From the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History:

"Today, scarcely anyone questions the importance of the Supreme Court in American government and American politics. Indeed, we are often told we should worry about who becomes the next President because he or she will control appointments to the Court. Was the Court always this important? If not, how did it come to occupy that position? This course will examine some key moments in the history of the Court and the country. It will focus on the Court's opinions and look at them in the ways a lawyer does, but also study the historical context necessary to understand the evolving role of the Supreme Court. Critical moments we may look at include the Jeffersonian ascension and Marbury v. Madison, the Bank War and McCulloch v. Maryland, Progressivism and Lochner, the New Deal, segregation and Brown, free speech and NYT v. Sullivan, abortion and Roe v. Wade, Bush v. Gore, and others. Our objective will be to get a feel for how the Court works, how it handles controversial issues, and how it has secured its unique position in American politics."

From the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History:

"The Cold War dominated the second half of the twentieth century, but until recently we had only an imperfect sense of what it was all about. Historians wrote about it, of necessity, from within the event they were seeking to describe, so that there was no way to know its outcome. And because only a few Western countries had begun to open their archives, these accounts could only reflect one side of the story. Cold War history, hence, was not normal history: it was both asymmetrical and incomplete.

The end of the Cold War and the subsequent partial opening of Soviet, Eastern European, and Chinese archives have revolutionized the field. Everything we thought we knew is suddenly up for reconsideration, whether because of the new documents available to us, or as a consequence of knowing how it all came out. Even as this happens, though, the memories of those who lived through the Cold War are rapidly fading, and a new generation of students has no memory of it at all.

This seminar will seek to integrate the latest scholarly research on Cold War history and the ways in which that subject is presented in the classroom. We shall use a variety of means: lectures, books, documents, video documentaries, and the resources of the world-wide web. There will also be ample opportunity, we hope, for you to learn from one another, and for us to learn from you. It will be, in short, a week of total immersion in the lengthy, occasionally dangerous, and (almost) always intriguing history of the Cold War, filled with debate and new information."

From the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History:

"This seminar will explore a controversial era shrouded in myths and memories. Among the topics it will examine are the presidencies of John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon; the civil rights movement; the Vietnam War; the New Left; the counterculture; the women's movement; the gay movement; the conservative movement; the international dimension of youth protest; and the legacies of the 1960s. The aim of the seminar is to provide a balanced history of a turbulent time that continues to influence American politics, society, and culture.

From the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History:

"This seminar will focus on markets, corruption and mass immigration in the Gilded Age. We will look at the rise of the modern corporation and the first great age of modern technology in the United States. Topics include Edison and the World's Fair, the Penny Press, Mass Culture, Advertising, and the Expansion of the State."

From the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History:

"The financial crisis and the ensuing economic recession of 2007-09 serve to remind us that such crises and downturns have been recurring events in American history. They have occurred on average once every fifteen to twenty years since 1789. In this seminar we will study the causes of some major financial crises—those of 1792, 1837-39, 1873, 1893-95, 1907, 1929-33, 1989-90, and 2007-09—and will explore the social, political, and economic consequences of the crises. We will discuss the typical pattern of most of the crises, differences among them, and issues such as whether legislative and regulatory responses to a crisis make subsequent crises more or less likely. Participants will visit the Museum of American Finance on Wall Street to gain a better understanding of the complexities of our financial system, how it developed over two centuries, and how periodically it has crashed on the rocks of excessive risk taking and speculation."

No details yet available.

From the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History:

"Led by Patty Limerick, this seminar uses focused case studies to explore the larger picture of environmental history, a subject that has grown increasingly complex as historians deepen their understanding of the vast role of 'anthropogenic change' (also known as 'history'!) in reconfiguring the places and processes we think of as 'natural.' Much of the seminar explores the transformation of attitudes, from the assessment of North American landscapes and resources by early settlers to the recognition of the changing 'baseline' of global warming, along with a reconsideration—and revision—of the usual polarity pitting utilitarian approaches in opposition to preservationist approaches to the management of nature. With guest speakers drawn from the University of Colorado's widely respected environmental studies program, the roles of naturalists and scientists in shaping American thinking about nature will receive particular attention, as will changes in the production and consumption of energy, a fundamental matter in environmental history. The concluding field trip to Rocky Mountain National Park gives the themes of the lectures and discussions a down-to-earth grounding in a visit to one of the most popular units in the nation's public lands, while close attention to John McPhee's Encounters with the Archdruid provides a framework for drawing lessons from the past to enhance the quality of contemporary environmental decision-making."

From the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History:

"Professors Kenneth Jackson and Karen Markoe explore one of the most exciting and important periods in American history: the quarter-century between the end of Reconstruction and the beginning of Theodore Roosevelt's presidency. Lectures focus on the rise of machine politics, the transportation revolution, the development of new social elites, the changing role of women, the literary figures who helped define the age, housing for the rich and poor, and an examination of New York City at the center of the Gilded Age."

From the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History website:

"The Progressive Era marked the modernization of the American state, the expansion of citizenship, the ascendancy of 'big business,' the transformation of American liberalism, and the development of a social politics. It was also the moment when the United States assumed the role of a world power, culminating in its participation in World War I and its role in negotiating the ambitious but flawed treaty that ended it. Taking exception to interpretations of the era that see 'American exceptionalism,' this seminar will explore the era and its reforms (and their limits) in the context of the larger global response to industrialization and urbanization under conditions of unregulated capitalism."

From the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History:

"Professor David Kennedy examines the experience of the American people in the Great Depression and World War II. Lecture topics include the origins and impact of the Great Depression; the nature and legacy of the New Deal; the military and diplomatic dimensions of American participation in World War II; and the war's impact on American society. Special attention will be given to the historical debate about the Depression's causes; America and the Holocaust; the wartime internment of Japanese-Americans; and the use of atomic bombs against Japan."