CA-W10 Eleanor Roosevelt: An Extraordinary Woman in Extraordinary Time
Late 4 Week Class | Available (Membership Required)
How did a timid orphan from a wealthy family become a champion of the poor? What was her role during the Depression and WWII? We will explore Eleanor Roosevelt’s life and the people who surrounded her as she grew to become what President Truman called ‘The First Lady of the World’. In four sessions, we’ll look at an overview of her life including: her formative years, family life, education, marriage, motherhood, emerging political interests, her years in Albany and Washington, and then her support of the United Nations and beyond. We’ll look at changing gender roles and ER’s place in those changes. We’ll also include an intro to Val-Kill, Eleanor’s residence in Dutchess County that she considered her retreat and her home. THIS IS A REPEAT CLASS to include those who couldn’t make it last fall.
Dan Strickland
Dan Strickland has been a volunteer with the National Park Service in Hyde Park for eight years. During this time he has focused on the life of Eleanor Roosevelt in particular as he gives tours of Eleanor’s home at Val-Kill. In addition, he recently completed a 2+ year volunteer project with the NPS curatorial team to better identify and organize oral history interviews for the ER/FDR/Vanderbilt sites. Dan considers himself an ‘Eleanorian’ and hopes to convey some of his fascination with this very special lady.