Ghost in the White House: The People Behind Presidential Speeches (OOL)
Osher Online | Registration opens Tuesday, February 3, 2026 10:00 AM
Have you ever wondered who writes presidential speeches? This course traces the evolution of speechwriting from George Washington’s administration to today. Yes, Hamilton helped draft Washington’s Farewell Address, but no, Lincoln did not scribble the Gettysburg Address on an envelope. We will study the writing process presidents used and examine drafts from FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Carter, and George H.W. Bush. We will view clips from speeches and from former White House speechwriters describing the process.
MONDAYS, MARCH 30 THROUGH MAY 4
Monday, March 30
Monday, April 6
Monday, April 13
Monday, April 20
Monday, April 27
Monday, May 4
As this class is delivered by the National Resource Center for OLLIs (NRC) at Northwestern University, you will receive a welcome email from osheronline@northwestern.edu. The email will include your credentials (username & password) as well as a hyperlink to the Osher Online Website through which you will access your course website. Please save the link once you receive it. Multi-session courses will use this same link each week.
Diana Carlin
Diana Carlin, PhD is Professor Emerita of communication at Saint Louis University. She teaches courses on and written about First Ladies for 30 years and is the co-author of U.S. First Ladies: Making History and Leaving
Legacies and Remember the First Ladies: America's History-Making Women. Carlin has also published articles and book chapters on a variety of First Ladies and researches and writes on the topics of women in politics,
presidential communication, and political debate.