Lectures on the American History and Contemporary Reality
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Alexandria—the BA will organize on 21-22 February a five lecture course on American History and Contemporary Reality by Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Director of the Library of Alexandria. Dr. Serageldin will go through the American history starting from the discovery of America and the colonial settlements to becoming the world's undisputed superpower, not only economically and militarily, but also culturally and ideologically. Each lecture will be illustrated with hundreds of pictures, followed by a period for questions and answers.
The lectures unveils a historical experience of a state on top of the international system, and will also review the political experiences of different peoples of the world. Dr. Seragedlin stated that the BA is keen on disseminating cultural awareness among Egyptians especially those related to the most important political and historical experiences of the world, which goes in hand with our time, a time when Egypt is taking significant steps towards political and constitutional reform.
The course will be given over two days: the first three lectures on Wednesday, 21 February. During which Dr. Serageldin will review the epic transformation of a handful of colonial settlements into the world’s superpower forging a nation and a national character. The first lecture is entitled "Origins" and tackles the first stages of the American history, namely: Columbus, the mayflower, the early settlements, estrangement from Britain, the American Revolution, the War of Independence, the constitution, the founding fathers, the first six presidents, the war of 1812, and the arrival of Andrew Jackson, which marks the end of an era.
The second lecture is entitled "The 19th century" and is about the Manifest Destiny, unifying the continent, slavery, the Civil War, Lincoln, the Indian Wars, the making of modern America, and America as a world power. The third lecture is entitled "The 20th Century" and reviews the dawn of the American century, The first World war, the second world war, the post war years, the cold war, Cuba and Vietnam, the turbulent sixties, space and the moon landing, a different outlook, the US and the middle east, and 11 of September and beyond.
The fourth and fifth lectures will take place on Thursday, 22 February. The fourth lecture "Special Discussion on the Constitution" will cover the unique position of the American Constitution, the enlightenment, the Jefferson-Madison correspondence, drafting and ratification of the constitution, the federalist papers, the separation of powers, the bill of rights, liberty, equality, and freedom of speech. The lecture will focus on the lessons drawn from studying the American constitution, as the oldest functioning constitution. The fifth lecture "Understanding the USA" explains the reality of contemporary America, art and science, cultural interchanges, inequality, meritocracy, and global challenges to the future.
The first day lectures will start at 11:30 hrs to 19:00 hrs at the Lectures Hall.
The second day lectures will start 9:00 hrs to 14:30 hrs at the Lectures Hall.