908Z Spring 2026 Our Nation Through Music and More

908Z  Our Nation Through Music and More
Four sessions
Instructor: Stephen Ruth
Wednesdays, 9:40—11:05, Apr. 15—May 6
In celebration of America’s upcoming 250th anniversary, this series explores the nation’s identity, evolution, and challenges through great speeches, songs, theatrical selections, and multimedia. Each session traces a thematic thread—Founding and Revolution, Nation-Building and Conflict, Civil Rights and Renewal, and Future Visions and Conciliation—using iconic oratory, lyrics, Broadway excerpts, videos, and audio recordings. Participants will view and hear material, unpack rhetorical and musical meaning, reflect on how our national narrative evolves, and discuss how past voices speak into today. This is not a lecture series alone but an interactive “story through voices and songs” designed to deepen appreciation for America’s ideals, tensions, and hopes as we step into the semiquincentennial.
Stephen Ruth is professor emeritus of Public Policy from the Schar School at George Mason University. He is a frequent lecturer in the region on several topics: Bible themes, artificial intelligence, and disruptive technologies. He has taught over two dozen OLLI courses.