October 28, 2009

Most weekdays in Cambridge, during a two-hour reserved time block, participants will pursue their own research through the Churchill papers at the Archives Centre.  Participants will be given access to the collections held by the Churchill Archives Centre and also to the Centre’s library of related secondary literature.  The Churchill Archives Centre is able to offer the unique experience of direct engagement with the raw materials of recent history.  During the Institute, one of the Centre’s reading rooms will be reserved for the exclusive use of participants.  They will be able to pursue projects using original documents created or received by Winston Churchill and his contemporaries.

Multiple sessions will be held on Churchill’s autobiography My Early Life, which we will read together over the first two weeks, considering how he portrays the events of his early life and his reflections on education, empire, war, democratic politics, and youthful adventure.  These sessions will be conducted as seminar discussions among the participants, moderated by a faculty member.  These discussions, which will allow the group as a whole to interpret and debate the readings, will provide you with a model for teaching the same material to your classes.

Seminars on Churchill will range from his understanding of history, his views on empire and his thoughts on rhetoric in democratic statesmanship to his writings on America, his battle against appeasement in the 1930s, and his “Iron Curtain” speech.  These discussions will be moderated by Professor Muller or visiting faculty members.  Each scheduled session will last about one and a half hours. Conversation can continue over meals or informally throughout the day.

Other sessions will consider Churchill’s speeches and writings on America in The Great Republic, taking up questions ranging from the early English antecedents of American liberty to his principled objections to Prohibition and his endeavors to persuade Americans to join the struggle against Germany in the Second World War.  His determination and personal achievement stand in stark contrast to the view, all too common today, that political problems are too big for one man to make a difference.

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Most afternoons will offer participants, in rotating groups, scheduled time to work with the Archives documents.  Groups not scheduled will be free to meet informally, read, rest, or explore Cambridge.

The schedule as of April 2010 can be accessed by clicking here.