Courses

(HIS118) THE COMING OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 1760-1776

This class explores the complex causes and escalating tensions that led to the American colonies' break from Britain, culminating in the Declaration of Independence.

This course is not open for registrations.
Registration opens on Monday, September 8, 2025 at 12:01 a.m.

(HIS120) COMMODORE JOHN BARRY: FATHER OF THE US NAVY

Learn about the beginning of the U.S. Navy and the master sailor, John Barry, who was behind it.

Monday, November 17, 2025, Beaufort campus

(HIS121) VIRTUAL TOUR OF PRESIDENT FORD'S LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Join us for a virtual tour of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum (Grand Rapids, Michigan) to explore the lives, leadership, and lasting impact of President Gerald Ford and First Lady Betty Ford.

Tuesday, November 18, 2025, Live on Zoom

(HIS122) HEROES AND INSPIRATIONAL STORIES IN AMERICA'S NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM

Discover inspiring stories from across America's national parks that highlight human resilience and potential in this two-session course.

December 8-9, 2025, Beaufort campus
December 8-9, 2025, Live on Zoom

(HIS140) FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT, GAMBIA, AND THE FORMATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS

This is an OLLI Digital Library recording and is available to view until December 31, 2025.

In January 1943, on his way to meet with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt stopped through Britain's West African colony of Gambia. The poverty and ill health he witnessed in "that hell-hole of yours" (as he referred to Gambia, speaking to Churchill) prompted Roosevelt to consider "an organization of United Nations".

Sunday, August 31, 2025, OLLI Digital Library

(HIS123) VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE JIMMY CARTER LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

This virtual tour offers an inside look at the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum, featuring presidential archives, family history, special exhibits, and a replica of the Oval Office.

Tuesday, December 9, 2025, Live on Zoom

(HIS132) YEARS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION - 1774

This is an OLLI Digital Library recording and is available to view until December 31, 2025.

This presentation discusses the impact of The Intolerable Acts and the First Continental Congress, featuring some of the incidents leading to the Revolutionary War including the Gaspee Burning and the Boston Tea Party as background to the Intolerable Acts.


Sunday, August 31, 2025, OLLI Digital Library

(HIS124) HOW JOHN ERICSSON SAVED THE UNION

This course explores the pivotal 1862 naval battle at Hampton Roads, where a Confederate ironclad devastated the U.S. Navy, prompting a Union response led by John Ericsson and his revolutionary warship, the Monitor.

Wednesday, December 10, 2025, Bluffton campus
Wednesday, December 10, 2025, Live on Zoom

(HIS134) 1968: A TUMULTUOUS YEAR

This is an OLLI Digital Library recording and is available to view until December 31, 2025.

This course explores the cultural, political, and racial upheavals that made 1968 the most turbulent year of the 1960s, tracing key events from assassinations to music, media, and the presidential election.


Sunday, August 31, 2025, OLLI Digital Library

(HIS135) TEA AND TORTURE

This is an OLLI Digital Library recording and is available to view until December 31, 2025.

Boston was not the only Tea Partier, nor was it the first. Charleston, Philadelphia, Annapolis and Edenton NC were also contenders. Various forms of torture exacted by the British on the American rebels are examined.

Sunday, August 31, 2025, OLLI Digital Library

(HIS138) GETTYSBURG: SIDE STORIES TO THE MAIN EVENT

This is an OLLI Digital Library recording and is available to view until December 31, 2025.

July 1863, provides the context for a number of human interest stories and fascinating side-bars that bring the impact of Gettysburg down to a grassroots level.


Sunday, August 31, 2025, OLLI Digital Library

(HIS136) IMMIGRATION: MYTHS AND REALITIES THROUGHOUT OUR HISTORY

This is an OLLI Digital Library recording and is available to view until December 31, 2025.

This course offers a brief history of immigration to the United States from its colonial beginnings to the present day. Topics to be covered: reasons for immigration, largest immigrant groups, immigration patterns, and restrictions imposed upon immigration.


Sunday, August 31, 2025, OLLI Digital Library

(HIS133) THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION A WORLD WAR NO ONE KNOWS

This is an OLLI Digital Library recording and is available to view until December 31, 2025.

Discover how America was only one relatively compact and insignificant theater of war in what was in reality a World War for England, fought on four fronts with dozens of countries involved, and that American independence was won only due to military aid from two main European powers and the distractions provided by four other major nations.

Sunday, August 31, 2025, OLLI Digital Library

(HIS137) WASP OF THE FERRY COMMAND: WOMEN PILOTS, UNCOMMON DEEDS

This is an OLLI Digital Library recording and is available to view until December 31, 2025.

Learn about a small select group of women who flew military aircraft during WWII.


Sunday, August 31, 2025, OLLI Digital Library