For the first time ever, the History Department is offering a class about the "History of The University of New Mexico." The course titled, “History 220 – The History of The University of New Mexico,” features a series of public lectures on a variety of topics involving the history of UNM.

In this course, students will investigate the history of UNM from the University’s founding in 1889 up to the present. You’ll be able to explore the history of your place at UNM while also learning about the major events and issues in the school’s history. A lot has changed in those years, and discussions in evolutions in student life, athletics, academics, architecture, expansion, university policies, activism, and crises on campus as well as the role of UNM in Albuquerque and the world will all take shape during the semester.

The introductory lecture features UNM Interim President Chaouki Abdallah presenting a lecture titled, “What is the University For?” on Tuesday, Aug. 22 from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. in the Waters Room in Zimmerman Library. This is the first in a number of course lectures that are open to the UNM community and public.

In his lecture, Abdallah will attempt to present the various points of view about the role of higher education and universities in our modern era in the hope that the intersection of these points of view can provide you with foundation upon which to build your knowledge and your own ideas.

The list includes:

  • Aug 22: Guest Lecture: Dr. Chaouki T. Abdallah, Interim President of the University “What is the University For?”
  • Aug 24: Lecture, Dr. Taylor Spence, UNM’s Mission and the Adams’ Murals (meet at Adams Murals)
  • Aug 29: Lecture, Dr. Taylor Spence, Pueblo Revival During the Gilded Age and Progressive Era
     
  • Sept. 12: Lecture, Dr. Taylor Spence, UNM Navigates The Great Depression
  • Sept. 19: Lecture, Dr. Taylor Spence, The American Century and UNM
  • Sept. 26: Guest Lecture, Jairo Marshall, Ph.D. candidate, UNM: The Cold War and UNM’s Ascendancy
     
  • Oct 17: Guest Lecture, Dr. Felipe Gonzales, ‘70: The Sixties and Seventies: Student Revolution at UNM
  • Oct 31: Guest Lecture, author Judith Van Gieson: Mysterious UNM
     
  • Nov 7: Guest Lecture, Dr. Margaret Jane Slaughter: Trailblazing Gender Equality at UNM
  • Nov 21: Lecture, Dr. Taylor Spence: Intellectual Harvest: The Promise of the Diverse University
  • Nov 28: Lecture, Dr. Taylor Spence: Conservative Backlash: History Wars, Identity Politics, and UNM
     
  • Dec 7: Lecture, Dr. Taylor Spence: Can America’s Greatest Social Engineering Project Survive?

All lectures will take place in the Waters Room of the Zimmerman Library, from 12:30-1:45 p.m., unless otherwise noted. The public lectures are open to all.

Class signups are still open. For more information about this class, visit “The History of The University of New Mexico.”