History Lecture Series

A Seattle Tradition

One of the UW’s most popular lifelong learning programs, the History Lecture Series began in 1975. For 15 years, it featured History Professor Emeritus Giovanni Costigan, the first recipient of the UW’s Distinguished Teaching Award. Today professors from the Department of History are proud to carry on his legacy, with the generous support of the UW Alumni Association. Scroll down to learn about upcoming lectures and to watch video recordings of past presentations.

Tickets for the 2020 History Lecture Series will be sold by the UW Alumni Association.

UWalum.com/History
206-540-0540
Series pass: $15-50 | Single ticket: $5-$15

Winter 2019 Lecture Series: Challenging Gender

Throughout the ages and around the globe, history has been shaped by those who dared to defy. The 2019 History Lecture Series shines a spotlight on those who challenged gender expectations and changed the cultural landscape.

January 9, 2019
Maids in Men's Clothes: Joan of Arc and the Tradition of Female Saints
Charity Urbanski

Wearing men's clothing protected Joan of Arc on the battlefield and exposed her to charges on heresy in the courts. Professor Urbanski will explore why female saints who dressed as men for practicality and power were celebrated in certain circumstances – and punished in others. Watch this lecture online here.

January 16, 2019
Catherine the Great: Gendering Sovereignty in 18th-Century Russia
Elena Campbell

Catherine the Great wrested the crown away from her husband to rule over a deeply patriarchal society. We discuss how Catherine used her gender as part of her political persona to attain and maintain power. Watch this lecture online here.

January 23, 2019
Switching Gender: Love, Desire, and Ethical Debates in Mughal India
Purnima Dhavan

Why would a male poet talk in a female voice? Explore how Mughal poets used themes of love and desire to define a spiritually grounded life and explore gendered conduct in ways that still resonate today. Watch this lecture online here.

January 30, 2019
Women of the 1960s: Betty Friedan, Janis Joplin and Angela Davis
William Rorabaugh

Three American women helped shape the Sixties, even as the decade shaped them. Discover the story of this tumultuous time through the experiences of feminist author Betty Friedan, counterculture icon Janis Joplin, and radical African American intellectual Angela Davis. Watch this lecture online here.