We will explore central issues in American History by reading the autobiographies of important people including Benjamin Franklin, Ulysses S. Grant, Anne Mood, Jimmy Piersall, and Robert McNamara. This course will include considerable reading (at least 50 pages for each class—selected chapters from each book). We will use the class periods to discuss how these participants saw their roles in the historical process.
GROUP LEADER: Jed Watters was a history professor at Assumption College and WPI for more than 30 years. He is a retired Naval Officer and analyst at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.
REQUIRED BOOKS: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, ISBN# 978-0486290737
Personal Memoirs, Volume 1, Ulysses S. Grant, ISBN# 978-1438297071
Coming of Age in Mississippi, Anne Moody, ISBN# 978-0440314882
Fear Strikes Out, Jimmy Piersall, ISBN# 978-0803287617
In Retrospect, Robert McNamara, ISBN# 978-0679767497
FOR THE FIRST CLASS: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Worcester Institute for Senior Education (WISE)Assumption University, 500 Salisbury Street, Worcester MA 01609 wise@assumption.edu 508-767-7513
