The Fall 2024 DeVane Lectures will be taught by David Blight, Sterling Professor of History and director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale. His course will consist of three parts. First, the course will cover the history of Yale University’s connections to and entanglements with racial slavery and its afterlives. Second, the lectures will explore the first existential crisis of the American experiment—the Civil War, emancipation, and Reconstruction. Third, the course will cover the many legacies of that period—political, constitutional, racial, economic, and commemorative—as they have shaped American life and polity ever since.
Members of the public are invited to learn alongside Yale students and can enroll for free. The course is held in person only. Recordings of the lectures are also available free online.
Dates & Location
August 29 to December 5, 2024
Tuesdays and Thursdays
11:35 a.m. – 12:25 p.m.
Yale University Art Gallery
The Robert L. McNeil, Jr., Lecture Hall
1111 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT 06510
How to Register
Due to capacity restrictions, we are no longer accepting registrations.
The course is held in person only. The lectures are free for New Haven and other local community members, as are all course materials and related media. Due to the high level of interest, registration does not guarantee your spot in the lecture. In early June, you will receive an email regarding your registration. If you have questions, please email president@yale.edu.
Students may sign up for the course through the registration features in Yale Course Search.
The DeVane Lecture series was established in 1969 to honor William Clyde DeVane, dean of Yale College from 1939 to 1963.