The Eisenberg Institute launched its winter 2016 programming with a trio of standing-room-only lectures featuring Jim Grossman (Executive Director, American Historical Association), Thomas C. Holt (University of Chicago), and Tara Zahra (University of Chicago).

On January 15, Dr. Grossman discussed the future of the historical profession, with special focus on future professional opportunities for history graduate students. As leader of the AHA, he presented a unique, bird's-eye view of the job market.

Professor Holt, formerly of the U-M Department of History, delivered the History Department's 2016 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Lecture on January 18, presented in conjunction with the Institute. A professor of history and veteran of the civil rights movement, he presented a reconsideration the origins of the movement as a true mass phenomenon, locating its genesis to the events surrounding the 1955 murder of Emmett Till. This talk is available as an MP3 audio recording to U-M account holders.

U-M History PhD (2005) Tara Zahra returned on January 21 to present her talk, "Longing to Stay or Go? East-West Migration and the Making of the 'Free World.'" Professor Zahra explored the history of migration in former Eastern Bloc countries, tracing the roots of Cold War policies to antecedents in the late-19th and early 20th centuries. Her talk is available as an MP3 audio recording to U-M account holders.

Tara Zahra presented "Longing to Stay or Go? East-West Migration and the Making of the 'Free World'" to a capacity audience on January 21, 2016.