This iCue Mini-Documentary outlines the three primary cultural groups that existed in the Americas after the time of the first Ice Age. These groups are differentiated by migratory and community habits and are referred to as sedentary, semi-sedentary, and non-sedentary.
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One way citizens of large republics are educated in the principles of government is through novels. With this in mind, this course examines selections from the work of Mark Twain. Not only is Twain America's most enduringly popular author, but his novels depict important aspects of the American character and have much to say about such themes as equality, slavery, freedom, modern science, Christianity, and democratic leadership, all of which are crucial for understanding American history and politics. The main texts will be Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court; if time permits, participants will also consider The Adventures of Tom Sawyer or The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson.
In this archival footage, the governor of Arkansas, Orval Faubus, discusses the issues of desegregation at Central High School in Little Rock. Nine African-American students, known as the Little Rock Nine, were met with protesters when they entered the all-white school.
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This weeklong seminar will bring together a distinguished team of humanities scholars who will provide an interdisciplinary exploration of Zora Neale Hurston's life and work. Participants will examine Hurston's accomplishments within the context of the historical and cultural development of the Eatonville community. They will grapple with compelling questions about how this unique black enclave fueled Hurston's appreciation of folk culture, inspired her literary works, created her racial identity, and formed her sometimes controversial views on race.
This iCue Mini-Documentary introduces Eli Whitney's cotton gin, which revolutionized the cotton business and institutionalized the practice of slavery.
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Dr. Karen Kupperman of New York University looks at contact between Native Americans and English colonists at Jamestown, focusing on what is known about either side's perceptions of the other.
To view this podcast, select "Podcast" under the September 7th listing.
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Minnesota celebrated its 150th birthday in 2008, but the impact of statehood on American Indian communities must not be underestimated. Participants in this workshop will explore how settlement has affected Indian people throughout Minnesota's statehood, and learn more about the cultural, social, and political impacts on Indian communities during the past 150 years. The workshop will focus on the Dakota.
Teachers of all levels and settings are invited to join Spertus Museum educators to tour the new exhibition "A Force for Change: African American Art and the Julius Rosenwald Fund" and participate in an interactive printmaking workshop with Master Printer Thomas Lucas.
From 1919 to 1929, Langston Hughes noted, "Harlem was in vogue." Black painters and sculptors joined writers and musicians in an artistic outpouring that established Harlem as the international capital of African American culture. Participants will study the evolution of the Harlem Renaissance through the music of Duke Ellington and Ethel Waters, the art of painter Archibald Motley and sculptor Augusta Savage, and the literary works of Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Jean Toomer, among others.
The United States is often described as a "melting pot" of ethnic groups or as a "nation of immigrants." Though most of us could easily find references to this melting pot in popular culture today, few realize that the concept has a long and contested history. In this two-day seminar, participants will explore primary sources from the past two centuries that describe the nation as a melting pot or as a "crucible" where the fusion of different national cultures will occur. Through close readings, they will consider how the meaning of the melting pot has changed over time and how it has informed debates about what it means to be an American. Even as they take a long view of the melting pot in American history, they will pay particular attention to the early 20th century and to debates about restricting the flow of immigrants to the United States.