History
A Holocaust Story and the Mothers of Maria
Posted: April 14, 2023 at 2:48 pm
The speaker will recount a holocaust story as told to him by the late Dr. Maria Dworzecka. It is a story of a little girl separated from her parents by the Nazis. Alone on the curb of a square in Poland, Maria was taken in by a woman who was witness to the parental separation. […]
A/V requirements: Laptop, LCD Projector, Screen
Russia’s War on Ukraine: Origins and Update
Posted: November 18, 2022 at 4:24 pm, Last Updated: November 18, 2022 at 4:55 pm
On February 24, 2022, drawing upon a variety of demonstrably false historical analogies, Vladimir Putin ordered a mass invasion of Ukraine, extending a war that had been ongoing since 2014. Ukrainians have suffered horrific crimes at the hands of the Russian invader, but Ukraine has inspired the world through its remarkable resistance and resilience. How […]
A/V requirements: LCD projector and screen
Steven Barnes (Note: For in-person engagements, speaker needs to wear a mask.)
Religion and Conflict in the USA
Posted: October 29, 2021 at 2:48 pm
Religious conflict in the United States is partially the result of the perceived loss of the “culture wars” by the religious right. Rooted in the fundamentalist/modernist split, this conflict is especially catalyzed by the perceived necessity of the religious right to preserve their identity. What has transpired is a new blend of religion and politics […]
A/V requirements: None
Understanding the Soviet Gulag, Understanding Stalinism
Posted: October 8, 2021 at 1:56 pm, Last Updated: October 11, 2021 at 2:43 pm
Professor Barnes offers an engaging reconsideration of the role of the Soviet Gulag in Stalin’s Soviet Union based on over two decades of research in formerly highly classified Soviet archives. His discussion raises important questions about the place of the concentration camp and mass detention in the modern world and engages in systematic comparison of […]
A/V requirements: LCD Projector, Screen
Steven Barnes (Note: For in-person engagements, speaker needs to wear a mask.)
The Origins of Putinism in 1990s Russia
Posted: October 8, 2021 at 1:55 pm
Professor Barnes offers a deep dive into the consequences of the end of the Soviet Union in 1990s Russia and how the culture shock, chaos, economic pain, and violence of that era of “transition.” from Communism to so-called freedom, capitalism, and democracy help explain the origins of Putinism and the popularity of Vladimir Putin in […]
A/V requirements: LCD Projector, Screen
Steven Barnes (Note: For in-person engagements, speaker needs to wear a mask.)
Divided We Stand
Posted: October 4, 2021 at 4:46 pm
Students sometimes ask, “Is this the most divided the U.S. has ever been?’’ I remind them that we did once have a civil war where three quarters of a million Americans died during that terrible time, most from disease or starvation. But I add, this is the most divided the U.S. has been since the […]
A/V requirements: None
Japanese Art (Remote Speaking Engagements Preferred)
Posted: June 29, 2021 at 5:35 pm, Last Updated: November 17, 2022 at 9:00 pm
I have taught courses on Japanese art for several years and I would be glad to present on any topic relating to Japanese art history. I have a particular interest in presenting on the art and traditions of Zen Buddhism, but I am open to any topic.
A/V requirements: LCD Projector, Screen
Celtic Drawing (Remote Speaking Engagements Preferred)
Posted: June 29, 2021 at 5:33 pm, Last Updated: November 17, 2022 at 9:00 pm
Drawing workshops that feature a background lecture on Celtic art traditions, with time for instruction on how to create Celtic-inspired drawings based on Pictish, Northumbrian, and medieval Irish stone carving, metalwork, and manuscripts. (Attendees would need to have their own preferred drawing instruments, paper, a compass, and a protractor.)
A/V requirements: LCD Projector, Screen
UFOs: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Posted: June 21, 2021 at 7:48 pm
The concept of unidentified flying objects (UFOs), now called UAP (unidentified aerial phenomena), will be discussed in an historical context. UFO stories, will be presented from history. The current media hype about some recently released photographs will be reviewed within the context of historical examples, within a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes approach.
A/V requirements: Laptop, LCD Projector, Screen
Civil War Memorials in Washington, DC (virtual engagements only at this time)
Posted: March 4, 2021 at 5:04 pm, Last Updated: August 31, 2022 at 5:43 pm
This talk considers the design and origins of key Civil War memorials in the Washington, DC, metro area, as well as contemporary debates over their meaning and removal.
A/V requirements: Laptop, LCD Projector, Screen
Meredith Lair (virtual speaking engagements only at this time)
Civil Death, Incarceration, and Their Effects in the United States
Posted: July 24, 2020 at 12:21 pm, Last Updated: September 13, 2021 at 8:16 pm
Mass conviction, mass incarceration, and mass disenfranchisement currently deprive millions of Americans of civil and voting rights. Civil death, while initially framed as related to a crime or infraction of law, continues to follow the formerly incarcerated to the grave. This presentation examines the backstory of these policies, the historic racial implications, interpretations of human […]
A/V requirements: LCD Projector, Screen
Speaking Truth to Power: The Thunderous Messages of the Hebrew Prophets and What They Mean Today
Posted: October 31, 2019 at 6:14 pm, Last Updated: September 13, 2021 at 5:58 pm
In all of literature there are few parallels to the soaring rhetoric and poetry of the Hebrew prophets. They speak to us clearly today after almost three millennia: Amos in 800 BC crying seeking help for the poor and the disenfranchised (“let justice flow like a river”); Hosea comparing his country to a prostitute; Isaiah […]
A/V requirements: LCD Projector, Screen, Laptop
Is That Really in the Bible?
Posted: June 3, 2019 at 6:45 pm, Last Updated: June 22, 2021 at 3:46 pm
Nearly everybody has a favorite event or story from the Bible. Ruth has collected dozens of them for the class, each with a very different spin than may be customary. The lecture will address love stories in Genesis, and great curses in Deuteronomy, the stories of Deborah and Hannah—two great heroines—will be covered. Several stories […]
A/V requirements: LCD Projector, Screen, Laptop
History, Lessons and Legacies of the Vietnam War (virtual engagements only at this time)
Posted: October 5, 2018 at 7:30 pm, Last Updated: August 31, 2022 at 5:43 pm
This talk considers how the Vietnam War remains influential in contemporary American life.
A/V requirements: Laptop, LCD Projector, Screen
Meredith Lair (virtual speaking engagements only at this time)
War Memorials on the National Mall (virtual engagements only at this time)
Posted: October 5, 2018 at 7:28 pm, Last Updated: August 31, 2022 at 5:44 pm
Post-pandemic, I can do this as a walking tour on the National Mall. As a talk, I provide historical background about the development of various war memorials on the National Mall, as well as interpretation of their design and meaning in American culture.
A/V requirements: Laptop, LCD Projector, Screen
Meredith Lair (virtual speaking engagements only at this time)
Meredith Lair (virtual speaking engagements only at this time)
Posted: October 5, 2018 at 7:24 pm, Last Updated: August 31, 2022 at 5:42 pm
Professor Lair’s work examines warfare and its relationship to American society and culture, with particular emphasis on how knowledge and memories of the past are constructed and disseminated over time. She is the author of Armed with Abundance: Consumerism and Soldiering in the Vietnam War, which examines the non-combat experiences of American soldiers in Vietnam. […]
Biblical Villains and Villainesses
Posted: April 13, 2017 at 6:51 pm, Last Updated: June 22, 2021 at 3:56 pm
Biblical villains and villainesses: This talk reviews some of the notable bad characters in the Old and New Testaments, including Cain, Jezebel, Athalea, Nebuchadnezzar, King Herod, and many others.
A/V requirements: None
Government Policies in Biblical Times
Posted: April 13, 2017 at 6:49 pm, Last Updated: March 29, 2021 at 7:35 pm
Government policies in biblical times. Human rights, gender equity, inheritance rights, etc. This talk examines governmental issues in Bible times with respect to topics that are in today’s news, like civil rights, gender equity, limits of governmental authority, and many others.
A/V requirements: None
Surviving World War II
Posted: April 13, 2017 at 6:41 pm, Last Updated: September 13, 2021 at 6:06 pm
Harry Butowsky speaks about his book: I Survived: My Name is Yitzkhak. This is a history of a man who served in both the Russian and Polish Armies during World War II. “Americans don’t really understand the war. Here you go to war and read about it in the newspapers. You eat well and sleep […]
A/V requirements: Internet Access, Laptop, Screen, TV and VCR
Harry A. Butowsky (cannot accept evening engagements)
Posted: April 13, 2017 at 6:36 pm, Last Updated: July 7, 2021 at 2:30 pm
Dr. Harry A. Butowsky retired in 2012 from the National Park Service in Washington D.C. where he worked as an historian and manager for the National Park Service History e-Library web site. He is the author of World War II in the Pacific National Historic Landmark Study, six other Landmark Studies as well as sixty […]
Who is this Lady?
Posted: September 29, 2014 at 8:18 pm, Last Updated: July 6, 2021 at 7:27 pm
Explanation of the symbolism represented in the Seal of Virginia.
A/V requirements: Laptop, LCD Projector, Screen
Utopian Communities
Posted: September 29, 2014 at 8:05 pm, Last Updated: March 18, 2015 at 5:35 pm
We all dream of living in the perfect society. What is the history of utopianism and what kinds of experiments have there been in the U.S.? Why do a few succeed but most fail? What social conditions make people want to escape into a utopia?
A/V requirements: Laptop, LCD, Screen
The Ladies Mason – George’s Two Anns
Posted: September 29, 2014 at 7:32 pm, Last Updated: September 13, 2021 at 5:51 pm
An examination of the two women most closely associated with George Mason–his mother and wife–whose historical reputations would have been highly regarded but for their association with the “unknown” founder.
A/V requirements: None
Sex and Gender in Ancient Greece: Philosophy, Poetry, Drama (Not available Spring/Summer 2023)
Posted: September 29, 2014 at 2:59 pm, Last Updated: April 18, 2023 at 3:33 pm
What if the leaders in politics, business, science, and the military had spent their youth as “eye candy,” escorts, and “sugar babies” (young people admired and sexualized for their looks, and often rewarded for sexual favors or dates)? What if the second most powerful person in the country, the top advisor and speechwriter to the […]
A/V requirements: LCD, Screen (or equivalent other ways of projecting PowerPoint slides and other images) for in-person meetings; Zoom or equivalent platform for virtual meetings.
Peru, Indigenous Populations, Conflict
Posted: September 29, 2014 at 1:39 pm, Last Updated: September 13, 2021 at 7:08 pm
Speaker will discuss current and past conditions and livelihoods of Quechua-speaking indigenous peoples in Peru.
A/V requirements: Laptop, LCD, Screen
Origins of Philosophy in Ancient Greece (Not available Spring/Summer 2023)
Posted: September 26, 2014 at 9:35 pm, Last Updated: April 18, 2023 at 3:34 pm
In seventh century B.C.E. Greece, an investigation arose that was so unusual that a new word, philosophic, was invented. This talk focuses on how philosophia differed from other ways of thinking, how it was similar, and the importance of its influence. The influences of neighboring civilizations such as Egypt, Persia, and Babylon are explored.
A/V requirements: : LCD, Screen ns of Philosophy in Ancient Greece (or equivalent other ways of projecting PowerPoint slides and other images) for in-person meetings; Zoom or equivalent platform for virtual meetings.
Irish History, Art, and Literature (Remote Speaking Engagements Preferred)
Posted: September 26, 2014 at 7:46 pm, Last Updated: November 17, 2022 at 9:01 pm
Ms. McCoskey would be delighted to present on any topic of Irish history from the medieval period to the present. Her primary focus is in art history and its connections to the society and overall culture of Ireland and its people. Her specialty is medieval manuscript illumination (e.g. The Book of Kells) with a secondary […]
A/V requirements: LCD Projector, Screen
George Mason the Man
Posted: September 26, 2014 at 6:36 pm, Last Updated: May 24, 2021 at 5:28 pm
Biographical with emphasis on his strength of character and central role in forming this government. Can readily tailor to audience interests and time constraints.
A/V requirements: None
Gentrification in Washington, DC (not available until Fall 2023)
Posted: September 26, 2014 at 6:33 pm, Last Updated: March 28, 2023 at 1:42 pm
Gentrification and its impact on inequalities and democratic participation in Washington, DC. From the 1940s to the present.
A/V requirements: LCD, Screen
America and the World: The Challenge of Foreign Policy
Posted: September 9, 2014 at 8:04 pm, Last Updated: October 31, 2016 at 5:17 pm
Since its founding, the United States has wrestled with the challenge of creating a foreign policy that would protect the American people and the American republic, and be true to America’s values, without destroying America as a democratic republic. This conversation explores the historical and intellectual roots of American foreign policy — from Washington’s “Farewell […]
A/V requirements: None