History Institute
Evenings with History
2009-2010 Series
October 6, 2009 – Kristin Dutcher Mann
“Traveling the World with M.W. Gibbs: Local History Goes to School”
Judge Mifflin Wistar Gibbs was a prominent African American Republican politician in turn-of-the-century Little Rock. He and his family were unusually well-traveled, and their writings and travels complicate our ideas about race, politics, and American imperialism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the 2008-2009 school year Professor Mann and teachers at Gibbs Magnet School partnered to weave the travels of Judge Gibbs and his family into the art, literacy, and social studies curriculum. This talk presents Judge Gibbs’ story, as well as the impact it had on the school community.
November 3, 2009 – Thomas Kaiser
“Just Because You’re Paranoid Doesn’t Mean They’re Not Out to Get You: Re-Thinking Political Conspiracy in Early Modern History”
In a celebrated essay entitled “The Paranoid Style of America Politics” the renowned historian Richard Hofstadter explained the occasional American belief in political conspiracy as the product of psycho-pathology. Since Hofstadter’s essay appeared, scholars have discovered that belief in political conspiracies was far more common during the early modern period (1500-1800) than Hofstadter recognized. Did such belief indicate that politicians like the American and French Revolutionaries were mentally unbalanced, or was conspiracy belief perfectly “normal” given the structure of early modern politics? Based on a book co-edited and in part written by the presenter, this talk reviews the historical controversies surrounding this question in an effort to resolve it.
December 1, 2009 – Clea Lutz Bunch
“Attack at Samu: A New Perspective on Hussein’s Reconciliation with Nasser”
In 1967 King Hussein of Jordan abandoned his traditional moderation and sought a military alliance with Egypt’s Nasser. This presentation re-examines Hussein’s decision based on examination of recently declassified correspondence from the Lyndon Johnson Library and concludes that rather than a rash or abrupt move the alliance with Nasser represented a repositioning forced by the Israeli attack on the Jordanian village of Samu in November, 1967. The king ultimately concluded the Israeli government betrayed him and when the United States refused to provide security guarantees he turned to Egypt as the only viable solution to ensuring the security of the Jordanian State.
February 2, 2010 – Vincent Vinikas
“Marketing War”
The world wars of the twentieth century required civilian populations willing to sacrifice for the aims of the state, enlisting in the vast conscript armies required to wage global war, and surrendering many of the luxuries and freedoms that existed in peacetime society. This was accomplished by governments that used propaganda to cement the loyalty of their people. Posters were a major instrument in such efforts, and this talk examines wartime posters, showing the symbols and ideas that were used to convince citizens they were engaged in something worth killing and dying for.
March 2, 2010 – Moira Maguire
“Whose Holiday is it Anyway? A History of St. Patrick’s Day”
The Irish celebration of St. Patrick’s Day has changed significantly since the 1970s. This presentation examines the transition of this Irish saint’s day from a somber occasion with church services, military-style parades, and pub closings, to the riotous and not particular sober event of today, showing how the Irish accommodated growing American tourism to give the Americans the type of celebration they were used to in the United States.
April 6, 2010 – Raymond Screws
“If You Don’t Help Us, We will be Bad Off: A Czech Family and Their Perceptions of America I the 1920s”
In 1908 John Cajka moved from Velka nad Velickon, in Moravia to the United States. In later years he and his wife received letters from his family at home. This presentation examines the Cajka letters, assessing the insights that they provide into life in central Europe during World War I and its aftermath, as well as the European view of America at this time.
Come experience the joy of history in a truly historic setting!
An individual subscription to the series, at $50 annually, includes these benefits:
–Admission to all six lectures.
A joint subscription to the series, at $90 annually, offers couples and friends a savings of $10.
A Fellow of the Institute, at $250 annually, receives those benefits, plus an invitation to special presentations for Fellows only. This often includes a private evening with a noted authors.
The Institute also offers a Life Membership at $1,000, which can be paid in installments.
Subscribers to the series help support historical research. The presenters donate their time, and the University History Institute uses all proceeds from the series to encourage research at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. In recent years annual Institute grants, made possible by the Evenings with History series, have made major purchases of historical research materials for UALR. Subscriptions and donations to the Institute are tax deductible as allowed by law.
For subscription information, contact the History Department at 569-3235.