History, Classics, & Philosophy   

This course will examine one of the most transformative and controversial presidents in U.S. history. Andrew Jackson was a politician and leader who became a political and social icon for a generation of Americans in the first half of the 19th century. We will explore Jackson's early life and military career along with the political rise of the "near west" as a distinct region and a force in American society. Jackson's presidential tenure represented a clear demarcation away from the patrician politics of the founding fathers’ era towards a democracy that was more inclusive, more populist, and more volatile.

We all ask ourselves the big questions of life. What is morally right? What is our ultimate purpose in life? What is a good society? This course will introduce you to the answers given in Indian, Chinese and Japanese thought. The course emphasizes the role of these philosophies/religions in the social-political life and on the artistic expressions (from calligraphy to film) of the peoples of Asia and how these philosophies/religions influence our world today.

Pundits claim our current ideological divisions are unprecedented. But cycles of cooperation and discord are part of U.S. history. Enlightenment-era ideas framed efforts to write the Constitution. U.S. founders' friendships and fights still affect us. When these antagonisms created two political parties, they led to the "dirtiest" election of 1800. The failure to resolve the contradictions between the rights of states, individuals, and federal authority created a constant source of turmoil. This course will encourage participants to critically deepen historical understanding, confront our past, and comprehend the present.

This course is designed to challenge long-held myths and stereotypes about Africa, offering a deeper, more accurate understanding of the continent. It uses an engaging, respectful, and interactive approach that challenges learners’ experiences while introducing new perspectives.

The Erie Canal made the America we live in. By connecting the Hudson River to the Great Lakes, it created the greatest inland waterway in the world, and defined how the newly created nation would master the continent. We will start with the single quirk of geography that brought the Erie Canal from idea to reality. We will follow the halting start, the failures and the lessons, the triumphs and the tragedies, and the Canal's role in defining America's future. We will see America at the pinacle of ingenuity, the depth of avarice, and the permanence of vision: 200 years later, there is still an Erie Canal!

Eighty decades after World War II, Germany continues to wrestle with the lasting impact of its Nazi past, shaping both national identity and personal histories. This course examines how the nation has confronted its Holocaust legacy—through collective guilt, powerful memorials, and the complex relationships it has forged in the aftermath. Each session offers a deep dive into the country’s efforts to acknowledge, atone, and remember. This thought-provoking course provides a crucial look at how history is reckoned with—and why it must never be forgotten.

While total victory eluded the Germans in 1941, and while a limited victory had likewise not been achieved in 1942, even after Stalingrad, Hitler and Germany's military leadership were confident that a major defeat of the Red Army in 1943 would leave Germany in control of an invulnerable empire in the East. This course will trace the rationale for the 1943 offensive and military preparations for what eventuated in the Battle of the Kursk Salient, the largest battle in history. The outcome and significance of the battle will be analyzed, followed by a discussion of the Red Army's ensuing offensives through the end of the war.

Beginning at the turn of the century and ending only with communism’s collapse, the U.S. government and major elements in the wider society undertook an unrelenting effort to suppress and criminalize domestic communism. This course tracks those efforts, including the state laws of the 1920s that imprisoned the fledgling communist leadership; the efforts against communists as they fought for unions, racial equality, and the unemployed; the trials and imprisonment of communist leaders; and the extra-legal efforts in the 1960s. Using video footage, documents, and music, this course will illuminate this highly consequential historic period.

From Madeline Miller's Circe to Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Gods of Jade and Shadow, re-imaginings and re-tellings of world mythology have taken root within the context of modern readership. The variation of genres, authors, and audiences indicates the resonance that mythology from across time and cultures still holds. But why do we come back to these old tales? And what were they, once upon a time? In this course, we will study ancient myths and modern fiction side by side to determine how myth continues to have a hold on us, and ask how much of myth we, in turn, hold onto and perpetuate.

Following World War II, the victorious Allied powers convened international tribunals to conduct criminal trials in Nuremberg and Tokyo. This course will examine these proceedings, with a focus on some of the unusual legal issues raised by the unprecedented trials. Did the principal charge made against most of the defendants of "waging aggressive war" even constitute a crime under international law prior to these trials? We will also discuss some war crimes trials in Germany and Israel that occurred after the completion of the tribunals' trials.

Note: This course will be offered twice, once in-person and once online. It is the same course.