08/27/2026
Our next Lifelong Learning class starts on Sept 2. Online spots are still available.
The 1970s and 1980s: Precursors of the Present
*In-person class full as of 4:30pm Monday, July 6*
HIST 150BQ | CRN 14917
Tuesdays, September 1, 8, 15 & 22 | 1-3p
The 1970s and 1980s are a time few adults have studied. They just lived through them. But they were the decades of older Americans’ child-raising, when life was happening and allowing little time for reflection. This course will examine these important decades in the U.S. past, looking at the political and social/cultural developments they saw and the changes they made in Americans’ ways of seeing issues, political parties, and politics. In both decades international events profoundly shaped the U.S. political response and the message politicians put out re: how to regard protesters, wars of liberation, the U.S.S.R (Soviet Union), environmental change, and popular culture.
Instructor: Dr. Gretchen Eick, Lecturer, Department of History
Student Learning Outcomes:
Identify the events of the 1970s and 1980s in the United States and the world that were precursors to our present conflicts and challenges;
Identify ideas, behaviors, and policies of the major parties during these two decades;
Identify social and cultural changes occurring in these two decades that shaped behavior, attitudes, and beliefs.
View primary source documents, snippets of documentary footage, and photographs.
To register call 316-978-3258 or online at www.wichita.edu/lifelonglearning