The Roaring Twenties invites participants to explore the dramatic changes that reshaped the United States after World War I — many of which echo in our own time. The course will examine the Treaty of Versailles, Woodrow Wilson’s leadership, the Spanish Flu, women’s suffrage and the experiences of returning soldiers, drawing thoughtful connections to the social and political shifts of the 2020s. We’ll dive into the decade under Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover, exploring religious conflict, the Scopes Trial, the rise of the KKK, and the Tulsa Massacre.

Participants will also consider how new technologies, mass production, consumer culture, automobiles, flight and the stock market transformed everyday life, inviting comparison with today’s rapid innovation. The cultural energy of the era comes alive through Prohibition, jazz, film, literature and sports legends, alongside the growing divide between rural and urban America. The course concludes with attention to veterans’ struggles and the Bonus Army, offering a well-rounded look at this pivotal decade and its relevance today.

• Week 1: Treaty of Versailles/Wilson, Spanish Flu, Women’s Vote, Return of WW1 Soldiers
• Week 2: Harding/Coolidge/Hoover, Religion, Scopes Trial, KKK & Racism, Tulsa Massacre
• Week 3: Electricity, Auto Industry & Mass Production, Consumerism, Stock Market, Cars, Inventions, Flight
• Week 4: Prohibition, Jazz, Dance, Movies & Literature, Sports: Babe Ruth & Jack Dempsey, Rural vs. Urban Class, Bonus Army