Photographs by Liam Weir '18.

Audiences across the nation now have the chance to sit in on a class at Boston College.

A five-person crew from C-SPAN's "Lectures in History" series came to campus in April to film a class from Professor Heather Cox Richardsonā€™s course on America from the end of the Civil War to 1900. Richardson, the author of five books, is the first Ļć½¶Šć professor whose class has been documented by the national public service broadcaster.

The lecture focuses on roles women assumed in the workforce and in politics during the late-19th century. ā€œWe chose that particular lecture because years ago a student told me he had never before heard anything about the relationship between womenā€™s suffrage, Reconstruction, and citizenship and asked me if I would someday talk about that in a setting where it could be put on the internet for others," Richardson said. "The C-SPAN project made that possible.ā€

The show premiered on CSPAN television on July 2, and is now available online.

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History Professor Heather Cox Richardson

Above: Watch a preview of Ļć½¶Šć Professor Heather Cox Richardson's appearance on C-SPAN's 'Lectures in History' series.

ā€œAlmost everyone we tape for the 'Lectures in History' classroom series is recommended in one way or another, either by a fellow professor, or by a C-SPAN producer who saw the person at another event we covered and thought they were an interesting speaker,ā€ says American History TV producer Russell Logan.Ģż "In Professor Richardsonā€™s case, it was both."

Audiences have responded positively to the ā€œLectures in Historyā€ series, which takes viewers inside college classrooms around the country every week to hear lectures on various American history topics, adds Logan. ā€œBecause these are real classes, they look and feel a bit different than many of our other programs, which are often talks or panels taped at public venues.ā€

ā€œItā€™s always a pleasure to work with the wonderful folks at C-SPAN, and to have the chance to bring the great stories and patterns from American history to a larger audience,ā€ says Richardson, discussing her latest book, To Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party.Ģż

By Sean Hennessey | News & Public Affairs