University of Pittsburgh professor Marcus Rediker will discuss his book "The Slave Ship: A Human History," which explores life and relationships, for and between both crew and slaves, on slave ships traveling between Africa and the Americas.

This seminar explores the history of the American antislavery movement, from its institutional and ideological origins in the post-Revolutionary era to the eve of the Civil War. A particular focus of the course will be the historical reality and mythology of the Underground Railroad, understood through the lives, strategies, writings, and fate of black abolitionists.

"This seminar, led by Ira Berlin, will view the development of chattel bondage in mainland North America from the perspective of the larger Atlantic world. Topics include the nature of the slave trade, the distinction between societies with slaves and slave societies, the evolution of plantation slavery, the transforming face of the Age of Revolutions, the remaking of slavery in the nineteenth century, and the contemporary debate about the meaning of slavery for American life."

"Between ca. 1500 and ca. 1800, the lands bordering the Atlantic Ocean saw the creation, destruction, and re-creation of communities as a result of the movement of peoples, commodities, institutions, social practices, and cultural values. This seminar will explore the pan-Atlantic webs of association linking people, objects, and beliefs across and within the region. The best Atlantic history is interactive and crosses borders. The hope is that participants will enlarge their horizons by placing the standard early North American story in a larger framework."

"Professor Gabor Boritt and guest lecturers examine the 'War President' Abraham Lincoln and the transformation of the United States during and after the Civil War. The seminar focuses on the central role of Gettysburg. Lecture topics include battlefields and soldiers; slavery and race; and Lincoln’s transition to a resolute war leader."

"This seminar will consider two different American Revolutions. One was the struggle for American self-determination. The second was the ongoing struggle for liberty and equality enunciated in the Declaration of Independence. The seminar will consider the ideological, economic, social and political causes of the War for Independence. It will also consider the war as a political, military, and social struggle. This course will discuss critical steps made during and after the war for liberty and equality: the abolition of slavery in the North, enhancement of women's role and enfranchisement of unpropertied white men. Since New York figured as a critical field of conflict in both American Revolutions, we will take advantage of our location in New York to visit some of the most important Revolutionary sites."

"This seminar will consider two different American Revolutions. One was the struggle for American self-determination. The second was the ongoing struggle for liberty and equality enunciated in the Declaration of Independence. We will consider the ideological, economic, social and political causes of the War for Independence. We will also consider the war as a political, military, and social struggle. This course will discuss critical steps made during and after the war for liberty and equality: the abolition of slavery in the North, enhancement of women's role and enfranchisement of unpropertied white men. Since New York figured as a critical field of conflict in both American Revolutions, we will take advantage of our location in New York to visit some of the most important Revolutionary sites."

"This course will focus on key episodes when Southern history and the history of the nation intersected at particularly important points: the emergence and spread of slavery, the Founding, the Civil War, the creation of segregation, and the Civil Rights struggle. The course will be taught in Richmond, Virginia, a city rich in museums and historic sites that we will use to explore the subjects addressed in the seminar."

"This seminar will examine the transnational and global aspects of the American Civil War and consider how such study enriches understanding of the sectional crisis, the breakup of the Union, and the limits of Reconstruction."

"This seminar examines the era of the American Civil War, with emphasis on its origins, scope, and consequences. Through lectures, class discussion, examination of historical texts, and visits to historic sites, the instructors and participants will examine the central role of slavery, the ways in which military and civilian affairs intersected and influenced one another, the question of what the war left unresolved, and how Americans have remembered the conflict. In many ways, the issues that divided the nation during the Civil War era continue to resonate today. This seminar will seek to make those issues clear, while at the same time providing a sense of the drama and tragedy of this tumultuous period."