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Tour of Rotunda

Thomas Jefferson is an American icon. He has also been one of the most polarizing and controversial figures in American history. In this introductory module, we’ll explore how Jefferson’s reputation has changed and evolved over the last two centuries. We’ll discover what Jefferson considered to be his most important contribution to the “Age of Enlightenment” in which he was living. We’ll discuss why some people in both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have viewed Jefferson and his ideas with skepticism or worse while others have embraced Jefferson. Overall, learning about how people from many different backgrounds and perspectives have interpreted Jefferson throughout history will help us understand why it’s so important to think critically and honestly about Jefferson’s life and legacy today.

This course provides an overview of Thomas Jefferson's work and perspectives presented by the University of Virginia in partnership with Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. Together, UVA and Monticello are recognized internationally as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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教学方

Professor Peter S. Onuf
Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation Professor, Emeritus

脚本

[MUSIC]

The rotunda at the University of Virginia was designed by Thomas Jefferson

as the architectural and academic heart of his community of scholars or

what he termed an academical village.

Completed in 1826, the rotunda embodied Jefferson's vision for democracy,

freedom of religion, and his notions of a new architecture for a new nation.

The building's magnificent dome room house the library for the new university,

transforming the Rotunda into Jefferson's temple of knowledge,

while reflecting his belief in the preeminence of learning.

Today, the Rotunda serves as the symbol of Mr. Jefferson's University and

is being revitalized to serve as a site for modern learning.

The rotunda is the only world heritage site at a United States university.

And welcomes more than 100,000 visitors each year.

>> Well, here we are.

On the grounds of the University of Virginia

[MUSIC]

I'm Peter Onuf.

I've been teaching history here for almost a quarter century.

And we're gonna be doing a course on the Age of Jefferson.

And what a treat to be here at Mr Jefferson's university.

We'll be talking about Jefferson's career, his thought.

In many ways, this university campus, what we call the grounds,

the academical village, is a wonderful representation

of who Jefferson was and we're making our way to the rotunda,

which is the heart of Mr. Jefferson's university.

You'll notice that the rotunda is, well it looks classical or we'd say neo-classical.

I mean it's not a chapel.

All colonial colleges in Jefferson's time had chapels.

Were the central thing.

So he's making a big statement.

And a rotunda is a place where a lot of important things are happening.

It's where the library use to be, it's really the heart of the university.

It's a wonderful place to talk about Jefferson, needless to say.

So, welcome to Thomas Jefferson's world.

It's gonna be an interesting ride.

And you be sure to wear your helmet.

[MUSIC]

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