The History Suite is embarking on a new series called “People and Places,” exploring peoples of the world & their histories. This episode's guest is Rev. Dr. Paul Elliott, Assoc. Prof. of Theology at CUI. With Rev. Dr. Elliott as our tour-guide, he takes us to the streets of ancient Babylon and points out the sights and sounds of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, including the Hanging Gardens, Ziggurats, beer, religion, money, & politics.

David Schulz (Professor and Chair of Communication at CUI) clues us in to object oriented ontology and the work of Bruno Latour. If this business about “flat ontology” means nothing to you, that’s just fine: this talk will give you an overview and some possible interpretations. This is a potent interdisciplinary conversation from an expert in rhetoric.

Dr. Joel Oesch (Theology) discusses the recent Capitol Riots with Dr. Caleb Karges (History) from historical and theological perspectives. 

What neuroscience has to say about love and romantic relationships and decision making. Our speaker, Dr. Mary von dem Bussche (Ph.D.), graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a B.S. in Molecular and Cell Biology, with an emphasis in Neurobiology, and a minor in Spanish. She obtained her doctorate in the neurosciences from the University of California at San Diego. Her research focused on learning and memory in the adult mammalian cortex. Dr. von dem Bussche teaches introductory biology courses at Concordia University and is compelled by how the biological sciences reveal God's creation.

Three CUI historians discuss cinema and history, and share their least favorites, favorites and discuss documentaries. Joining regular host Caleb Karges (Military History) are CJ Armstrong (Classical History) and Jeff Mallinson (Intellectual and Religious History).

A discussion of fiction and other writing about plagues, viruses, and diseases, and the ways we humans deal with them. 

Dr. Santin is Assistant Professor of English at CUI. He teaches courses in American literature and world literature, American history and political theory, and composition and rhetoric. His research interests focus primarily on twentieth and twenty-first American literature and politics, especially in relation to race and ethnicity.

He is the author of the forthcoming book Postwar American Fiction and the Rise of Modern Conservatism: A Literary History, 1945–2008(Cambridge University Press, 2021).

He obtained his Ph.D. in English from the University of Notre Dame. He tweets @BMSantin

Dr. Karges interviews 89-year-old, German-born Onno Rahlfs. His story is a story of the twentieth century, which includes highlights such as the World Wars, the Hitler Youth, being "captured" by American GIs, Postwar Germany, the Volkswagen Beetle, driving Route 66, and falling in love with the American West.

You can always contact the History Suite with comments, questions, and ideas at [email protected]

In the wake of last week’s siege of the US Capitol, we use history to make sense of conspiracy theories, conspiracies, and mob violence. In an unprecedentedly lonely time, the pressure release valves of societies seem to have led people to desire riotous group violence. In a sense, this is a bonus follow up to last semester’s insurgency series conducted by the History Suite. Joe Popp and Jeff Mallinson join regular host of this CUI Bono Cast series, military historian Caleb Karges.

Dr. Karges answers some questions in the mailbag regarding the series on Strategic Thought. The questions take him to World War II, The War of American Independence, The Alamo, and Native American warfare. He references books by Geoff Megargee, Heinz Guderian, and Erwin Rommel.

Dr. Caleb Karges, Jacob Lange, and Sam Fluegge conclude this term’s series on Strategic Thought by reflecting on all of the readings together and on the class that accompanied it. We talk about some of our favorite concepts from the class and our favorite authors. We then draw comparisons between military strategy and board games. They draw conclusions about warfare and love of neighbor toward the end, all for the sake of peace on earth and good will to all of humanity.