HIST 02F25 - A Seminar on JFK Assassination: History, Controversy, and Legacy
Course Description
A Seminar on the JFK Assassination: History, Controversy, and Legacy
This advanced seminar offers an in-depth exploration of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963—one of the most pivotal and scrutinized events in American history. Students will critically examine the official record, including the Warren Commission and the House Select Committee on Assassinations, while also engaging with journalistic accounts, declassified documents, eyewitness testimonies, and alternative theories.
Topics include the political climate of the early 1960s, Lee Harvey Oswald’s background and motivations, the role of U.S. intelligence agencies, security failures, media coverage, and the cultural impact of the assassination. Emphasis will be placed on historical analysis, critical thinking, and the evaluation of primary and secondary sources. The course also considers the assassination's enduring effect on public trust, conspiracy culture, and American political discourse.
Fri. 11/7 & 11/14 3-4:30 pm Campus: CYC Room 122
Instructor: Dr. John Williams Sessions: 2
Dr. John P. Williams is a full-time Professor at Collin Colleges McKinney Campus. Prior to his teaching career, he worked in the corporate world as an information analyst and served in the United State Marine Corps. Dr. Williams’s educational background includes an A.A. degree in Paralegal Studies, a B.A. degree in History, an M.A. in Teaching, and a master’s in liberal arts. He recently finished his Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Dallas in 2020, which focused on Immigration to America, the First World War and the Lost Generation, and Nazi Germany and Holocaust. Currently, he is working on his first book and hopes to have it published in the near future.