Lectures

Washington History Seminar: New Scholarship on the Wars in Vietnam-May 23

The Washington History Seminar discusses Christopher Goscha's history of the Vietnamese war for liberation against French colonialism. 

Virtual Event: Scholars Discuss Free Speech at American Writers Museum May 18

This event looks at historical moments where strident expressions of political thought, widely perceived to be anti-democratic in their own place and time, provoked new strictures.

TODAY: The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order: America and the World in the Free Market Era

Today, Gary Gerstle discusses the fall of the neoliberal political order in a discussion with Lizabeth Cohen and Kristina Spohr as part of the National History Center's Washington History Seminar. 

National Library of Medicine Announces 2022 History Talks

NLM History Talks promote awareness and use of NLM and related historical collections for research, education, and public service in biomedicine, the social sciences, and the humanities.

The State of Democracy: Jan. 22, 2022 (Feat. Carol Anderson)

"One year after the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, 92Y’s second annual State of Democracy Summit—co-presented with Aspen Digital—will explore the most important questions facing the country right now."

Making the Forever War: Marilyn B. Young on the Culture and Politics of American Militarism: October 11

In the Washington History Seminar, Mary Dudziak and Mark Philip Bradley discuss their edited volume of the work of Marilyn Young, the preeminent historian of war in the modern United States. Monday, October 11, 

Indentured Students: Elizabeth Tandy Shermer on Student Debt (Monday, October 4)

Elizabeth Tandy Shermer shows that Democrats and Republicans intentionally wanted to create a student loan industry instead of generously funding colleges and universities, which eventually left millions of Americans drowning in student debt. Zoom, Monday, Oct. 4, 4:00 PM EDT.

Stoic Wisdom: Ancient Lessons for Modern Resilience (Thursday, 9/23)

Nancy Sherman addresses the Washington History Seminar to discuss the maladaptation of Stoicism to the modern self-help industry and a fuller understanding of the lessons of the school. Zoom, September 23, 4:00 EDT. 

Traveling Black: Mia Bay Joins the Washington History Seminar, September 20

Mia Bay's new book "places the right to unrestricted mobility at the center of the twentieth-century black freedom struggle." She addresses the Washington History Seminar on Monday, September 20 at 4:00 EDT. 

Haiti, Cuba, and the History of U.S. Involvement in the Caribbean (Virtual Event July 29)

Michael J. Bustamante and Alyssa Goldstein Sepinwall are featured in a discussion of American intervention in the Caribbean and its relationship to current turmoil in Haiti and Cuba. July 29, 2:00 PM. 

Event: History Matters with Annette Gordon-Reed, Historian & Author, “On Juneteenth” (Friday, June 18)

Jonathan Capehart will host a discussion with Annette Gordon-Reed of her new book "On Juneteenth" on Friday at 12:00 eastern. 

For the Many: American Feminists and the Global Fight for Democratic Equality (Washington History Seminar, June 14)

In a bold rewriting of twentieth-century political history, Dorothy Sue Cobble reclaims social democracy as a central thread of American feminism and shows how global forces, peoples, and ideas shaped US politics and social movements.

The Ever-Changing Past: Why All History is Revisionist History – James Banner at the Washington History Seminar (May 3)

"James Banner’s book, the first full-length work on revisionist history since 1929, explains why, since the time of ancient Greece, historians have disagreed with others’ interpretations of the past."

Register for Profs and Pints with Denver Brunsman: The 1814 Burning of Washington

Historian Denver Brunsman will join the Profs and Pints series of (virtual) discussions to talk about the British attack on Washington in 1814 and its impact on American nationalism and the local urban boosters of the capital city. 

Washington History Seminar – Until Justice Be Done: America’s First Civil Rights Movement, from the Revolution to Reconstruction

Professor Kate Masur joins the Washington History Seminar on Monday, April 19 to discuss "Until Justice Be Done: America’s First Civil Rights Movement, from the Revolution to Reconstruction."

Washington History Seminar – Stalin: Passage to Revolution, Monday, April 12

Ronald Grigor Suny of the University of Michigan joins the Washington History Seminar on Monday, April 12 to discuss "Stalin: Passage to Revolution" at 

The Black Republic: African Americans and the Fate of Haiti

by National History Center

Professor Brandon Byrd's talk to the National History Center is now viewable online. 

The History of American Isolationism with Charles Kupchan: Thurs. Feb. 11

Join the John W. Kluge Center for a discussion of the evolution of U.S. statecraft with Charles Kupchan, author of a new book, Isolationism: A History of America’s Effort to Shield Itself from the World.`

Jakobi Williams, “​The Black Panthers, Here and Abroad”

Historian Jakobi Williams discusses the community-based organizing of the Black Panther Party and its national and global influence. 

Virtual Event: Sarah Miller-Davenport: Gateway State: Hawai’i and Cultural Transformation of American Empire, FEB. 1

Please join the National History Center of the American Historical Association for a Washington History Seminar roundtable on Gateway State: Hawai’i and Cultural Transformation of American Empire with author Sarah Miller-Davenport, MONDAY FEB. 1, 4:00 PM EST.