Visiting Historians Offer Great Depression Seminars

Six prominent historians of the Great Depression will visit the Academy Sunday, Feb. 15 to participate in an interactive discussion and conference organized by history instructor Michael Golay. The conference, titled, “Hard Times: The Great Depression in America,” will also feature a discussion between the six speakers and members of the “History 499: Senior Research Seminar.”

Among the six historians is this Tuesday’s assembly speaker, William Edward Leuchtenburg. Leuchtenburg is a history professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and has written many books, most notably his work on the life of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Leuchtenburg will be joined by James Patterson, Townsend Ludington ‘53, Harvard Sitkoff and Julie Dunfey ‘76.

Patterson is a history emeritus at Brown University, and has received many commendations and awards for his work. His book, “Grand Expectations: The United States, 1945-1974,” received the Bancroft Prize for American history.

“We wanted any interested members of the Exeter community to get some background an insight on these events through the eyes of some of the most prominent historians in the profession.”

Ludington also serves as a history professor at UNC Chapel Hill, and is a PEA alumnus of the class of 1953. Sitkoff teaches history at the University of New Hampshire, and has written numerous works concerning American history.

Dunfey is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, and has worked closely with Ken Burns on many projects. She is currently working on “Country Music,” a PBS show that is scheduled to air in 2018.

The events will consist of a speech by Professor Ludington on Sunday, a student performance of excerpts of the play “Waiting for Lefty,” by Clifford Odets, and a panel discussion on Tuesday night between all of the invited academics. Ludington is excited to speak in front of the student body, especially due to his status as an alum.

“I am excited not only for the chance to be a part of the occasion in general, but because if one has gone here as I did for two years, he or she probably never quite gets over feeling a certain awe about the place,” Ludington said.

Golay felt that this conference was important to the Exeter community as a whole, and that students would be well-served to attend.

“We wanted any interested members of the Exeter community to get some background an insight on these events through the eyes of some of the most prominent historians in the profession,” Golay said. “The motivation for this conference was to present an episode in American history that is probably the most significant of any other, with the exception of the Civil War.”

On Sunday afternoon, there will be a student-run performance of “Waiting for Lefty” a play set during the Great Depression that depicts taxi drivers and other workers who are attempting to unionize. Students will put on episodes from the play in the Lamont Gallery. “It’s a fairly dramatic play,” Golay said. “I think that the students will do well with it.”

In particular, seniors enrolled in the History 499 elective will have an incredible opportunity to meet one-on-one with Patterson. “The students have just finished their drafts, and [Patterson] will read over them and speak with them about their work,” Golay said. “I’m personally really excited about it.” Patterson will help the students refine their arguments, and will speak to them about his work.

Patterson will not be the only speaker interacting with students. All invitees will be making class visits on Monday, and will be sitting in on various classes for most of the day.

Golay hopes that students who attend will make connections between the Great Depression and our current time.

“I think that many of the issues that were explored during the Great Depression are issues that we still deal with today, such as wealth and income inequality,” Golay said. “I hope that they get a sense of this major historical event as a lived experience. I hope they get a sense of how people lived through it, how they coped with it, and actually emerged from it relatively intact.”