Course

The turmoil of contemporary American politics invites a renewed engagement with history as a lens for imagining our future. This course brings together leading historians and documentary filmmakers to examine four pivotal moments in American life — the American Revolution, the New Deal, the Cold War, and the demise of the local newspaper and the transformation of the modern news media system.

Through lectures, films, and discussions, we will explore not only the historical events themselves but also the methods by which we come to understand the past: scholarly interpretation, investigative journalism, and documentary storytelling. Our goal is to illuminate how historical knowledge shapes future possibilities. Assistant Dean of Extended Education and OLLI Director Susan Hoffman will facilitate. 

• Week One: Historian and author Richard Bell explores the American Revolution
• Week Two: Historian and author Adam Hochschild examines the New Deal
• Week Three: Producer Howard Dratch will explore the Cold War
• Week Four: Filmmaker Rick Goldsmith will discuss the demise of local newspapers

Speaker and Faculty Bios

Richard Bell is the author of The American Revolution and the Fate of the World and teaches Early American History at the University of Maryland. He has received numerous teaching awards and research fellowships, including the NEH Public Scholar Award. His previous works include Stolen: Five Free Boys Kidnapped Into Slavery and Their Astonishing Odyssey Home and We Shall Be No More, Buried Lives (co-edited with Michele Lise Tarter).

Howard B. Dratch is an award-winning filmmaker whose work has been featured internationally in theaters and on television. His film Path to War premiered on HBO and received eight Emmy nominations, four Golden Globe nominations, and the Humanitas Prize. He has taught filmmaking at USC and Caltech and served as a Fulbright Fellow at the Hungarian National Academy of Dramatic Art and Film.

Richard Goldsmith most recent film is Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink. He was co-director of The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, an Academy Award–nominated film exploring Ellsberg’s transformation from Pentagon insider to whistleblower. His earlier Academy Award–nominated documentary Tell the Truth and Run profiles pioneering press critic George Seldes and offers a penetrating analysis of the American media system.

Adam Hochschild is an acclaimed American author, journalist, historian and lecturer. His best-known works include King Leopold's Ghost, To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914–1918, Bury the Chains, The Mirror at Midnight, The Unquiet Ghost, and Spain in Our Hearts.

Susan Hoffman brings an interdisciplinary perspective shaped by UCSC’s History of Consciousness graduate studies program and training at the American Film Institute. Her most recent Berkeley OLLI course, co-taught with neuroscientist David Presti, explored the science and aesthetics of silence in partnership with BAMPFA.  

This is an In-Person, Livestreamed + Recorded Course

• Classes meet in person at the Golden Bear Center, Suite 202/204 (2nd floor), at 1995 University Ave., Berkeley
• Classes will also stream live, and be video recorded
• You must be a current OLLI @Berkeley member to register. Learn about membership, including our fee assistance program.

Schedule Highlights

• Course starts on Wednesday, April 8, and ends on Wednesday, April 29
• Classes meet for 4 weeks, 2 hours per session (10–noon)
• All course materials will remain in Member Dashboards through May 31