Berlin Wall, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. He also talked about President Kennedy’s policy toward Vietnam. This episode is from 2013. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

American University’s W. Joseph Campbell teaches a class on CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite’s pessimistic assessment of the Vietnam War in February 1968 and looks at whether the impact of those comments has been overstated and is merely a media myth. www.oracle.come/goto/cspan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville professor Kenneth Moffett teaches a class about notable Speakers of the House, from Henry Clay and Joseph Cannon to Newt Gingrich and Nancy Pelosi. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Professor Stephen Berry talked about coroners in the 19th century South. He discussed the role of a coroner as an agent of the state and talked about the records created from coroner inquests. He argued that coroners can shed light on the emerging patterns of death within a society and spot potential threats to public health such as diseases or a lack of industrial safety.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Iowa State University professor Tracy Lucht talked about women journalists in the late-19th and early 20th centuries. She described the careers of some pioneers, such as Nellie Bly and Dorothy Dix, and the societal pressures for women writers to balance traditional femininity and a career in journalism.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Professor Hitchcock lectured about the U.S. foreign policy strategy of containment between 1946-1950. After World War II, President Harry Truman initiated policies to prevent the spread of communism in Europe and Asia. This strategy of “containment” would result in decades of Cold War tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. Professor William Hitchcock presented the topic in a class lecture at the University of Virginia.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices