Photographs by Liam Weir '18.

Audiences across the nation now have the chance to sit in on a class at Boston College.

A five-person crew from C-SPAN's "Lectures in History" series came to campus in April to film a class from Professor Heather Cox Richardson’s course on America from the end of the Civil War to 1900. Richardson, the author of five books, is the first BC professor whose class has been documented by the national public service broadcaster.

The lecture focuses on roles women assumed in the workforce and in politics during the late-19th century. “We chose that particular lecture because years ago a student told me he had never before heard anything about the relationship between women’s suffrage, Reconstruction, and citizenship and asked me if I would someday talk about that in a setting where it could be put on the internet for others," Richardson said. "The C-SPAN project made that possible.”

The show premiered on CSPAN television on July 2, and is now available online.

View the full show on C-SPAN's 'American History TV' site.

 

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History Professor Heather Cox Richardson

Above: Watch a preview of BC Professor Heather Cox Richardson's appearance on C-SPAN's 'Lectures in History' series.

“Almost everyone we tape for the 'Lectures in History' classroom series is recommended in one way or another, either by a fellow professor, or by a C-SPAN producer who saw the person at another event we covered and thought they were an interesting speaker,” says American History TV producer Russell Logan.  "In Professor Richardson’s case, it was both."

Audiences have responded positively to the “Lectures in History” series, which takes viewers inside college classrooms around the country every week to hear lectures on various American history topics, adds Logan. “Because these are real classes, they look and feel a bit different than many of our other programs, which are often talks or panels taped at public venues.”

“It’s always a pleasure to work with the wonderful folks at C-SPAN, and to have the chance to bring the great stories and patterns from American history to a larger audience,” says Richardson, who was last on C-SPAN discussing her latest book, To Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party. 

By Sean Hennessey | News & Public Affairs