This seminar examines the background, causes, conduct, and consequences of the Vietnam War, 1945-1975. This is not a military history of the conflict but an overview of the war centering on the political, cultural and social forces and a general examination of the military developments that shaped the war. The purpose of the seminar is to understand its profound and lasting impact on various aspects of American society, foreign policy, and military strategy, as well as its influence on Vietnam and Southeast Asia. The use of short film clips, interviews and suggested readings will also be included.

The first two decades of the 20th century witnessed a remarkable period of social and political reform known as Progressivism. Examples included regulation of corporations and breakup of monopolies, political primaries and direct election of U.S. Senators, consumer protections, national prohibition of alcohol, and woman suffrage. We will look at the people and events of this dynamic time, including Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jane Addams, Eugene Debs, Alice Paul, Robert LaFollette, and many others.

The Frontier Experience has been an important part of American Culture. This seminar will focus on the turbulent evolution of the Western United States. The Conquistadors, Explorers, Fur Traders, and Missionaries were followed by the Emigrant Wagon Trains and the Gold and Silver Miners. Native conflicts soon developed with the indigenous peoples. Conflicts also arose between the new settlers. Bleeding Kansas resulted in Civil War and the forgotten battlefields of the western frontier will be examined. The Frontier Experience resulted in the uniquely American characteristics of opportunity, individualism, and democracy.

In this program, we'll explore seven of Dayton’s National Register Historic Neighborhoods: Grafton Hill, Grafton-Rockwood-Wroe/Kenilworth, McPherson Town, Oregon District, Paul Laurence Dunbar, and South Park. You'll learn about the cultural significance of each neighborhood, the architectural styles of selected houses, and the men and women who lived in them.

Do you wish you understood those from other cultures better? This seminar will introduce you to key skills to decode differences in national culture, as well as individual preferences. Both of these reduce a group's ability to live and work well together. Come ready to expand your CQ (cultural intelligence)!

Have you ever wanted to go into the back of beyond just to see what was there, making your own path in the wilderness? If some people did not do this, humans would not have spread out of Africa and over the world. Starting in the 10th century CE various men and women were adventurous enough to sail beyond the known boundaries and discovered new continents - the Americas. This seminar will look at the lives of the people who pioneered the exploration of the northern part of the Americas, meeting the people who had settled it in prehistory, discovering what was there, cataloging it, and encouraging others to follow in their footsteps footsteps. Some of the names you will be familiar with and other you may not know. Come explore North America with them.

When we think of the Holocaust, we recall the horrors perpetrated by evildoers. Even in humanity’s darkest hours, courageous individuals risked everything to save lives. This course sheds light on these little-known rescuers—ordinary people who defied laws, resisted hate, and acted with moral clarity and compassion. Their uplifting stories are powerful reminders of resilience, morality, and hope.

Sicily has been a mythic crossroads of heroes, conquerors, and culture for over 3,000 years. From Odysseus and the Arabo-Norman Golden Age to the Mafia and modern mythmakers like Garibaldi and Coppola, Sicily’s story is rich, complex, and central to Western history. This course explores its pivotal role in shaping civilization—and why Goethe famously said, “To have seen Italy without having seen Sicily is not to have seen Italy at all.

This seminar is about major human innovations through history and how they significantly changed the course of civilization. The control of fire for heat and cooking nearly a million years ago was, perhaps, the first major development to make human lives better. Since then, developments in agriculture, energy, transportation, and government have changed the trajectory of human civilization.

An explosion of innovations beginning in 1850 led directly to the industrial revolution and to an explosion in human population. What were these events and why did that happen? And what about the future?

We will consider some current emerging technologies. We will speculate on how innovation will change humanity in future years.

Inspired by the 2024 FX mini-series Shōgun, this course explores Japan’s transition from civil war to peace between the 15th and 18th centuries. We will examine the rise of key unifiers, the roles of diverse social groups (like merchants, peasants, women, and outcasts), and the era’s political, cultural, and artistic shifts. For fans of the series or those new to Japanese history, this course offers a rich, accessible introduction.

In 1884, John H. Patterson plunked down $6,500 to acquire a maker of cash registers. His first year, he sold 300 machines. By 1910, he sold a million. He gained 94 percent of the U.S. market through superior worksmanship, generous fringe benefits, and terrorizing his competition. He was the first person sentenced to prison for violating the Sherman Antitrust Act. Needing either a reversal on appeal or an act of God, he got the latter. With the 1913 Dayton flood, Patterson appointed NCR the savior of Dayton. His heroism led to his sentence being pitched out. Growth continued from there.

Lesser-Known American Wars of the 19th Century’ will begin with the Barbary Wars of 1805-1815, and continue on with the War of 1812, the Mexican American War of 1846-48, and the Indian Wars running thru most of the century. We'll close with the Spanish-American War of 1898. We’ll skip the Civil War, well covered in other UDOLLI courses, and which would merit several whole courses on its own.

This will be a very different course from our previous ‘20th Century Wars’ offering, with heavy ethical undertones. Whereas 20th century American wars were largely—not totally—defensive in nature, wars of the 19th century clearly featured the US as the aggressor. Other nations had possessions that we coveted, and under the banner of ‘Manifest Destiny’ we set out to forcibly take them. The purpose of the 19th century wars was mainly conquest, and together the wars make for a morally dubious story.

Lincoln & Slavery" examines Lincoln's lifelong opposition to slavery and his evolving attitude towards race during his formative, adult, and war years.

Wright Field in the Second World War

As the Second World War began President Roosevelt challenged the nation to produce 50,000 (later 60,000) airplanes per year, and the staff at Dayton’s Wright Field was remarkably successful in meeting and even exceeding this procurement goal. Despite the opportunities for corruption afforded by enormous sums of public money spent rapidly with little or no oversight, no evidence of corruption among senior Army Air Forces procurement officials exists – with one notable exception. Major General Bennett E. “Benny” Meyers, a career officer who eventually became commander of Wright Field’s Materiel Command, significantly enriched himself through a series of fraudulent and illegal dealings while simultaneously leading one of the nation’s most ambitious and critical defense projects. This is his story.

Explore the evolution of American conservation from the 19th century to today. This course goes beyond national parks to examine how urban reformers, scientists, women activists, and Native communities shaped the movement. Through diverse stories and landscapes, we will gain a deeper understanding of how Americans have fought to preserve—and define—the natural world.

This course reframes the American Revolution as a global event shaped by imperial rivalries and geopolitical forces. Each session focuses on a different group—Germans, French, Spaniards, South Asians, and others—revealing how their experiences intersected with the collapse of British rule in North America. By viewing the Revolution through a global lens, participants will uncover new perspectives on its causes, course, and consequences.

The comics date back to the mid-19th century in the U.S. We will look at the five distinct ages each with a particular style and focus. This seminar will also cover the trend away from daily newspaper readership to the continued popularity of comic books. Digital delivery of comics has also increased readership in the 21st century. I will describe the difference between comics and cartoons.

Today, we honor the legacy of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion—better known as the Triple Nickles. Formed during World War II, the Triple Nickles were the first all-Black airborne unit in the history of the United States Army. In a time when segregation and discrimination were still entrenched in the military, these men broke barriers by becoming some of the most elite soldiers in service, trained as paratroopers at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Taxes are the one of the most important topics facing United States citizens in today’s economy. However, taxes are also the least understood topic, as shown by the number of Americans who use tax software or go to a paid tax preparer to file their annual return. The purpose of this course is expose students to terms and concepts that affect how the US tax systems originated, evolved, and operates currently. Of special interest is the evolution of the Internal Revenue Code from a way to raise revenue to a device to shape behavior and direct social policy. The course explores various critical issues present today by tracing the development of those issues throughout the tax history of the US.