The Opium Wars (1839-1860) between the Chinese Empire and Great Britain were fought as a result of what amounted to a state sanctioned illicit narcotics trade.
Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book is a fascinating study of the leadership styles of four U.S. Presidents: Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt , and Lyndon B. Johnson. Learn how each overcame personal challenges and rose to lead the nation at times of crisis in unique ways. Supplemental materials will be provided.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German theologian who came of age between the two World Wars. His writings reflect increasing alarm as he watched his fellow Germans believe the lies of the National Socialists. The book documents his ultimate decision to participate in the plot to assassinate Hitler. What message does it hold today?
This course examines a unique historical perspective centering on a mineral, a rock, a seasoning. Prevalent today thanks to modern geology, salt was one of the world’s most sought-after commodities. A substance so valuable it served as currency, influenced trade routes and establishment of cities.
With regard to Western civilization, all roads do indeed lead to Rome. Mary Beard, the esteemed classicist at Cambridge University, takes us on a journey to the heart and soul of Rome, from its inception in 753 BC, through its Republican phase, and into its Imperial age -- nearly a thousand year span of triumph and tragedy, success and strife.
Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book is a fascinating study of the leadership styles of four U.S. Presidents: Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt , and Lyndon B. Johnson. Learn how each overcame personal challenges and rose to lead the nation at times of crisis in unique ways. Supplemental materials will be provided.
In Greco-Roman times, Judeans were already considered outsiders and were often mocked or depicted in derogatory terms. Although this was true of many conquered people, in the case of Jewry that attitude was taken up in the Early Church and was turned into a theological category.
Is there such a thing as "the American Story" or are there many American stories? If so, what are they? How do they combine to create the American narrative binding us together as a nation and as a people? More fundamentally, in these fractious times why is how we answer these questions important?
This course explores anti-Semitism’s historical, political and social roots through an examination of the major publications that addressed the issue, including The Jews and Their Lies by Martin Luther, Protocols of the Elders of Zion, The Passing of the Great Race by Madison Grant, and The International Jew by Henry
Before the advent of fast, reliable air transport, “the only way to cross” an ocean was by ship. This course will examine travel by ship from the seventeenth century to the present. It is a story of immigration, travel adventures, disaster, design, and of an industry that transformed the world.
American theater has an inferiority complex, but is it deserved? In this course, we’ll look at the founding of theater in the United States and how it was used to reflect American society with all of its trials and tribulations. Furthermore, we will study how artists began to find their own voice and create a distinct form of theater that is “
This course focuses on a number of unique legal cases from the late 19th and early 20th century. Not only was the Jewishness of the defendants directly related to the course of the legal proceedings, but each of these cases attracted tremendous publicity, even at the international level.