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« January 25, 2009 - February 01, 2009 »

01 / 25 (event) Open Mic Academy: The State of Our Union with Roger Bonair-Agard, Idris Goodwin, and Kevin Coval Start: 3:00 pm Looking for Democracy in 2009... Celebrate Chicago's hip hop arts! Join us at Open Mic Academy: The State of Our Union, featuring special performances by visiting poets Roger Bonair-Agard and Idris Goodwin, curated by Kevin Coval. Tell us what you think about the state of our union, our culture, our future with a poem, song, or performance piece. Sign up for open-mic begins at 2:30pm for a limited number of 3 minute spots! More about Roger Bonair-Agard and Idris Goodwin Roger Bonair-Agard is a native of Trinidad and Tobago, a Cave Canem fellow and co-author of Burning Down the House. He is a two-time National Slam Champion and is co-founder of The louderARTS Project. Roger's work has been widely anthologized and commissioned and he has appeared on HBO's Def Poetry Jam and the MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour. more info (event) The Essential Differences Between Eastern Asian and Western Civilizations Start: 3:00 pm *A Road Scholar Program by Dr. Xiaosi Yang* Join Xiaosi Yang as he discusses the six dimensions of culture and their formation into distinct societies. The inclusion of the individual, family, political society and the "human" world are four of the dimensions by which every culture necessarily defines itself. Throughout history, however, Eastern Asian and Western cultures have emphasized a different formulation of these dimensions. This separate emphasis is a useful tool in assessing the different strengths and weaknesses of Easterners and Westerners. Xiaosi Yang holds a PhD in Philosophy from Johns Hopkins University and teaches in the Humanities Department at Harold Washington College. He is the former Director of the Asian Studies Center at Lake Forest College, and has been active in cultural awareness projects in the Chicago area for many years. His research interests include the philosophy of family, Asian thought, comparative philosophy, and geo-political analysis of Asia. more info
01 / 26 (event) Literature & Medicine: ''An Unquiet Mind'' Start: 6:00 pm Discussion of "An Unquiet Mind," by Kay Redfield Jamison *Literature & Medicine: Humanities at the Heart of Healthcare* is a discussion-based program that brings hospital staff together monthly to reflect on the larger mission of medicine through facilitated conversations about literature. more info (event) Wage Theft in America with Kim Bobo Start: 6:00 pm End: 7:30 pm During the recent Chicago sit-in by workers at Republic Windows and Doors, wage theft in America grabbed national headlines. Join us as Kim Bobo, Founder and Executive Director of Interfaith Worker Justice, discusses her new book, Wage Theft in America: Why Millions of Working Americans Are Not Getting Paid-And What We Can Do About It. This program will be moderated by Sanhita SinhaRoy, managing editor of In These Times. Bobo argues that every year billions of dollars' worth of wages are stolen from millions of workers, a grand theft that exceeds every other larceny category on record annually. In today's economy, this crime affects more Americans than ever before. Bobo's book is an incisive manual for activists, workers, and concerned citizens on how to prevent flagrant exploitation of America's working people and includes a sweeping analysis of the crisis, hard-hitting statistics, and heart-breaking first-person accounts. more info (event) Abraham Lincoln in American Art Start: 7:00 pm *A Road Scholar Program by Mark Pohlad* more info (event) Notorious Hip Hop: Will the Real Poet Stand Up? Start: 7:30 pm End: 8:30 pm In a season when biographical and semi-biographical films about politicians and wrestlers are making headlines, another biopic film-this one about an assassinated rap artist-has made a few waves of its own. The film, Notorious, is about rapper Christopher Wallace (also known as Biggie Smalls), who was killed in an unsolved drive-by shooting in 1997. Film critics have been particularly harsh regarding the film. A.O. Scott writes in the New York Times: "The movie may not be an authorized biography, but it is if anything less critical, less ambivalent, than some of Biggie's own semi-autobiographical lyrics." more info
01 / 27 (event) Lincoln Tales Tall and True Start: 12:30 pm *A Road Scholar Program by Brian (Fox) Ellis* more info (event) The Odyssey Project: Northside Basic Course Start: 6:00 pm End: 8:00 pm *The Odyssey Project* is a college-level course in philosophy, literature, art history, and history for men and women living below 150% of the poverty level. Its anchor program is the first-year course, which is offered in partnership with Bard College and for which students may receive six units of college credit. Faculty members are largely from first-rate universities such as University of Chicago, the School of the Art Institute, and DePaul University. Tuition is free, and the Illinois Humanities Council provides free childcare, free books, and transportation. The six units of credit are fully transferable to other colleges and universities. This course meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Admission is by application only. Refer to syllabus for changes in course schedule. more info (event) Yours, Mine, Ours, or Theirs? Accessing and Controlling Oil and Water Start: 6:00 pm End: 8:00 pm *Experience Yours, Mine, Ours, or Theirs* Online! Watch this program on Illinois Channel Listen to this program** at Chicago Public Radio's Chicago Amplified See photos in our Photo Gallery Read more about the event at The Water Front's website Are oil and water resources to be stewarded and shared or commodities to be bought and sold? Does any person, country, or community own oil and water resources? How do the concepts of ownership and stewardship affect access to oil and water? What questions are raised by the privatization of resources? more info (event) Artists Orientation Workshop for the Vet Art Project Start: 7:00 pm photo from http://www.vetartproject.comThis event is an orientation for interested artists to explain how to get involved in the Vet Art Project that culminates in collaboratively created art about war for public performance or viewing. This workshop includes experiential exercises about war as well as information about the structure of the project, which will be in residence in February 2009 at the Chicago Cultural Center in the Studio Theater as part of their Incubator Series. NOTE: Artists working in all media are welcome. more info
01 / 28 (event) Notorious Hip Hop: Will the Real Poet Stand Up? Start: 12:30 pm End: 1:30 pm In a season when biographical and semi-biographical films about politicians and wrestlers are making headlines, another biopic film-this one about an assassinated rap artist-has made a few waves of its own. The film, Notorious, is about rapper Christopher Wallace (also known as Biggie Smalls), who was killed in an unsolved drive-by shooting in 1997. Film critics have been particularly harsh regarding the film. A.O. Scott writes in the New York Times: "The movie may not be an authorized biography, but it is if anything less critical, less ambivalent, than some of Biggie's own semi-autobiographical lyrics." more info (event) Howard Alk Retrospective: Search for the Lost Self and Cry of Jazz Start: 7:00 pm The Chicago Film Archives is producing the first ever retrospective of the life, work and times of late Chicago Filmmaker, Howard Alk. This program will include a screening of Search for the *Lost Self, a film about new educational techniques in the treatment of children with autism and schizophrenia, and Cry of Jazz, a film that compares the musical jazz form to the African American experience. Filmmaker Ed Bland, and WBEZ's Alison Cuddy* will lead a discussion about the films. more info
01 / 29 (event) 2009 IHC Winter Board Meeting Start: 12:00 pm The Illinois Humanities Council (IHC) Board of Directors will hold its winter meeting on Thursday, January 29, 2009. The Board will convene at 12:00 p.m. The agenda will include a board conversation on the role of the humanities in economic recovery and IHC responses to the economic downturn. Currently, 36 members comprise the Illinois Humanities Council Board of Directors. The IHC accepts public nominations for new Board members throughout the year. more info (event) Peter Rabbit and the Landscapes of Home: Beatrix Potter Start: 5:30 pm *A Road Scholar Program by Nancy Huse* This is a first-person Chautauqua-style interpretation of Beatrix Potter and her multiple accomplishments. Potter, over various life stages, describes herself as a writer, artist, scientist, and a philanthropist. She dramatizes her role as a woman who impacted the 'domestic landscape' of children's books and rural England. Nancy Huse holds a PhD in English from the University of Chicago. She has published numerous articles and delivered many presentations on American and children's literature. She was the Children's Literature Association President as well as a member of the Illinois Council of Teachers of English. Her interests include children and young adult's literature, English and American language literature, African American literature, and women and gender studies. more info (event) The Odyssey Project: Northside Basic Course Start: 6:00 pm End: 8:00 pm *The Odyssey Project* is a college-level course in philosophy, literature, art history, and history for men and women living below 150% of the poverty level. Its anchor program is the first-year course, which is offered in partnership with Bard College and for which students may receive six units of college credit. Faculty members are largely from first-rate universities such as University of Chicago, the School of the Art Institute, and DePaul University. Tuition is free, and the Illinois Humanities Council provides free childcare, free books, and transportation. The six units of credit are fully transferable to other colleges and universities. This course meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Admission is by application only. Refer to syllabus for changes in course schedule. more info (event) Notorious Hip Hop: Will the Real Poet Stand Up? Start: 7:00 pm End: 8:00 pm In a season when biographical and semi-biographical films about politicians and wrestlers are making headlines, another biopic film-this one about an assassinated rap artist-has made a few waves of its own. The film, Notorious, is about rapper Christopher Wallace (also known as Biggie Smalls), who was killed in an unsolved drive-by shooting in 1997. Film critics have been particularly harsh regarding the film. A.O. Scott writes in the New York Times: "The movie may not be an authorized biography, but it is if anything less critical, less ambivalent, than some of Biggie's own semi-autobiographical lyrics." more info
01 / 30 (event) Notorious Hip Hop: Will the Real Poet Stand Up? Start: 5:00 pm End: 6:00 pm In a season when biographical and semi-biographical films about politicians and wrestlers are making headlines, another biopic film-this one about an assassinated rap artist-has made a few waves of its own. The film, Notorious, is about rapper Christopher Wallace (also known as Biggie Smalls), who was killed in an unsolved drive-by shooting in 1997. Film critics have been particularly harsh regarding the film. A.O. Scott writes in the New York Times: "The movie may not be an authorized biography, but it is if anything less critical, less ambivalent, than some of Biggie's own semi-autobiographical lyrics." more info
01 / 31 (event) Between Fences Start: 9:00 am End: 4:00 pm We live between fences. We may hardly notice them, but they are dominant features in our lives and in our history. Built of hedge, concrete, wood and metal, the fence skirts our properties and is central to the American landscape. We use them to enclose our houses and neighborhoods. They are decorative structures that are as much part of the landscape as trees and flowers. Industry and agriculture without fences would be difficult to imagine. Private ownership of land would be an abstract concept. But fences are more than functional objects. They are powerful symbols. The way we define ourselves as individuals and as a nation becomes concrete in how we build fences. Through an examination of boundaries, place, and space, *Between Fences* will explore how neighbors and nations divide, protect, offend, and defend through the boundaries they build. This exhibit runs from January 17, 2009 - March 1, 2009 more info
02 / 1 (event) Lincoln Tales Tall and True Start: 2:00 pm A Road Scholar Program by Brian (Fox) Ellis more info (event) Howard Alk Retrospective: And This is Free and My Friend Vince Start: 7:00 pm The Chicago Film Archives is producing the first ever retrospective of the life, work and times of late Chicago Filmmaker, Howard Alk. This program will include a screening of And This is Free, a film about the music of Maxwell Street in Chicago, and My Friend Vince, a film about a small time, hustler. Filmmakers Mike Gray, Jones Cullinan, David Rothberg and Gordon Quinn will lead a discussion about Howard Alk's life, moderated by filmmaker Judy Hoffman. more info

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