The Cockefair Chair and members of the talented faculty at UMKC deliver short, engaging courses on national issues, Kansas City history and current events and literature and the arts. Join in to experience thoughtful analysis on a variety of subjects.
In Spring 2023, the Cockefair Chair presents three fascinating courses. The courses and the method of presentation for each (in-person, synchronous zoom or hybrid) are described below.
Spring 2024 Cockefair Chair Courses
Please note: In consideration of the health and safety of our guests, event and course accommodations will be in accordance with the latest local and CDC guidelines. Please check the UMKC health and safety website for current information- https://www.umkc.edu/coronavirus/
The Enigma of J. Robert Oppenheimer: Father of the Atomic Bomb
Bryan LeBeau, Ph.D.
Wednesdays, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.
March 6, 13, 20, and 27
UMKC Administrative Center, Brookside Room
Zoom option also available
$50 ($70 with parking permit)
In 2006, the award-winning book, American Prometheus, rekindled readers’ interest in the person widely credited with, or disdained for, developing the atomic bomb. The more recent film, Oppenheimer, brought to the widescreen a portrait of the extraordinary but flawed, brilliant but enigmatic, and irresistibly fascinating figure. This course will explore Oppenheimer’s triumphant and tragic life, both personal and public, in context of the culture and politics of his time, one of the most complex periods in American history. Although neither the book nor the film is required to follow class discussions, one or the other is highly recommended. Given the length of the film and the book, we will not have time to screen the film in class, though short clips may be shown, and readers may want to get a head-start on the book.
Civil-Military Crises as Threats to Democracy: Argentina, Israel, and the United States.
Rebecca Best, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Political Science
Dr. Viviana Grieco, Professor, Department of History
Thursdays, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
April 4, 11, and 25
UMKC Administrative Center, Brookside Room
Zoom option also available
$40 ($55 with parking permit)
One year after the Jan 6 attack, CBS reported that 81 of those charged were military veterans or current servicemembers. In the final year of the Trump administration, Democrats and moderate Republicans called on high ranking military officers to hold the democratically elected president accountable and check his ambitions. In October 2023, after months of protests by military reservists and increasing politicization of the Israeli military, Israel was caught off guard by a devastating Hamas attack. Both are indicative of broader crises in civil-military relations within democracies. In the 1970s, Argentina’s civilian government was unable to defeat active guerrillas, and military forces seized the government, initiating the so-called “Dirty War” that “disappeared” and killed approximately 30,000 civilians between 1976 and 1983. This course will explore what Argentina’s experience in the Dirty War and its aftermath can teach us about modern civil-military relations in democracies and the risks of allowing civil-military relations crises to fester.
Landmarks of Kansas City History, Art, and Culture
David J. Trowbridge, Ph.D., William T. Kemper Associate Research Professor of Digital and Public
Humanities, Department of History
Thursdays, 10:30 – Noon
May 2, 9, 16, and 23
UMKC Administrative Center, Brookside Room
Zoom option also available
$50 ($70 with parking permit)
This course will explore Kansas City’s history and art through the lens of the city’s most iconic people and landmarks. From downtown skyscrapers to suburban neighborhoods, we will explore the history behind landmarks such as Union Station, Country Club Plaza, downtown KCKS and KCMO, 18th and Vine, the Crossroads District, Quindaro, and many other landmarks and neighborhoods. We will also explore cultural landmarks such as the sculpture garden at the Nelson-Atkins Museum, along with museums, fountains, and iconic buildings past and present. The course will include short lectures, guest speakers, and discussions. Dr. Trowbridge is the creator of Clio, a website and mobile application that has been utilized by over 500 organizations around the country to share the history and art of their cities. Participants will also have the option, should they desire, to work with Trowbridge and UMKC students to record and share the histories of area landmarks and neighborhoods during the course and beyond.
PLEASE NOTE: If in the future you decide to purchase additional classes, you must use the edit button in your confirmation email to return to your form.
For questions, please contact Kim Rudolph at rudolphk@umkc.edu.
