Ralph Nurnberger, Ph.D.

 

 

History

 

Ralph Nurnberger, Ph.D., is a widely acclaimed speaker who brings humor, current political insights and historical background to his presentations. In addition to speaking nationally, professor Nurnberger has appeared as an analyst on political and international issues and spoken internationally, including in Germany, Canada, Poland and the United Kingdom. He has averaged approximately thirty speeches annually for the past few years. He has spoken at Florida Atlantic University's Lifelong Learning Program and Middle East Studies Program on a number of occasions, as well as on international cruises. Professor Nurnberger is a Professor of International Relations at Georgetown University where he has taught since 1975. He was named Professor of the Year by the Graduate School of Liberal Studies in 2003 and received another award in 2005 for over
20 years of excellence in teaching. He most recently taught a graduate seminar at Georgetown on the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The Four Presidential Assassinations

 

Political assassinations have often altered the course of history: Julius Caesar; Czar Alexander II; Archduke Franz Ferdinand; Gandhi; Yitzak Rabin. Four American Presidents have been assassinated. Each of these murders, in their own way, dramatically changed the course of American history. While totally different, every one of these acts of murder is a fascinating story, including mysteries, conspiracy theories and unanswered questions.

This course will examine why and how John Wilkes Booth murdered Abraham Lincoln; Charles Guiteau shot James Garfield; Leon Czolgosz assassinated William McKinley; and Lee Harvey Oswald shot John Kennedy. We will discuss Booth’s original plans to kidnap Lincoln and then how he and his fellow conspirators then sought to murder Lincoln and other national leaders. Did Booth head the conspiracy to kill Lincoln or were “higher-ups” involved? How did he evade his pursuers for 12 days? How did Lincoln’s death change the projected course of post-Civil War Reconstruction and then undermine race relations in the U.S. for a century? Garfield was the youngest man, to date, elected as President. He was one of our most brilliant Presidents, a Civil War hero, and a renowned Congressman who had hoped to challenge the nation’s corrupt political establishment. He died months after being shot raising serious questions about his medical treatment. How did Theodore Roosevelt’s assumption of power after the death of McKinley truly thrust the nation into the 20th century? What has been learned about Kennedy’s assassination in 50 years since JFK? Is there any merit to any of the conspiracy theories? 


Course # W4T2 (Four weeks)
  Place: Lifelong Learning Complex, Jupiter Campus
   Dates: Tuesdays — February 10, 17, 24; March 3
   Time: 9 –10:30 a.m.
   Fee: $34/member; $54/non-member
 


 Last Modified 8/17/17