One Day University

The Founding Fathers likely could not have ever imagined the Supreme Court becoming one of the most powerful policymaking institutions in the United States. Yet today, the Court has the power to sidestep public opinion, upend federal legislation, constrain state governance, and even bring down the president. Professor Gash will demonstrate why the Court's makeup can make or break American public policy.

Professor Diana Carlin has researched the history and evolution of the debates and their impact on voters. In this lecture, she will trace the history of presidential debating from the 19th century to the present, examining the changes and important moments. Through extensive research, she answers questions about their impact on voters and why they are a vital part of a political campaign.

Despite what the song "Wonderful World" says, there's a lot we know about history. But there are still some pretty big gaps in our knowledge, for the simple reason that a lot of information about the past gets lost over time. Wars, fires, floods, deliberate destruction, or just plain carelessness - all of these factors and more contribute to some pretty fascinating historical mysteries. Together, we'll discuss the latest reliable evidence and theories for some major events, people, and buildings that fascinate all of us.

Most of us know that America's Founding Fathers attended the Constitutional Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia and drafted the Constitution of the United States. The delegates decided to replace the Articles of Confederation with a document that strengthened the federal government, with the most contentious issue being legislative representation. Eventually, a compromise established the bicameral Congress to ensure both equal and proportional representation. But a lot more happened as well - much of it underreported or misunderstood.

You are your brain, according to modern neuroscience, but how exactly do your thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and sense of self derive from this three-pound organ locked inside the black box of your skull? Scientists have been seeking answers to those questions for decades and finding surprising answers in the brains of people with psychiatric and neurological disorders. Join us on a journey deep into the brain, the mind, and the self, as Professor Jessica Payne reveals the startling and exciting recent findings of cutting-edge neuroscience.

Weather and climate have been shaping human history for thousands of years. Blizzards, hurricanes, droughts, dust storms, and floods: All of them have been turning points. Weather disasters seem so much bigger than we are, but they're accurate barometers for telling us about what we value as human beings. This course will examine some of these major turning points (some of them based on controversial evidence!), from the ancient world, to Napoleon's invasion of Russia, to the Dust Bowl, to Hurricane Katrina.

This talk puts to rest another of the remarkable myths of the American Revolution: that it was an all-male affair. An 8-year home front war and American women didn't notice it? In fact, the politicization of women in the 1760s and 1770s is one of the most striking consequences of the rebellion against British rule. Women made the boycotts of British imports work. They picketed merchants who dared to sell British cloth and tea. They produced homespun or Liberty cloth as they called it - willingly engaging in the single most boring task known to colonial America.