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Tag Archives: Humanities
The Cyber Agenda: Politics and the Power of the Internet
Lawrence K. Grossman and James Kinsella participated in a conference at the NHC, “Deliberative Democracy in the Information Age,” part of the American Issues Forum. They “discuss and describe how new technologies such as the Internet, online magazines, and interactive cable systems are replacing our shared experience of the front page, nightly news on TV, and conventional magazines. ” [Wayne Pond]
Grossman is former president of PBS and author of The Electronic Republic: Reshaping American Democracy for the Information Age. At the time of this interview, Kinsella was general manager of MSNBC; he was founder of Time Magazine’s online newsfeed and Time Warner’s Pathfinder.
Posted in Episodes
Tagged Art, Computers, Humanities, Internet, Journalism, Television
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Praising Provence
The south of France has inspired generations of writers, among them Peter Mayle, the author of best sellers such as A Year in Provence, A Dog’s Life, and his latest, Anything Considered. He was recently at the National Humanities Center and visited with francophile and scholar Priscilla Ferguson. They have a wide-ranging conversation that includes gastronomic adventures and truffles, travel writing, and the memorable local color of Provence that underscores Mayle’s stylish writing.
American Legend
Pete Seeger enjoys almost legendary status for millions of Americans. But he says that over the years the motives for his music and his activism have remained true to the local wellsprings of concern for children, care for the environment, and individual responsibility. He and Michael Honey, a recent scholar in residence at the National Humanities Center, spoke and sang about his (Seeger’s) life and artistry.
Disciplines
“To some critics today, the humanities and social sciences are in eclipse in American education. Three prominent commentators–historian and former Williams College president Francis Oakley, anthropologist Nancy Scheper-Hughes of the University of California at Berkeley, and classicist W. Robert Connor of the National Humanities Center–respond to the charges.” [Wayne Pond]
Black Workers Remember
“During his fellowship year at the National Humanities Center [1995-96], Michael Honey, the author of a prize-winning book on labor and civil rights in the American South, is at work on a new project — an oral history of black workers at the time of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Poor People’s Campaign.” [Wayne Pond]
Cityscapes
“In the most recent of its American Issues Forums, the National Humanities Center convened a group of commentators to reflect on the future of American cities. Wayne Pond talks with historian Garry Wills, New York Times Chief Cultural Critic Paul Goldberger, and Baltimore mayor Kurt Schmoke.” [Wayne Pond]
Making a Difference
Robert Connor provides an overview of the latest directions of scholarship in the humanities, including multiculturalism and the growth of civil societies worldwide. Richard Schramm talks about how secondary school reform is attempting to address the needs of teachers in the United States.
The Civil Society Part 1
A discussion of the idea of a civil society — the web of social, political, educational, religious, and artistic voluntarism that exists between the individual and the state — which was the topic of a recent international conference at the National Humanities Center.
That’s What Friends Are For
Ronald Sharp discusses The Norton Book of Friendship, which he co-edited with Eudora Welty. Readings are by Zhang Zhilian of Peking University, Hortense Spillers of Emory University, David Smith of Williams College, Annabel Patterson of Duke University, and Robert Connor and Kent Mullikin of the National Humanities Center.
Life in Class
Lynne Cheney discusses Tyrannical Machines, a report from the National Endowment for the Humanities to the Congress and the public about teaching and research in American education. Jane Tompkins discusses A Life in School, her study of undergraduate education in the United States.
Pasts and Presents
Nicholas Kanellos and Francisco Lomeli discuss the Hispanic literary heritage of the United States. Natalie Zemon Davis and Ronald Sharp discuss the anthropology of giving and gift exchange. Both topics were the themes of recent conferences at the National Humanities Center.
School Days; Commentary on The Student as Hero
Joann Broadbooks, Gloria Harrell, and Barbara Ramusack participated in the National Humanities Center’s 1990 summer institutes for secondary teachers of history and literature, directed by Richard Schramm.; Robert Gingher offers commentary on The Student as Hero.
Chaos and Culture
Richard Haglund recently organized a faculty seminar at the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities at Vanderbilt University entitled Freedom, Determination, and Chaos. Martin Meisel is working on a new book entitled The Imagination of Chaos in Western Literature and Thought.
50 Hours
Lynne V. Cheney discusses 50 Hours: A Core Curriculum for College Students, published by the National Endowment for the Humanities in the fall of 1989.
Cultural Margins
Jonathan Dollimore discusses his study of Sexuality, Transgression, and Sub-cultures, a project he worked on during a recent fellowship year at the National Humanities Center.