By the mid-1970s the liberal consensus in American politics was fraying badly. Jimmy Carter had the bad luck of rising to prominence at a time when most Americans were becoming deeply cynical about our government. The Vietnam catastrophe, followed quickly by the Watergate scandal, made it unlikely that any president of either party was going to be well-received in 1976. Carter paid the price for that erosion in confidence. Ronald Reagan offered a new beginning to American voters. The resultant victory by the California Republican ushered in a sea change in our politics which continues to reverberate today. In this course we will examine how such a dramatic shift in our thinking came to pass.

Faculty Bio

Mick Chantler has been a student of American history for over fifty years, with an emphasis on the early years of the Republic. Lately, however, he has focused on more recent figures--such as the Kennedys, Teddy Roosevelt, and now Carter/Reagan. 

This is a Livestreamed + Recorded Course

• Classes will stream live on the scheduled day and time
• Classes will also 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 Monday, Jan. 22 and ends on Monday, March 4
• There is no class on Monday, Feb. 19
• Classes meet for six weeks, 1.5 hours per session (9:30–11 AM)
• Videos will post on Fridays in Member Dashboards
• All course materials, including videos, will be available to view and enjoy through March 31

Member Praise for Mick Chantler

Great presentation and discussion, chock full of interesting facts and observations. The pace was perfect. 

I used to shy away from courses about areas of US history that I'd studied in college but eventually realized that no matter how much I might know about something, Mick sees it in a new a clearer light and his brilliance really makes any subject worthwhile. 

Well paced, always engaging lectures.

Faculty Q&A

• Read an interview with Mick Chantler from our archive