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Popular Uprisings and Mass Protests: Lessons of Success and Failure from Recent History
- Dates: Thursdays, July 3, 10, 17 & 24
- Time: 10:30-Noon ET
- In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the world has seen extraordinary levels of popular unrest. At times, it has served to block authoritarian regimes and at other times it has been in service to them or failed in its opposition. This set of four lectures will examine eight examples of mass protests in recent history – four that were largely successful and four that were not. The four successful examples will include: the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia (2010-2011); Tahrir Square in Egypt (2011); Poland’s anti-gov’t protests (2023); and the South Korean “Self-Coup” protests (2024). Failed examples include Tiananmen Square (China, 1989); the Russian Navalny protests (2011–2012, 2021); the Gezi Park Protests in Turkey (2013); and Iran’s Green Movement (2009). Each case provides powerful insight into the limits and possibilities of popular protest here in 2025.
Philosophers of Fire and Light: The Enlightenment Comes to Europe
- Dates: Fridays, July 11, 18, 25 & Aug. 1
- Time: 10:30 - Noon ET
- This set of 4 lectures explores one of the most important intellectual revolutions in history: the Enlightenment of the 17th and 18th centuries. Some of the greatest minds of the age fundamentally transformed what people believed about science, philosophy, technology, politics and society. Key figures included Copernicus, Galileo, Isaac Newton, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Montesquieu, Adam Smith, Voltaire, and Jean Jacque Rousseau. We will explore diverse fields including physics, biology, economics, religion, politics, law and philosophy. In this series, we will examine some of the essential drivers of modernization from 1500 to our own day today.
Roads to Lexington: The Origins of the American Revolution
- Dates: Mondays, July 7, 14, 21 & 28
- Time: 10:30 - Noon ET
- This set of four lectures explores the extraordinary events, trends and people that forged a revolution in colonial America. Events such as the French and Indian War, the Stamp Act, the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party will be examined. Critical American figures such as John Hancock, Samuel and John Adams, James Otis, and Patrick Henry will also be studied – as well as essential British officials such as George III, Lord North, Charles Townshend and William Pitt the Elder. This is an essential primer on the basic causes of America’s defining conflict.
Old Kingdom: Fundamentals Everyone Should Know about the Age of the Pyramids
- Dates: Thursdays, July 3, 10, 17 & 24
- Time: 1:00-2:30 PM ET
- This series of four lectures examines the first apex of Egyptian civilization from approximately 2686 to 2181 BC, an era that included the building of monumental constructions, including the famous pyramids at Giza. We will explore the first great flowering of centralized Egyptian civilization, with its strong monarchy based in Memphis. Many of the most famous pharaohs of history come from this time including Djoser, Sneferu, Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure. We will explore the culture, religion and politics that shaped their distinct views of life, death, and power.