 Lectures
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From Cotton Fields to Skyscrapers: The Transformation
of the South in the Twentieth Century
Thursday, July 24, 2008 (noon)
By Paul A. Levengood
Banner Lecture Series
At the dawn of the twentieth century, the South was by all measurements the poorest, most segregated region in the United States. One hundred years later, it was one of the fastest-growing parts of the nation, attracting population and industry at a dizzying rate. How did this transformation take place? How much of the traditional South remains? Looking at such key events as World War II and the South’s longstanding effort to attract business investment, Paul A. Levengood will chart the breathtaking course of the twentieth century and examine what survives and what has been lost in the rush toward prosperity and growth. Dr. Levengood is president-elect and CEO-elect of the VHS. This lecture is a program of the VHS's Reynolds Business History Center.
Please note: Laura C. Kamoie's previously scheduled lecture, "Irons in the Fire: The Business History of the Tayloe Family," will be rescheduled at a later date. |
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One Nation Under Debt
Thursday, September 4, 2008 (noon)
By Robert E. Wright
Banner Lecture Series
The United States was born in debt. Was this obligation a vital tool for forging national unity, or a monstrous burden? In One Nation Under Debt: Hamilton, Jefferson, and the History of What We Owe, Robert E. Wright follows our nation's debt from the founding to the credit crisis of today. A compelling and witty storyteller, Wright shows how the past can illuminate current financial woes. Dr. Wright teaches history at New York University's Stern School of Business. This lecture is a program of the VHS's Reynolds Business History Center. |
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To Be A Dancer: Helen McGehee on Modern Dance
Thursday, September 25, 2008 (noon)
By Helen McGehee
Banner Lecture Series
World-renowned dancer, choreographer, and teacher Helen McGehee is the fourth artist featured in the upcoming exhibition A Creative Dynasty: Four Generations of Virginia Women. She perfected her skills with Martha Graham's modern dance company and was a founding member of the Juilliard School of Dance, where she taught until 1984. McGehee will illustrate her comments in this lecture with video clips from her career as a dancer and teacher. |
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Photography in Virginia
Thursday, November 13, 2008 (noon)
By Jeffrey Ruggles
Banner Lecture Series
Photography has been an important medium documenting life in Virginia for more than 150 years. This lecture will interpret the first major photography exhibition organized by the VHS. It will survey this visual record from the 1840s to the present, presenting many images never before published or displayed. Topics include early daguerreotypes, amusement-park tintypes, panoramas, aerial photography, and the progression of color from hand-tinting to digital laser prints. Jeffrey Ruggles organized the exhibition and is associate curator for prints and photographs at the VHS. |
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Lincoln: President-Elect
Thursday, December 4, 2008 (noon)
By Harold Holzer
Banner Lecture Series
In the winter of 1860–61, the crisis that erupted with the election of Abraham Lincoln threatened to split the nation. In his newest Lincoln book, Harold Holzer examines the perilous interregnum before the president-elect's inauguration and recounts Lincoln's public and private struggle to preserve the Union. Mr. Holzer is co-chairman of the U.S. Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and senior vice president for external affairs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. |
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