OU’s History Comes Alive lecture series kicks off Sept. 16

Now in its 22nd year, History Comes Alive welcomes students, faculty, staff and the surrounding community to take part in any of this year's free lectures, which take place from September 16, 2025-March 11, 2026 at Oakland University.

Spanning a range of topics, talks will be given by OU history professors Todd Estes, George Milne and James Naus, along with scholars Erin Brightwell (University of Michigan), Thomas Madden (St. Louis University) and Alex Noonan (SNA International).

"I am very excited about the program this year," said Professor Naus, chair of OU's Department of History. "In addition to our usual variety, we've bookended the series with lectures that relate to America's upcoming 250th birthday. We are looking forward to reconnecting with familiar faces, and welcoming new ones."

How Republics Fall and Lessons Learned by the Framers of the American Constitution
Thomas Madden, Saint Louis University
Tuesday, Sept. 16, 7 p.m., Oakland Center Banquet Room B
RSVP

In 1786, the American Ambassador to England, John Adams, wrote a "handbook for lawgivers," which examined most of history's fallen republics and the seeds of their destruction. This work, "A Defense of the Constitutions," was in the hands of the framers of the U.S. Constitution when they met the following year in Independence Hall. This lecture, drawn from the author's new book, " The Fall of Republics: A History" (forthcoming from Princeton University Press, Spring 2026), will explore the factors that led to the collapse of some of history's most important republics, and the lessons that the American framers drew from those cautionary tales.

Matilda's World: Meadow Brook Farms before Oakland University
George Milne, Oakland University
Tuesday, Oct. 14, 7 p.m., Oakland Center Banquet Room B
RSVP

"Matilda's World" investigates the land that eventually became the campus of Oakland University. This world began to take form in 1908, when Matilda Dodge and her husband John, who founded the automobile companies that bear his name, purchased a 308-acre farm in Oakland County. The couple was seeking refuge from the bustling industrial city of Detroit. Over the following few years, they expanded their holdings. John's death in 1920 did not stop Matilda from developing the estate even further to eventually encompass more than 1,400 acres. On that land, she created a world of charm and grace with the help of her second husband, Alfred Wilson, a lumber magnate. They constructed Meadow Brook Hall, a 110-room neo-Tudor mansion, developed Meadow Brook Farms into a sprawling agricultural experiment and created housing for her extensive staff, including workers' homes as well as servants' quarters in her mansion.

Debating Anarchist Exclusion in the United States 1887-1903
Alex Noonan, SNA International
Wednesday, Nov. 12, 7 p.m., Oakland Center Banquet Room B
RSVP

Against the backdrop of a global wave of anarchist violence spanning the mid-1880s to the early twentieth century, Americans debated a range of responses that included protecting public officials, curtailing press freedoms, cooperating with other nations to extradite criminals and restricting immigration. Passed in 1903, the Anarchist Exclusion Act was part of a broader push to restrict immigration, but it was also unique in that it established personal beliefs and conduct as criteria for entry into the United States. In discussions surrounding the act's passage, Americans weighed the need for security against the concern that some proposed measures might present a danger to principles like freedom of speech or equality before the law. Understanding how this debate evolved is critical because immigration restriction and deportation became key measures to control and discourage political dissent in the wake of national crises like World War I, the Cold War and 9/11.

Healing, Faith and Miracles in the Middle Ages
James Naus, Oakland University
Tuesday, Jan. 13, 7 p.m., Oakland Center Banquet Room B
RSVP

Medieval texts are filled with stories of miraculous healing-so many, in fact, that it becomes difficult not to believe something real was happening. These healing miracles were not merely tales of divine intervention, but deeply embodied experiences shaped by faith, ritual and cultural expectation. Drawing on new . research in neuroscience and the history of medicine, along with fresh interpretations of well-known (and not so well-known) medieval sources, this lecture explores the beliefs and science behind what made healing "work" in medieval Europe and offers a new framework for understanding how belief, authority and the body came together to make the impossible not only plausible, but real.

Surviving the Japanese Empire
Erin Brightwell, University of Michigan
Tuesday, Feb. 17, 7 p.m., Oakland Center Banquet Room B
RSVP

Even today, the question of "resistance versus collaboration" continues to haunt appraisals of Japanese-language writing by Taiwanese authors during the period of Japan's colonial occupation of Taiwan. Rather than focusing on questions of identity or authorial political allegiance, however, this lecture examines Japanese-language short stories by Taiwanese authors between 1937-1945 to try to understand how the experience of colonialism was refracted through literature. Examining selected works of Wang Changxiong (1916-2000) and Long Yingzong (1911-1999), the lecture asks what motivates their respective fictional characters: how they understand the world(s) and options around them. Within the context of empire, these options are per force limited, but the rationalizing rhetoric characters employ or the compromises they make to survive-if survival is what they aspire to-tell us something about empire and control itself.

The American Revolution at the 250-year Mark
Todd Estes, Oakland University
Wednesday, March 11, 7 p.m., Oakland Center Banquet Room A
RSVP

The year 2026 represents the Semiquincentennial of the American Revolution, an event which is nearly as controversial today as it was in 1776. We will explore the Revolution's promises and how much it achieved and Americans' understanding of the meaning and significance over time. Additionally, this lecture will analyze the interpretations and the memories of the Revolution seen in school textbooks, at historical sites, in popular culture, in our politics and in the public imagination - and why these views spark such strong feelings. With these themes and other questions, this lecture will provide historical context during this 250th anniversary year.

Admission to each lecture is free, but reservations are requested. To reserve a space, visit oakland.edu/history/history-comes-alive-series. The lectures are available in person or virtually through Zoom (Meeting ID: 973 8079 4214 and Passcode: 561063).

The History Comes Alive lecture series is offered by OU's Department of History and endowed by John and Annette Carter. For more information, contact Nicholas DiPucchio at [email protected].