Lectures

Love history and want to learn more? Explore a variety of historical topics as authors, scholars, and local historians present the latest research and books, as well as new looks at old subjects. Lectures are open to the public and are free of charge unless otherwise stated.

Previous Lectures

  • @ East Tennessee History Center
    October 15, 2015 - 7:00am to October 16, 2015 - 7:45am

    Estes Kefauver was a tireless campaigner not only for his own political career, but also on behalf of the public interest.  In a Brown Bag lecture on October 15, Theodore Brown, Jr. will explore the sources of Kefauver’s approach to politics, the motivations behind his congressional investigations, and the methods he used in taking progressive...

  • @ East Tennessee History Center
    October 13, 2015 - 1:00pm to October 14, 2015 - 1:45pm

    Kate Brown explores how the world’s first nuclear weapons in the US and USSR spawned model cities and environmental calamity. She argues that the demands of nuclear secrecy and safety reshaped the American and Soviet landscapes by militarizing and compartmentalizing them in order to cordon off secrets of nuclear technologies and the spillage of...

  • @ East Tennessee History Center
    October 12, 2015 - 1:30pm to 3:30pm

     

    On October 12, Scottish Highland historian and genealogist Graeme Mackenzie will lead a two-hour workshop highlighting records and research tips to trace your Highland Scots ancestor.  Mackenzie is the author of Genealogy in the Gaidhealtachd: Clan and Family History in the Highlands of Scotland and chair of the Association of...

  • @ East Tennessee History Center
    September 23, 2015 - 7:00am to September 24, 2015 - 7:45am

    April 27, 1865, on the Mississippi River near Memphis, the boilers of the steamer Sultana exploded. The result was the most deadly maritime disaster in American history, with 1,800 souls lost by fire and drowning. The vessel was transporting home recently released Union POWs, including many East Tennesseans, from the infamous...

  • A Special Event Commemorating the 55th Anniversary of John F. Kennedy's 1960 Presidential Campaign Visit to Knoxville
    September 21, 2015 - 1:30pm to 3:00pm
    "Things You May Not Know About Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis" & Vintage Film Clips of Presidential Visits to Knoxville

    Lecture Presentation by Tina Santi Flaherty at the Bijou Theatre
    Monday, September 21, 2015 at 6:30 p.m.
    Free and Open to the Public

    Reservations Encouraged...

  • @ East Tennessee History Center
    September 11, 2015 - 7:00am to September 12, 2015 - 7:45am

    East Tennesseans responded to the shock of 9/11 with an outpouring of love and support. In addition to volunteering in rescue and cleanup efforts, East Tennesseans launched a campaign to help the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) replenish its fleet. The original goal was to raise some $400,000 for a new pumper truck.  In an overwhelming...

  • @ East Tennessee History Center
    August 20, 2015 - 7:00am to August 21, 2015 - 7:45am

    In a Brown Bag Lecture on August 20, Dr. Aaron Astor will discuss his new book, The Civil War Along Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau.  The Cumberland Plateau played host to some of the most dramatic military maneuvering of the Civil War. Straddling the entire state of Tennessee, the formidable tableland proved to be a maze of...

  • @ East Tennessee History Center
    August 12, 2015 - 7:00am to August 13, 2015 - 7:45am

    Every cell in your body has a set of chemical strings called DNA.  They contain DNA inherited from many of the ancestors in your family tree.  Modern technology permits us to find the portions given to you by your forebears.  By correlating this information with your genealogical research, you can trace back to most, if not all, of your...

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