Welcome to ESU Happy Hour! The ESU has planned a series of programs to connect and reach out to our members through programs that are engaging, fun, and informative on a wide variety of topics. Happy Hour programs bring to you guest speakers live and free of charge.  Speakers may also suggest a unique cocktail for you to create and enjoy at home. These programs are designed so ESU members and guests can learn and interact with our outstanding speakers. Many speakers will provide exciting participation opportunities with fun give away books and products at the end of each program.

We invite members to suggest topics for future ESU Happy Hour Programs at this link. Cheers!

Today our ESU Happy Hour takes us on a journey through the pivotal events that shaped America 250 years ago, this time in the great state of Virginia, where revolutionary ideas became constitutional action. On May 15, 1776, at the Fifth Virginia Convention in Williamsburg, delegates in Philadelphia proposed to transition Virginia from a British colony into an independent commonwealth, to establish a new state government, and urged the Continental Congress to declare full national independence from Great Britain.

Their work produced the Virginia Declaration of Rights—one of the most important documents in American history. It was a landmark statement of liberty and limited government and laid out the basic rights and freedoms that all people should have and set limits on what the government could do. The Virginia Declaration of Rights also influenced other state bills of rights, the U.S. Bill of Rights, the U.S. Declaration of Independence, and France’s Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

Join us for a lively step back into this revolutionary moment with Professor A.E. Dick Howard, who will present “From English Rights to American Constitutions: Americans Transcribe Their Values and Aspirations in State Constitutions.” This special ESU Happy Hour is sponsored by the ESU Charlottesville, VA Branch. The program is online, free, and open to ESU members and the public. Registration is required to receive the webinar link.

Christmas in America has a much richer and stranger history than the cozy images we know today. This festive ESU Happy Hour explores why early New Englanders outlawed Christmas, how rowdy wassailing gangs once filled the streets, and how German, Dutch, and English traditions eventually blended into the modern Santa. We’ll trace the journey from medieval St. Nicholas and Alpine mischief-makers to Thomas Nast’s German-American illustrations, the Civil War era’s sentimental reinvention of the holiday, and the 20th-century rise of Rudolph, department-store Santas, Coca-Cola branding, and iconic Christmas foods. With a pint in hand, you’ll learn how a mix of immigrant customs, reform movements, and cultural trends brought today’s version of American Christmas into being.
 
Join us as Erica Benson brings a story-packed journey tracing how America invented its own version of Santa and reshaped Christmas into the celebration we recognize today. The ESU Kansas City Branch sponsors this special ESU Happy Hour. The program is online, free, and open to ESU members and the public. Registration is required to receive the webinar link.

Do you love a good mystery? For five decades, Agatha Christie’s primary obsession was murder, but her interest in houses was a close second, particularly the English country house. Taken together, some of her most popular works offer a keen look at the changing fortunes of English country houses in the 20th century. Beloved by readers worldwide, Agatha Christie (1890-1976) is the best-selling novelist of all time. Her books have sold over a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation.

Join Anne Kenny-Urban for an exploration of what Christie’s mysteries reveal about changes in the houses themselves and the people – both upstairs and downstairs – who lived and worked in them. This ESU Happy Hour is sponsored by the ESU Charlottesville, VA Branch. The program is online, free, and open to ESU members and the public. Registration is required to receive the webinar link.

Jane Austen’s (1775-1817) reputation as a mild, quaint, sheltered “prim and proper” spinster is a Victorian-era myth and is undeserved. Generations of admirers and critics have tried to convince those not yet ready or willing to acknowledge her wild side. In this illustrated lecture, guest speaker Prof. Devoney Looser will look closely at signal moments in Austen’s writings, life, and afterlife to make the case for how the great novelist became and stayed wild in her own lifetime and across the 250+ years since her birth. 

Join us for an unfiltered look at Jane Austen who is regarded as one of the most important and beloved authors in English literature. This ESU Happy Hour is sponsored by the ESU Seattle Branch. ESU Happy Hour programs are online, free to attend, and open to all members and the public. Registration is required to receive the webinar link