| | » Media Index | |
| ||
|
History (5) Early Contributions to Aviation  From: Columbia University In this seminar, aviation expert Randy Johnson, explains why navigational instruments were necessary for the advancement of commercial aviation and describes the first successful blind flight, made by famed aviator James H. Doolittle just 11 years after airmail service began. Selected excerpts from interviews housed in the Aviation Project collection at Columbia University's Oral History Research Office offer first-hand accounts of this formative period for the aviation industry. Edwin Howard Armstrong: FM Inventor From: Columbia University This seminar chronicles the life of Edwin Howard Armstrong, the little-known but extraordinary inventor, and the struggles he faced patenting FM broadcasting technology. Using interviews and excerpts from Lawrence Lessing's biography "Man of High Fidelity: Edwin Howard Armstrong," three of the leading authorities on Armstrong's life describe the long-term impacts of Armstrong's inventions and discuss how corporations and patent litigation have changed the role of the personal inventor in today's society. George Washington and the Legacy of Character From: Columbia University George Washington is widely remembered as the leader who won independence for America and founded the country's government. But while his legacy influences the American public to this day, most of us know little about his character. What foundation does Washington's modern reputation have in his actual eighteenth century behavior? This seminar attempts to reveal the man behind the legend, delving into the record of the public and private life of America's first president. Heading West: Mapping the Territory 1540-1900 From: The New York Public Library In the mythology of the American frontier, it is usually the frontiersmen and heroic adventurers who get the glory. But the history of the American West is also the story of settlers, Native Americans, performers, fortune hunters, military men, bureaucrats and cartographers. This seminar looks at one of these groups--the mapmakers--who chronicled the country's relentless march westward and captured the lay of the land on paper. The Conflict in Kashmir From: London School of Economics and Political Science Kashmir is an illuminating and thought-provoking example of how complex and bloody ethnic conflicts throughout the world can be. In this seminar, Sumantra Bose of The London School of Economics and Political Science provides a uniquely clear and balanced introduction to the origins of the conflict in Kashmir, the major issues at stake, the players in the saga and the possibility of resolution. This seminar has been updated to include a consideration of events in Kashmir since the events of 11 September 2001, and the impact of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon on the balance of power in Kashmir. | |||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
