Genius, Tragedy, and Treason:

The Lives of Three American Founding Fathers

Online Course

SNAPSHOT

Lecturer: Prof Richard Bell
Sessions: 3 x 90 minutes
Dates: 22, 29 May, 5 June, 2024
Times: Wednesday @ 11.00am AEST
Group Size: Maximum of 15 screens
Price: $180 AUD

TWO WAYS TO WATCH

Can't make a date above? Don't worry... this course will be recorded, allowing you to watch each session at your convenience for up to 14 days. Simply sign up below and we'll send you a link on the first business day following each live session, ensuring you never miss a class!

Overview

Benjamin Franklin was born the tenth son of a Boston candle-maker, but rose to the front ranks of global science and politics. Thomas Paine was the author of the best-selling pamphlet that focused the American colonists on the cause of independence, but died a pariah who had been cast aside by the citizens of the new nation he had helped to forge. Benedict Arnold was the best soldier the American patriots ever had, but turned traitor by trying to sell out his comrades and switch sides.

These three men—Franklin, Paine, and Arnold—are three of the most fascinating figures of the American Revolution era. Join University of Maryland historian Professor Richard Bell for a three-part lecture series which tells their extraordinary stories.

 

YOUR EXPERT LECTURER

Prof Richard Bell is Professor of History at the University of Maryland in the United States. He is the author of the new book Stolen: Five Free Boys Kidnapped into Slavery and their Astonishing Odyssey Home. The book was a finalist for the 2020 George Washington Prize and the 2020 Harriet Tubman Prize. Rick has held major research fellowships at Yale, Cambridge, and the Library of Congress and is the recipient of the National Endowment of the Humanities Public Scholar award. Rick also serves as a Trustee of the Maryland Center for History and Culture, as an elected member of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, and as a fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

 Session info

  • Born to a humble family of Boston candle-makers, Franklin’s rise to the front ranks of science and politics was as unexpected as it was meteoric.

  • Paine’s meteoric rise to celebrity status as the prophet of American independence was matched only by his dramatic fall from grace in the decades afterwards.

  • Arnold was a skilled officer in George Washington’s Army who dramatically defected to the British side in return for a mountain of cash.

 Suggested materials List

Benjamin Franklin on Apple TV

Valiant Ambition by Nathaniel Philbrick

Common Sense by Thomas Paine

 

Booking

 

How it works

Our online courses are hosted live on Zoom, a free online education platform. If you don’t already have an account with Zoom, you will need to sign up at www.zoom.us. To join with video, you'll also need a device with a camera (such as a computer, phone or tablet with a webcam). Otherwise you can join with audio only.

An online ticket booking is required, made above. Each booking is for one computer screen use, not person. Our online booking system is powered by Stripe, with secure payment processing that accepts all major credit cards.

A confirmation of purchase will be sent to your email with a Zoom link to use for every session in this course, along with a reminder email sent 2 hours before each session.

When joining the Zoom meeting, you will enter a virtual ‘waiting room’. Please ensure that your Zoom screen name matches the name you booked under, so that the lecturer can admit you from the virtual ‘waiting room’ into each session. Your lecturer can help you troubleshoot any technical issues on the day.