History   

In 1851, San Francisco mayor Charles Brenham referred to his numerous French constituents as "one of the two great elements (with Americans) that compose the population of California." This strong French presence so early in the history of our State, remains one of the little-known facets of that world-wide epic.

In her first session, Claudine will explore, with pictures and original texts, what triggered the rush of Frenchmen to California starting in September 1849. How they escaped from endless riots and the collapse of social order in their embattled nation, only to land, after a six-month voyage around Cape Horn, in a city that had no law, no infrastructure, no sanitation, no raison d'être except for gold. They survived, prevailed, and with their special talents and skills, they helped shape the city so often called "Paris of the Pacific."

In her second session, Claudine will show how prevalent these pioneers were in the goldfields as well so that "French" is the most common name of nationality in the toponymy of the Gold Country. She will follow the success stories of three lucky Frenchmen who found a fortune on the banks of the Yuba and Bear rivers, will touch on Baptiste Charbonneau’s life story, and provide a few examples of valuable early reports on our gold towns by French visitors.

Growing up in the American West is an adventure steeped in mythology, the gilded lore of cowboys and Indians, the rugged individualist, tall in the saddle, taming the wilderness, prying a living from the land. That's the legacy. The West was always just west of wherever we were at the time. Kentucky was way west when Daniel Boone carved the Wilderness Road out of the Cumberland Gap. In that sense, we all are a product of the Mythologies of the Modern West. This is a study of conflict between that romantic notion and the practical outcomes of "settling" the region, of trying to come to terms with the iconic images that inspire us and the disquieting realizations that come our way. This class looks at both the legendary and the practical worlds of the Modern West, the real people and their fictional counterparts, the cowboys and Indians ordinary and extraordinary both met along the way, living with the Blackfeet people, and buying movie star Gary Cooper's home. It's the story of a city boy finding his way in the contemporary West that is presented via lecture and multi-media with discussion.

This class examines music, media, and culture at a time of profound social upheaval. The intersection where they met in post-War America was pivotal, the effect they had on each other was unprecedented and altered them in ways that still impact society today. At its core is a classic struggle between art and commerce, innovation and orthodoxy, freedom and control. And it's only rock 'n' roll. With a mix of lecture, audio-visual, music, and discussion, we study why it's a story worth remembering and retelling through our personal narrative of the time.

We'll describe the cosmopolitan musical textures that defined the best works of an unforgettable period, when gifted young songwriters huddled in midtown Manhattan, creating enduring entries in the Great American Songbook. Stories, anecdotes and audiovisuals will illustrate this golden era of the 50s and 60s that integrated audiences, eclectic multicultural sounds and brought social consciousness to pop music, with protagonists like Neil Sedaka, Carole King, Neil Diamond, Phil Spector, Don Kirshner, Burt Bacharach and many more!

In the late 19th century, Ellen Swallow Richards helped developed the new science of home economics with the goal of involving women in the public sphere of social activism rather than simply teaching them in effective ways to run their households. However, the movement quickly shifted its focus to educating professional experts. Consequently, the political goals of the home economics movement were superseded by the professionalization of domesticity. This class will look at the history of home economics and its representation in popular culture of the time. It will also look at how the movement led, in part, to women becoming radio broadcasters—known as radio homemakers—in the early days of radio.

Smedley Butler (USMC) was one of the most decorated warfighters of his time, participating in nearly every U.S. conflict from 1898 to WWI. He played a key role in expanding American influence, from annexing the Philippines to leading military actions in Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti, and China. After retiring, Butler became a vocal critic of war and corporate interests, famously stating, "I was a racketeer for capitalism." In 1933, he was even implicated in a plot to overthrow Franklin Roosevelt's administration. This lecture-based course explores Butler's complex legacy through the works of historians Jonathan M. Katz and Jules Archer.

For most of the first 150 years of our republic, most presidents were laid to rest at their estates or in a church graveyards near their homes. For the most part their gravesites are relatively simple and unadorned with a few exceptions. With the development of presidential libraries, the graves of some of our recent presidents are presented in monumental splendor.