Holy Cross History Professor to Be Featured on C-SPAN3’s American History TV

A lecture by Edward O’Donnell, associate professor of history at the College of the Holy Cross, will  be featured on C-SPAN3’s American History TV (AHTV) this Saturday, Nov. 8, at 8 p.m. ET. For on-campus viewers, or others in the Worcester  area, C-SPAN3 is available on Channel 86 and HD 837.

A C-SPAN crew came to campus in October to film O’Donnell’s “Irish American Experience” class which focused on anti-immigrant movements in U.S. history.  During the class, O’Donnell talked about the prejudice many immigrants faced in the 19th century with regard to religion, customs and social status. O’Donnell said this often led to fights over what would be taught in public schools, questions about the loyalty of Catholic politicians, and job postings stating such things as “No Irish Need Apply.”

O'Donnell has published op-eds in media outlets, including The New York Times, and has provided historical insight and commentary for numerous national outlets including PBS, the Discovery Channel, ABC World News Now, National Public Radio, the BBC, Bloomberg Radio, Fox TV, and VH-1.  In addition, he has served as a "Morning Edition" commentator for NPR member station WNYC.

O’Donnell, a member of the Holy Cross class of 1986, is the author of several books, including “Visions of America: A History of the United States” (Longman, 2008), and a forthcoming book titled “Henry George and the Crisis of Inequality: Progress and Poverty in the Gilded Age” (Columbia University Press, June 2015). He also writes a blog InThePastLane.com.

Each Saturday at 8 p.m., a different college lecture is featured as part of the channel’s “Lectures in History” series.

O’Donnell’s class will be available by November 10 for online viewing.

Created by the cable TV industry and now in 100 million TV households, C-SPAN programs three public affairs television networks in both SD and HD; C- SPAN Radio, heard in Washington DC and nationwide via XM Satellite Radio; and a video-rich website which hosts the C-SPAN Video Library.