A weekly continuing class in which we examine a different current event topic and examine its historical origins. The class employs a student-centered approach, where I act as a facilitator asking questions and prompting discussions in order to promote critical thinking. Research projects and class participation will be encouraged, but not required.  

Each week students will be encouraged to bring an article and topic to discuss for the following week's session. Students will be encouraged to look past the headlines. Topics may include but are not limited to: 

Immigration

The United States experienced major waves of immigration during the colonial era, the first part of the 19th century, and from the 1880s to 1920. Immigrants coming to America seeking greater economic opportunity or seeking to escape persecution is a rich part of US history. Examine early immigration, including the Pilgrims in the early 1600s, European immigration in the early 19th Century, 

Pandemics and Public Health

What has the US done in prior pandemics to keep us all safe? What legal authority does the government have during a pandemic? We examine prior public health crises to discover the origins of government authority to issue mandates such as vaccines, wearing masks, and quarantines. The class will discuss prior public health emergencies, such as the smallpox outbreak of 1905, and the US Supreme Court decision in Jacobson v. Massachusetts. In Jacobson, the Supreme Court ruled "a community has the right to protect itself against an epidemic of disease which threatens the safety of its members," allowing local authorities to mandate small-pox vaccination and fine those who refused.

Free Speech and Protests

Speech is a right enshrined in our U.S. Constitution. The class will discuss the right to free speech and the right to protest by examining influential protests like the Boston Tea Party, the 1913 Women's Suffrage Parade, and various civil rights protests. We will look at how the courts have applied the First Amendment to actions such as wearing armbands, marching, and civil disobedience.

War

Russia's invasion of Ukraine brought the issue of war home. We explore the laws of war, diplomacy, sanctions, and humanitarian issues related to the war. 

Sessions past this date will be learner-directed, with a student discussion at the end of the class to decide what the following class topic will be. Criteria will be that a topic is a current event/happening. I will choose the topic from among the student topics nominated. This ensures that it will be a topic within my area of expertise and appropriate.