My.SDSU will be unavailable for students and staff on the following dates/times:
Friday April 19 at 6pm - Saturday April 20 at 10am
Course Search
Discover why the Ides of March matter to Julius Caesar, what Lupercalia was, and why someone should fear "lean and hungry men". Shakespeare's play, “Julius Caesar”, is not particularly historically accurate, but it does give us an enduring image of this political and personal conflict that led to an honorable man leading a group to stab their friend and leader. Join us to bury Caesar, not to praise him, and learn more about this play.
Format: 60% lecture, 30% video, 10% Q&A
April 4 - April 11
Everyone knows the opening lines of Hamlet's famous speech, "To be or not to be" but there’s so much more to the play than that. It's one of Shakespear’s longest and contains 5 soliloquies from the melancholy Dane. Find out about Shakespeare's attitude towards ghosts, revenge, and more. Discover the richness of this play and its impact on popular culture - including “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.”
Format: 60% lecture, 30% video, 10% Q&A
Did you know that before “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” there was "Sab" by Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda, as well as "Cecilia Valdés," "Francisco," and "El Negro Francisco." These 19th Century Cuban novels underscore the toxic power of slavery for slaves and masters. The authors wrote against the pressures of the Spanish Crown and U.S. Southerners who were advocating the annexation of Cuba as another slave state. The Spanish Colonial government prohibited their publication in Cuba because of the possible impact on ideas of human rights and independence. We’ll discuss the historical and social context of these novels and their relevance to current discussions of social consequences of slavery.
Format: 70% lecture (using multiple graphic illustrations and photographs); 30% discussion
How are individual memories influenced by collective understandings of historical events? How do groups construct collective memories? Our personal autobiographical memories are an integral part of our individual psychology. They’re also part of collective historical memories. Life stories and autobiographical memories, although deeply personal, have important political functions. Personal memories intermingle with historical and sociocultural circumstances. Some memories might be encoded in different and even forgotten languages. Some of us carry “memories” of events that happened before our birth that carry significant psychological effects. In this class, we will aim to answer these poignant questions.
Format: 65 % Lecture; 20% Discussion; 15% Activities
Since our first Presidential election when the nation unanimously elected George Washington, the history of presidential elections in the United States has been marked by controversy, backroom deals, and on a couple of occasions, final decisions by the House of Representatives. Blaine Davies explores the turbulent history of our Presidential elections dating back to the days when only white men with property were allowed to vote. Jefferson vs. Adams in 1800, Jackson vs. Adams in 1824, Lincoln’s election in 1860, Hayes vs. Tilden in 1876, Gore vs. Bush in 2000 and most recently, Trump vs. Biden are just a few of the Presidential elections that remain controversial to this day.
Format: 80% lecture, 20% discussion
Heralded as the “greatest combat commander in modern times” George Patton led American armies to sweeping victories in Africa, Sicily and Europe during World War II. His lifelong friend and World War II commander Dwight Eisenhower believed Patton was perhaps his best general in the field. A man of contradictions, Patton was sensitive, deeply religious and loved poetry. Even so, Patton swore like a sailor, fought like a tiger, and became perhaps the most fascinating, revered - and yet for some, despised - general in American history.
Format: 90% lecture, 10% discussion
On a cold winter day in 1903, two brothers changed the world when Wilbur Wright took off in the first heavier-than-air motor-operated aircraft. What they lacked in formal training, Wilbur and Orville Wright made up for in intellectual curiosity, hard work, and determination. Beginning with their early experiments in their bicycle shop, Professor Blaine Davies explores how the Wright Brothers launched the age of aviation.
Format: 90% lecture, 10% Q&A