NJ Council for the Humanities

Does Place Matter?

MRizzo — Tue, 28 May 2013 15:41:25 +0000

Aired: May 26, 2013

Does it matter that Romeo and Juliet takes place in Verona, or would the story be the same no matter where it was set? Does place affect our literature? On this episode of Humanities Connection, Neil Baldwin, Montclair State University, Jim Bloom, Muhlenberg College, and Victoria Larson, Montclair State University, discuss how place shapes our cultural expressions. Inspired by the lecture series, Jersey: A Sense of Place, this episode focuses on how New Jersey affected two important American writers: Philip Roth and William Carlos Williams. As told to host Bob Mann, the Garden State had a deep affect on each of these very different artists.

Audio – Does Place Matter?

Great literature expresses universal themes often through the use of very specific, concrete details, including place. Vicky Larson discusses the role of place and her series, Jersey: A Sense of Place.

Audio – William Carlos Williams

Neil Baldwin talks about William Carlos Williams, who he sees not only as a great writer and the subject of his scholarship, but as a role model of a writer who combined art with a career as a physician.

Audio – Philip Roth

Considered one of the greatest American authors, Philip Roth set many of his books in his hometown, Newark, NJ. Jim Bloom talks about the effect of setting on Goodbye, Columbus, what he calls “the Jewish version of The Great Gatsby.”

Don’t Know Where to Go with Your Digital Ideas?

RApgar — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:00:04 +0000

Attendees who joined the Council at its most recent workshop, The Digital Humanities for Nonprofits, learned about these free resources! (See “Digital Projects”)

Humanities Festival Grants

RApgar — Sun, 12 May 2013 20:38:12 +0000

Grants of up to $500 available to support programs taking place in the month of October on the theme Sports in American Culture and Communities. Read on to find out more.

How YA Lit Reflects Its Generation

MRizzo — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:30:00 +0000

Aired: April 28, 2013

With bestseller lists (and movie theaters) full of stories of teens and tweens battling their way through dystopian futures, it’s clear that adolescence has changed. While young adult literature has been around for generations, it’s transformed in recent years, becoming hugely popular genre with young people and adults in the process. The content has changed too, as Dr. Laura Nicosia, author of Educators Online: Preparing Today’s Teachers for Tomorrow’s Digital Literacies and professor of English at Montclair State University, and Flynn Meaney, author of two young adult novels, discuss in this episode of Humanities Connection. As the world around us becomes increasingly troubled, the literature of adolescence has become darker in tone.

Audio – Dystopian Fiction: Futuristic Ideas that Capture Contemporary Imaginations

What is dystopian fiction? Why are young adults so fascinated by vampires, werewolves, and other supernatural creatures? Laura Nicosia and Flynn Meaney discuss why adolescence and dystopia work so well together.

Audio – How Has YA Lit Changed?

Young adult literature reflects young people’s concerns in historical moments. In this clip, Laura Nicosia talks about how young adult literature has changed over the last half-century and why.

Audio – Writing YA Lit

Flynn Meaney, author of two successful young adult novels, talks about how she came to write YA lit, when she was only a few years older than her characters.

Fly! Bessie! Fly!

KFlesch — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 21:07:08 +0000

In 1921 Bessie Coleman became the first African American woman to earn a pilot’s license. Never one to let other people define her limitations, she traveled to France to learn to fly when American flight schools refused her because of her race. In later years she shared her experiences with children, encouraging them with the words, “you too can fly.”

American Historical Theatre
A nonprofit organization specializing in first-person living history presentations.

The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln

KFlesch — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 21:01:17 +0000

Discover the personal side of Abraham Lincoln in this first-person interpretation. The program covers the great man’s formative years, his courtship and marriage, the beginnings and development of his abolitionist view point, and his first – though not very successful – trip to Congress. Discussion points also include the causes of the Civil War, major events and turning points within the war, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the Gettysburg Address.

American Historical Theatre
A nonprofit organization specializing in first-person living history presentations.

Six Guys from Hackensack: Looking for the Real New Jersey with George Kirsch

MRizzo — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 18:11:10 +0000

Aired: November 25, 2012

If we believed TV shows, New Jersey is only populated by mobsters, “real housewives,” and tanning enthusiasts. In reality, New Jersey is a microcosm of the rest of the nation—and has often been on the leading edge of change. We were one of the first truly racially and ethnically diverse states, we helped created industrialization, and we pioneered suburbanization as well. This real New Jersey is the subject of George Kirsch’s book Six Guys from Hackensack: Coming of Age in the Real New Jersey. A history professor at Manhattan College, Kirsch talks with Bob Mann about life in Hackensack, memoir writing and the history of baseball—his professional passion.

Audio – All Roads Lead Back to Hackensack

As Kirsch says, “Hackensack was the heart and soul of Bergen County before the George Washington Bridge.” Located in northern New Jersey, Hackensack in the mid 20^th century was a diverse town, as represented by the six guys of the book’s title. Kirsch describes his return to Hackensack following the death of his wife and the inspiration for his memoir.

Audio – Not Like Mayberry–Dark Times in Hackensack

While the 1950s are often remembered as the heyday of American security and prosperity, there was a dark side as well. Racism divided the nation—though schools were integrated in Hackensack, as Kirsch describes. The Cold War and polio both cast long shadows over Kirsch’s youth that shaped him and his friends.

Audio – The National Pastime–Historical Myths and Realities

“If anybody writes that Abner Doubleday invented baseball on an exam, not only will they fail, but they’ll be expelled!” In this segment, Kirsch talks about the history and mythology of baseball, including its connection to New Jersey.

From “I Like Ike” to Will.I.Am: Electing a President in the Media Age

RApgar — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 17:02:43 +0000

Kean University, Department of History (Union)
Panel discussion on the historical evolution of televised presidential campaign ads and the changing nature of political campaigns with the recent growth of social media.
HFG-2012

Woodrow Wilson on Race and Gender

admin — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 17:02:43 +0000

Ocean County Library, Barnegat Branch. Reading discussion on the impact of Woodrow Wilson’s domestic policies related to gender and racial rights.

Presidents, Politics, and Poems: Inaugural Poetry and the American Presidency

admin — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 17:02:39 +0000

Rutgers Walt Whitman Center for the Culture and Politics of Democracy (New Brunswick). Reading of poems commissioned for U.S. presidential inaugurations coupled with a discussion on the context in which they were created and the images that they convey.