History   

Although historians enjoy a world of beautifully curated manuscripts, sometimes the “garbage” of the past tells us more about the people who lived then. This lecture will explore discovered graffiti from the ancient and medieval past to get a glimpse of daily life as it was recorded on public walls, outhouses, and even church balconies. Join us as we track these unofficial recorders of history through humorous, lewd, and enigmatic graffiti markings.

This lecture traces the meteoric rise and lasting legacy of the "King of Rock and Roll." We explore how Elvis blended diverse musical styles to spark a global cultural revolution, inspiring a generation of legends like John Lennon, David Bowie, and Bruce Springsteen. The journey follows Elvis from his humble beginnings in poverty to his dual stardom in music and film, through the lean years of the British Invasion, and into his triumphant 1968 "Comeback Special." We conclude with his final era as a Las Vegas headliner—a period marked by massive success, personal struggles, and his untimely death at 42—to understand his permanent impact on popular culture.