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The New Gods of Hollywood: Studios and Stardom in the 1930s.
The New Gods of Hollywood: Studios and Stardom in the 1930s.
The New Gods of Hollywood: Studios and Stardom in the 1930s.
- Dates: Mondays, February 2, 9, 16 & 23
- Time: 1:00 - 2:00PM ET
- In this 4-lecture series, we will examine the emergence of a new generation of Hollywood stars that came after the arrival of sound. Each studio developed a new pantheon based on their profit-making theories and approaches to building up stars. With “kings of the lot” such as Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Errol Flynn, James Cagney and leading ladies such as Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Carole Lombard, Judy Garland, and Norma Shearer, the studios flourished. However, there were darkening shades to stardom in the 1930s as studios used their ties with columnists and the media and the infamous “option contract” to exercise unprecedented control over even their biggest stars.
From Monroe to MAGA: The Long History of American Empire
The New Gods of Hollywood: Studios and Stardom in the 1930s.
The New Gods of Hollywood: Studios and Stardom in the 1930s.
- Dates: Thursdays, February 5, 12, 19 & 26
- Time: 10:30 - Noon ET
- From Monroe to MAGA: The Long History of American Empire
- In the 2nd Trump administration, the President has dramatically reasserted a foreign policy rooted in older traditions of “great power” imperialism from the 19th and 20th centuries. In these 4 lectures, we will explore America’s widely differing imperialist impulses from 1800 to the present. We will explore four distinct eras, one involving the original Monroe doctrine of the 19th century followed by a second era of militarism largely directed against Latin America from 1898 to World War II. We will then explore the Cold War free trade empire followed by the Trump’s current interest in the western hemisphere and places like Mexico, Cuba, Canada and Greenland. What are Trump’s motives in pursuing his policy? What are the justifications, challenges, successes and failures history can teach us?
Blood, Virtue, and Ambition: The French Revolution as Seen Through Individual Lives Who Lived It
Blood, Virtue, and Ambition: The French Revolution as Seen Through Individual Lives Who Lived It
Blood, Virtue, and Ambition: The French Revolution as Seen Through Individual Lives Who Lived It
- Dates: Fridays, February 6, 13, 20 & 27
- Time: 10:30 - Noon ET
- This set of four lectures will examine the life and impact of one of the most famous figures in all of European history, the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. From a lesser noble family in the provinces, Napoleon charted a unique life course, one intimately tied to the French Revolution, its ideals and political upheavals. His was also one of the most brilliant military careers of any age as he vanquished all of France’s enemies, save two: Great Britain and Russia. His rendezvous with them would prove his and France’s undoing. Come explore this dynamic figure along with exceptional contemporaries such as the Duke of Wellington, Horatio Nelson, Czar Alexander I, Maurice de Talleyrand, and Klemens von Metternich.
The Jacksonian Revolution and the Populist Tradition
Blood, Virtue, and Ambition: The French Revolution as Seen Through Individual Lives Who Lived It
Blood, Virtue, and Ambition: The French Revolution as Seen Through Individual Lives Who Lived It
- Dates: Mondays, February 2, 9, 16 & 23
Time: 10:30 - Noon ET - This set of four lectures explores the pathbreaking life of America’s first populist president, Andrew Jackson. Born far from the established centers of power on the coast, Jackson’s values were those of a frontier lawyer in the dynamic trans-Mississippi west. His military and political career showcase his commitment to the values of a new frontier nation: unity, self-reliance, toughness and independence, all alongside more controversial attitudes such as expansion, manifest destiny, intolerance, authoritarianism, and violence. His times also saw key moments in the nation’s history including the Creek War, the Trail of Tears, the Bank War, and the Nullification Crisis.