Videos

America’s Creative Economy: The Impact of COVID-19 was one of the second prize high school central division winners in C-SPAN Classroom’s StudentCam documentary contest. Sean Baker, a sophomore at Lincoln…

Hampden-Sydney College Professor Matthew Hulbert looked at depictions of slavery in Hollywood films ranging from Birth of a Nation and Gone with the Wind to Django Unchained and Free State of…

Ford’s Theatre hosted political satirist Mark Russell and former Representative Joe Crowley to discuss the role humor plays in politics, particularly during contentious times. They were joined by…

On October 19, 1864, General Philip Sheridan’s timely arrival at the Cedar Creek battlefield helped turn a Union retreat into a resounding victory, effectively ending Confederate resistance in the Shenandoah…

Tulane University professor John “Ray” Proctor taught a class about playwright August Wilson, his contribution to African American theatre and his Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Fences.

In 1998 the Nantucket Historical Association initiated a project to index the whaleship logs held in its archives. As the work progressed, a project volunteer noticed numerous entries that…

“Moby-Dick” was a written by Herman Melville and published in 1851. Nathaniel Philbrick, author of “Why Read Moby-Dick?,” discussed his love of the classic novel and its lasting legacy. The…

The co-authors of the book Landscapes for the People: George Alexander Grant, First Chief Photographer of the National Park Service showed examples of Grant’s work and discussed his story…

Between 1839 and 1844 Herman Melville worked aboard three whaleships as well as other sailing vessels. Melville scholar Mary K. Bercaw Edwards detailed his time spent as a sailor and discussed…

Glenn Adamson talked about his book, Craft: An American History, which explores the role of craftwork and handmade objects in mainstream American culture from the eighteenth century to the…

Walt Whitman went to Washington, D.C. in 1863 in search of his brother, a Union officer who had been injured in battle. He remained in the nation’s capital for the next decade, working as a clerk…

A panel of music scholars discussed the life of Ludwig van Beethoven and his popularity in the United States from the 19th century to the present day. The National Archives hosted this…

Rutgers University-Newark Professor Salamishah Tillet explored Alice Walker’s 1983 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Color Purple. This was a virtual event hosted by the Free Library of…

Professor Matthew Restall talked about how visitors to the U.S. Capitol experience the art and architecture, including the Statue of Freedom atop the Capitol dome. He also discussed how…

The National Portrait Gallery’s senior historian Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw provided an overview of their exhibit, “Every Eye is Upon Me: First Ladies of the United States.” She discussed how…

Published in 1945, Cannery Row by John Steinbeck took place in the sardine canneries of Monterey, California. In her own book -- Beyond Cannery Row: Sicilian Women, Immigration, and Community in…

Playwright and activist Andre Gregory talked about his life and the intersection of art and politics. He was joined in conversation by actor Wallace Shawn, who played his counterpart in the…

The National Constitution Center hosted a discussion on Shakespeare’s influence on the American founders, on American history, and on constitutional values. Speakers included Kevin Hayes,…

A Senate Commerce subcommittee held a hybrid hearing on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the live event entertainment industry. Witnesses represented the wide range of industries…

This Columbia University film uses two U.S. Supreme Court free speech cases to document the history of censorship law. The first case deals with the constitutionality of New York’s film…