312F Fall 2026 Mason Oral History: Revolutionary Conversations

This event will feature a short presentation about the values and motivating factors central to the American Revolutionary leaders and participants. This will be followed by a moderated conversation between three to four OLLI members and three to four Mason students about how those factors have been presented, highlighted, and re-interpreted over the course of the mid-20th century to today. A general Q&A will follow the initial discussion. This event is part of the OLLI Oral History program, with the plan that this be recorded as part of the Special Collections Research Center’s work documenting the history of George Mason University and OLLI. Refreshments will be served.

George Oberle is director of the Center for Mason Legacies and is a history librarian. He received his Ph.D. in History from George Mason University and pursues research interests including the significance of knowledge creation and dissemination. His book, Creating an Informed Citizenry: Knowledge and Democracy in the Early American Republic (University of Virginia Press) examines early debates in the United States over how best to educate the constituents of the new nation.