The Uses (and Misuses) of the University Today

The Science of Happiness

Amherst College professor Catherine Sanderson describes cutting-edge research from the field of positive psychology on . . .

Food Across Borders

Our production and consumption of food relies on a series of border crossings that we often take for granted. . . .

From Rembrandt to Van Gogh and Beyond

Vincent Van Gogh’s art was among the first that made visible the artist’s subjective feelings, an approach later . . .

The Story of Sandra Day O’Connor

Based on his bestselling biography, Evan Thomas examines the life and work of the first woman on the US Supreme Court, . . .

1st Wednesdays Presents: Reeve Lindbergh - Two Lives

Author of the book, Two Lives, Reeve Lindbergh, daughter of aviator-author Charles A. and Anne morrow Lindbergh, . . .

Churchill and Roosevelt: The Personal in the Partnership

UVM History Professor Emeritus Mark A. Stoler examines the important personal relationship between Britain’s prime . . .

1st Wednesdays – “There Is Nothing Either Good or Bad, But Thinking Makes It So

Catherine A. Sanderson, Amherst College professor and author of The Positive Shift, outlines the significant . . .

Amelia

The mysterious disappearance of Amelia Earhart in 1937 often overshadows her accomplishments as a pilot and author. . . .

Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson: Poet of New England with Huck Gutman. Recorded April 3, 2019.

Arguing About Civility

Middlebury political scientist Sarah Stroup asks: What topics are suitable for public discussion? And how can we . . .

We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy

UVM professor Emily Bernard discusses Ta-Nehisi Coates’s most recent reflections on race, the Obama presidency, and . . .

American Modernism

Referencing the works of Georgia O’Keeffe, Marsden Hartley, and others, former Head of American Paintings at . . .

Daily Life in Prewar Nazi Germany

Focusing on the prewar experience of non-Jewish citizens, Keene State professor Paul Vincent examines how ideology and . . .

“Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”

Producer Nicholas Ma discusses and shows clips from his recent film “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” a documentary about . . .

The Perfect Weapon: War, Sabotage, and Fear in the Cyber Age

New York Times national security correspondent David Sanger describes America’s use of cyber warfare in its arsenal. . . .

Factory Girls: How Women First Came to the Workplace

St. Michael's College Professor Susan Ouellette leads a discussion about the subject matter behind the book "Bread and . . .

The Legacy of Rachel Carson

Silent Spring not only launched the environmental movement but also laid out the fundamental problems with our . . .

Love and Marriage in the 21st Century

Dr. Polly Young-Eisendrath looks at the transformation of marriage over the past century from a traditional contract . . .

Transatlantic Traumas: Endangering the West

"The West" has been challenged by President Trump's policies, Russian covert actions, and domestic nativist and . . .

Einstein in a Nutshell

Einstein’s most famous contribution to science—his theory of relativity—is based on an idea so simple it can be stated . . .

Video Games: Changing Stories and Changing Behaviors

Ann DeMarle, director of Champlain College’s Emergent Media Center, explores digital gaming, how designers and players . . .

Building Monticello

Thomas Jefferson never knew the Monticello of today—in perfect condition, impeccably furnished. Join us as Dartmouth . . .

Building for a Gilded Age

Middlebury College art and architecture professor emeritus Glenn Andres explores how the US asserted itself . . .

Conversations that Change How We Live and Die

Dartmouth professor and memoirist Irene Kacandes draws our attention to passages from great literature and nonfiction . . .

Walt Whitman and the Civil War

Whitman’s Civil War writings give us a dual portrait, first the war as “a strange, unloosen’d wondrous time,” and . . .

America in a New, More Dangerous World

Distinguished veteran diplomat George Jaeger discusses recent rapid changes in world power relationships and the key . . .

Teaching and Parenting in the Digital Age

Chip Donohue, PhD, will explore how technology can empower and engage children, parents, families, librarians, and . . .

Merton, Meditation, and More: Buddhism in the West

Buddhism is well-established in the US, among Buddhists and others, such as Catholic monk and author Thomas Merton, . . .

Gothic Magnificence

Part of the Vermont Humanities Council's First Wednesday Lecture Series, Dartmouth professor Cecilia Gaposchkin . . .

The Pulitzer Gold Medal for Public Service

In the Pulitzer Prize's centennial year, author Roy Harris tells stories of the coveted prize awarded annually to a . . .

Presidential Term Limits: The History of a Bad Idea

UVM professor emeritus Frank Bryan argues that America’s adoption of presidential term limits not only weakened the . . .

Not for an Age: Shakespeare’s 400-Year Career

Middlebury College professor Timothy Billings paints a picture of Shakespeare’s life, poetry, and stagecraft over the . . .

Roots of Latin Jazz

Using recordings and videos, world renowned recording artist, composer, and educator Ray Vega examines the . . .

Climate of Doubt

In 2008, the presidential candidates agreed that climate change demanded urgent attention. But that national call to . . .

The Legacy of Cesar Chavez

For many in the U.S., Cesar Chavez is considered a great leader, "arguably, the most important Latin leader in the . . .

The Costumes of Downton Abbey

Middlebury College artist-in-residence Jule Emerson discusses the fashions worn in the popular PBS series Downton Abbey.

Alfred Steiglitz & Camera Work

Photographer, gallerist, and magazine editor Alfred Stieglitz was a seminal figure in the history of twentieth-century . . .

Rumi, A Soul on Fire

Dartmouth professor Nancy Jay Crumbine reads and discusses Rumi, one of the greatest and most widely read of spiritual poets.

The Incandescent Mind: Virginia Woolf and Our Literary Foremothers

UVM lecturer Dr. Annika Ljung-Baruth traces the ways Woolf’s theoretical stance on women and writing is manifested in . . .

The Struggle for Democracy in the Arab World

Former Iranian Ambassador to the UN Mansour Farhang examines the cultural impediments to democratic pluralism in the . . .

Finding Higher Ground: Adaptation in the Age of Warming

Scientist and author Amy Seidl explains why the long-term nature of climate change forces us to redesign how we . . .

Muller - Falling Water

Retired Frank Lloyd Wright foundation ED H. Nicholas Muller shares the story and controversy involved in the famous . . .

Lake Champlain in Under an Hour

Lake Champlain has been a saltwater ocean, an Indian highway, an international battleground, a hub of commerce, and a . . .

Truth or Dare: Writing Historical Fiction

Jay Parini, author of novels about Leo Tolstoy, Walter Benjamin, and Herman Melville, discusses how historical fiction . . .

Words, Creativity, and Spirituality

Drawing from Emily Dickinson and Annie Dillard, Dartmouth professor Nancy Jay Crumbine examines the interconnection . . .

What Will Follow the Arab Spring?

What can we hope for as the Middle East evolves? Former CIA Chief of Counterterrorism Haviland Smith considers whether . . .

From Chittenden County to Baton Rouge: Vermonters, the Civil War, and the Road to Emancipation

National Park superintendent emeritus and writer Rolf Diamant discusses how profoundly the Civil War transformed . . .

100 Years since Triangle: The Fire That Seared a Nation's Conscience

Dartmouth professor Annelise Orleck reflects on the 1911 fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in Greenwich Village, . . .

Once There Were Greek Tragedies, Then...: A Consideration of Performance in 5th century Athens

Once There Were Greek Tragedies, Then . . . UVM Classics Professor Emeritus Phillip Ambrose considers the performances . . .

Welfare Brat

Dr. Mary Childers’s childhood in the Bronx was marred by violence, alcoholism, and neglect. Referencing her own story, . . .

Religion and Identity in the Near East

Former president of Kenyon and Carleton Colleges and religion scholar Rob Oden considers how constructs from the . . .

What We Learn When We Learn About History

Henry Ford famously said, “History is more or less bunk.” Author, historian, and professor Woden Teachout discusses . . .

The Towering Inferno: Dante's Poem Discussed by Translator Michael Palma

The most frequently translated work in America today is Dante’s Inferno—a seven-hundred-year-old book-length poem. . . .

Did Karl Marx Predict the Cuban Revolution?

The causes of the Cuban Revolution—and revolutions in general—are widely debated. Amherst College professor Javier . . .

Courting Disaster: From the Vietnam War to 21st Century Terrorism

Retired NBC correspondent Robert Hager relates stories from 40 years on the front lines of network . . .

The Uses (and Misuses) of the University Today

University of Chicago President Emeritus Hanna Gray considers perceptions of higher education today and developments . . .

The Unseen Alistair Cooke

One of the preeminent journalists of the 20th century, Alistair Cooke reported extensively on the major events of his . . .

Remaking the Landscape, 1958-1978: Interstate Highways Come to Vermont

UVM Professor Paul Bierman shows photographs, taken over two decades, detailing the arrival of the interstate to the . . .

Rowing Against Wind and Tide: The Journals and Letters of Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Author Reeve Lindbergh discusses collecting four decades of her mother's previously unpublished diaries and . . .

Remembering Samuel de Champlain: His Legacy After 400 Years

History professor Sylvie Beaudreau considers the legacy of Samuel de Champlain, Father of New France, during this, the . . .

Searching for Early America: Reconstructing the Early Years of the New Nation

UVM Professor Jacqueline Barbara Carr examines the Early Republic (c. 1789-1828)

Book Clubs, Tupperware and Oprah

In the nineteenth century, reading novels was deemed a feminine pursuit. Today, the persona of Oprah perpetuates this . . .

The Sounds of Spanglish

Used daily by millions of Americans, Spanglish - the intercourse of Spanish and English - is becoming a major cultural . . .

Our Bodies, Ourselves: After 35 Years of Women's Health Education and Advocacy, How Far We've Come

Our Bodies Ourselves (OBOS) is a nonprofit, public interest organization based in Cambridge, Mass., that develops and . . .

Looking Back at Vermont: Farm Security Administration Photographs of Vermont, 1936 - 1942

This abundantly illustrated talk examines the impact of this famous government project in Vermont. Over seven years, . . .

The Great Camps of the Adirondacks

The Great Camps of the Adirondacks is an illustrated lecture by David Schutz, State Curator, State of Vermont. In . . .

Cracking the Da Vinci Code

Sometimes reading a book packed tight with erudition can feel like work, but Dan Brown's thriller presents a task that . . .

The End of Iraq

Former Ambassador to Croatia and long-time U.S. diplomat with particular expertise on Iraq, Peter Galbraith offers his . . .