Class 1: Introduction: "Iron Curtain Rising. What was the Cold War?" 

In this introduction to the Cold War, we will discuss agreements made during wartime prior to 1945; the first confrontations over Poland, Iran, Turkey, etc.; the Long Telegram and Containment; the Truman Doctrine, The Marshall Plan, Berlin Airlift, and NATO. It's a lot to cover, but if you've heard Dr. Kappel lecture before, you know it will be an excellent primer for this series.  

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Gary Kappel, Emeritus Professor of History, spent his entire professional career serving the students and his colleagues at his alma mater, Bethany College. In addition to teaching courses in World History, European History, Military History, and the history of ideas, for many years he taught First Year seminars in the Cold War and the history of Bethany College. He earned his B.A. at Bethany College, and his M.A. & Ph.D. at West Virginia University.

Class 2: Wars of Containment

In class two, Dr. Kappel will discuss United States Objectives and Programs for National Security, better known as NSC 68; Korea; Massive Retaliation; CIA skullduggery in Iran and Guatemala; the Hungarian Revolution; and Vietnam in the early days leading to massive American intervention in 1965.

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Gary Kappel, Emeritus Professor of History, spent his entire professional career serving the students and his colleagues at his alma mater, Bethany College. In addition to teaching courses in World History, European History, Military History, and the history of ideas, for many years he taught First Year seminars in the Cold War and the history of Bethany College. He earned his B.A. at Bethany College, and his M.A. & Ph.D. at West Virginia University.

Class 3: Fall of Empires

In class three, Dr. Joseph Laker will talk about decolonization, discussing the three main phases of Empire building and the empires built, the reasons that the empires began to decline and disappear, and finally the consequences of colonialism both for the colonized and the colonizer.

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Joe Laker is Emeritus Professor of History at Wheeling Jesuit University and a Board Member of the West Virginia Independence Hall Foundation. Following his graduation from Marian College with a degree in history, he spent two years teaching English conversation in Kyoto, Japan. He returned home to seek advanced degrees at Indiana University and received his Ph. D. in history in 1975. He spent the next 33 years at Wheeling Jesuit University. He has written a number of articles on various aspects of Japanese and world history. Since retiring in 2008, he has written a history on Wheeling Jesuit and a variety of articles on West Virginia history.

Class 4: The Second Red Scare

With the fear of the Soviet Union came a related fear of communism at home.  While often associated with Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, an anti-Communist movement took shape, influencing politics, Hollywood, labor unions, and the daily lives of Americans worried about the influence of communism all around them.  In class four, Dr. Hal Gorby will examine how this time period could both be an age of economic security as well as heightened paranoia about the “Red Menace.” 

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. William Hal Gorby is a teaching assistant professor of history and director of undergraduate advising at West Virginia University. He teaches courses on West Virginian, Appalachian, and American immigration history. He consulted on the research and script editing for the Emmy-nominated PBS American Experience documentary The Mine Wars and hosted and researched the podcast "Henry: The Life and Times of Wheeling's Most Notorious Brewer," produced by Wheeling Heritage Media. His book, Wheeling's Polonia: Reconstructing Polish Community in a West Virginia Steel Town was published by WVU Press in 2020.

Class 5: More Bombs, Bigger Bombs, Better Bombs

Tonight will be all about bombs and acronyms! Dr. Kappel will discuss the origins of Manhattan Project; the decision to use the bomb; early nuclear strategy; Russian acquisition; H-Bombs; Massive Retaliation vs. ladder of escalation; Counterforce vs. Countervalue; MAD (Mutual assured destruction); SALT (Strategic Arms Limitations Talks) I and ABM (anti-ballistic missile); SALT II; Reagan and SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative).

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Gary Kappel, Emeritus Professor of History, spent his entire professional career serving the students and his colleagues at his alma mater, Bethany College. In addition to teaching courses in World History, European History, Military History, and the history of ideas, for many years he taught First Year seminars in the Cold War and the history of Bethany College. He earned his B.A. at Bethany College, and his M.A. & Ph.D. at West Virginia University.

Class 6: A Global War

Dr. Laker will discuss the broad ideological, economic, military, and diplomatic factors of the global struggle concentrating on places where conflict took place — Europe: Berlin, Hungary, Poland, and Czechoslovakia;  Asia: Korea, Vietnam, Malaya, and off the China Coast; Africa: Congo and Angola; and Latin America: Cuba, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. We'll talk about geopolitical theaters, Bay of Pigs, and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Joe Laker is Emeritus Professor of History at Wheeling Jesuit University and a Board Member of the West Virginia Independence Hall Foundation. Following his graduation from Marian College with a degree in history, he spent two years teaching English conversation in Kyoto, Japan. He returned home to seek advanced degrees at Indiana University and received his Ph. D. in history in 1975. He spent the next 33 years at Wheeling Jesuit University. He has written a number of articles on various aspects of Japanese and world history. Since retiring in 2008, he has written a history on Wheeling Jesuit and a variety of articles on West Virginia history.

Class 7: Reagan and Gorbachev

In this class, Dr. Hale will discuss the situation before Reagan and Gorbachev come to power; the role of their personalities and how they evolved over their terms; the impact of Gorbachev’s reforms, the transformation of the Warsaw Pact and the reunification of Germany.

Class starts at 7:00 pm in the Library Auditorium. This program will be available to watch live on Facebook Live, on YouTube, and on the OCPL website's People's University: The Cold War Livestream page.  Log into your Facebook or YouTube account during the program to leave questions for Dr. Hale in the comments box. She will answer them during the live broadcast. 

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Korcaighe Hale is Associate Professor of History at the Zanesville campus of Ohio University and began her career examining the nature of Irish neutrality policy during World War II and after, as well as European diplomacy in the immediate post-World War II era. More recently, her research has expanded to include modern popular culture studies, and she is currently working on a monograph examining the use of historical methods in science fiction. Dr. Hale earned a B.A., Journalism and History, from the University of Montana, an M.Sc., International History, from the London School of Economics, and her Ph.D. in History from Ohio University.

Class 8: Epilogue: Duck and Cover — Is the Cold War Over?

In the last class of our Cold War series, we look to the present and the future. Dr. Hale will look at the collapse fo the Soviet Union, uneasy partners and the first Gulf war; the momentary seduction of democratic peace theory; the structural conflict between big powers; the legacies of NATO and Russia: Cold War armaments/nukes/biological warfare, control of resources, and power displays.

Class starts at 7:00 pm in the Library Auditorium. This program will be available to watch live on Facebook Live, on YouTube, and on the OCPL website's People's University: The Cold War Livestream page.  Log into your Facebook or YouTube account during the program to leave questions for Dr. Hale in the comments box. She will answer them during the live broadcast. 

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Korcaighe Hale is Associate Professor of History at the Zanesville campus of Ohio University and began her career examining the nature of Irish neutrality policy during World War II and after, as well as European diplomacy in the immediate post-World War II era. More recently, her research has expanded to include modern popular culture studies, and she is currently working on a monograph examining the use of historical methods in science fiction. Dr. Hale earned a B.A., Journalism and History, from the University of Montana, an M.Sc., International History, from the London School of Economics, and her Ph.D. in History from Ohio University.