History Roundtables
The mission of the Department of History is to provide students with knowledge about the origins and development of peoples in the past, as well as to develop their ability to conduct research, analyze evidence, and express defensible conclusions orally and in writing. History majors will be prepared for successful professional careers as secondary teachers, college or university professors, journalists, lawyers, civil servants, and historians in government and private agencies. Studying the past will prepare literate, conscientious, and informed persons who appreciate the legacies of history and understand how it affects the present.
As part of Regional & Continuing Education’s efforts to bring more on-campus events to our online students – and to the community at large –the History Department presentations below are now available online.
History Forums
Unspeakable Awfulness: America through the Eyes of European Travelers, 1865-1900
Dr. Kenneth Rose,History Professor,California State University, Chico
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European travelers descended upon America in droves after 1865. They encountered a society and a landscape that sometimes resembled their own, but could also be strikingly different. Dr. Rose’s talk emphasizes aspects of the United States that these travelers found to be most foreign to their experience, including the wilderness of the American West, gun use in the United States, and American notions of class. Many famous European authors visited and wrote about what they saw – sometimes in horror – including Oscar Wilde, Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, and Robert Lewis Stevenson. At the time of this presentation, Dr. Rose was completing a book with the same title (Routledge, 2013). |
The Adventure of Adventure: History of an Obsession in Western Culture
Dr. Laird Easton,History Professor,California State University, Chico
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Adventure has been a keyword in Western culture since the Middle Ages, according to Laird Easton, Professor and Chair of the Department of History at CSU, Chico. In this History Public Lecture, Easton explores the cultural and biological roots of adventure, demonstrates the importance of adventure in the rise of Europe, and discusses its connections to both capitalism and to a modern sense of boredom. He concludes with an account of the tension between adventure and boredom in the twentieth century that he calls “The Three Empires.” Presentation Time: 46 minutes |
The Supreme Court, the Slaughter-House Cases, and the Retreat from Reconstruction
Dr. Michael Ross,History Professor,University of Maryland
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In this lecture, Dr. Michael Ross tackles a long-standing debate of whether the U.S. Supreme Court intentionally undermined African-Americans’ rights during Reconstruction. The “Slaughter-House Cases” marked the first time the Supreme Court heard cases testing the language of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution; the amendment prohibits states to “make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States…” Dr. Ross’ lecture is based on “Justice of Shattered Dreams,” his prize-winning biography of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Freeman Miller, who wrote the majority opinion in the Slaughter-House Cases decision. Dr. Ross’ appearance serves as the CSU, Chico History Department’s annual Joanna Dunlap Cowden Memorial Lecture. |
Higher Education in California: Past, Present, and Future
Dr. Paul Zingg, President, CSU, Chico
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The Master Plan for Higher Education was hailed as a great innovation in higher education when it was instituted in 1960. The concept of coordinating the roles of community colleges, state colleges, and the University of California campuses was not only unusual at the time, but served as a model for other states. The Plan offered outstanding higher education opportunities for California students at a very low cost. However, in the 21st Century the Plan has suffered from massive budget cuts. Dr. Zingg and Dr. Douglass discuss the Plan’s history and how it relates to the challenges of today. |
