In traditional African societies, the storyteller was often the historian, as well as the culture-bearer. West Africa's most vivid, intriguing, and enduring character is the trickster, Anansi. Follow the travels of Anansi from Africa to the west, where Anansi's antics and themes are found in Brer Rabbit tales, often told on southern plantations. These stories of small spiders and crafty rabbits served to entertain and empower those who were using all of their spiritual and mental resources to survive their oppressive conditions. Shanta invites audiences to listen, laugh, and ponder the role of the trickster in folkloric traditions.
The Way We Worked, the Smithsonian's newest Museum on Main Street exhibition, is curated by Bruce Bustard, from the National Archives.
American work takes place everywhere - on the land, on the streets of our communities, in offices and factories, in homes, in schools, in water, and in outer space. Through an exploration of the tools and technologies that enabled and assisted workers, from early American history through to the present day, this exhibit will explore how technology, society, and culture have shaped a more complex, and oftentimes more stressful, work environment.
The Way We Worked will also explore the diversity of the American workforce - one of its greatest strengths and biggest challenges - and will showcase how people from different racial and cultural backgrounds both came to identify and segregate from one another.
Erica Swinney, Associate Director and coordinator for career and community programs at Austin Polytechnical Academy High School, will be our guest speaker.
From "A Troubled High School Celebrates a Milestone" by Meribah Knight
Austin Polytechnical Academy opened on the West Side of Chicago in 2007 as the city's first and only career academy dedicated to occupations in high-skilled manufacturing…The ambitious plan seeks to engage private-industry companies to help train the students, all of them from a community that has watched local industry flee, unemployment climb and foreclosure rates soar to the highest in the city.
Questions for Consideration
How is Austin Polytech setting new standards in public education? How can schools connect with community needs? How can we ensure that every student is given the same opportunity to excel and find work after graduation? What challenges might schools face when partnering with local businesses and industries? How relevant is job training in the U.S. manufacturing sector today?
The Way We Worked, the Smithsonian's newest Museum on Main Street exhibition, is curated by Bruce Bustard, from the National Archives.
American work takes place everywhere - on the land, on the streets of our communities, in offices and factories, in homes, in schools, in water, and in outer space. Through an exploration of the tools and technologies that enabled and assisted workers, from early American history through to the present day, this exhibit will explore how technology, society, and culture have shaped a more complex, and oftentimes more stressful, work environment.
The Way We Worked will also explore the diversity of the American workforce - one of its greatest strengths and biggest challenges - and will showcase how people from different racial and cultural backgrounds both came to identify and segregate from one another.
Do you enjoy lively discussions, free exchange of ideas and a mental challenge? CommUniversity is for you!
Every year in February, CommUniversity students and instructors gather for four enjoyable Sunday afternoons to learn from each other and to delight in the breadth and depth of ideas that can make even a Midwestern winter bright.
Share the fun as you explore new ideas and opportunities in a friendly learning atmosphere. You choose what interests you for the four Sunday sessions. Attendees get new learning experiences in a casual, friendly environment. There are no exams or papers. You decide how much you want to do.
To register, please download, complete, and mail the registration form.
What kinds of work did people do during the time of Abraham Lincoln? Did Lincoln work when he was just a boy? This children's program will explore the themes in The Way We Worked and help young people think about what work was like 150 years ago.
llinois has a rich tradition of folksongs related to death and disaster in the state. Tornados, murders, hangings, floods, shipwrecks, gang violence, assassinations, fires, and train wrecks all claimed victims in song. Bucky Halker's new CD, Caskets in the Cornfields, features his renditions of some of these songs and was based on his research about this important material. Join Bucky for a performance and commentary on these "lively" Prairie State songs and their history.
The Way We Worked, the Smithsonian's newest Museum on Main Street exhibition, is curated by Bruce Bustard, from the National Archives.
American work takes place everywhere - on the land, on the streets of our communities, in offices and factories, in homes, in schools, in water, and in outer space. Through an exploration of the tools and technologies that enabled and assisted workers, from early American history through to the present day, this exhibit will explore how technology, society, and culture have shaped a more complex, and oftentimes more stressful, work environment.
The Way We Worked will also explore the diversity of the American workforce - one of its greatest strengths and biggest challenges - and will showcase how people from different racial and cultural backgrounds both came to identify and segregate from one another.
Mardi Gras is not only a day of celebration and feasting amongst the Illinois French, but also marks the end of the season known as "Carnival." Usually associated with New Orleans and the state of Louisiana, this event is also a well known and cherished cultural treasure that has been practiced by Creoles in the Illinois country of "Upper Louisiana" for over three centuries. This exciting presentation will discuss the western European and Celtic nature of Mardi Gras, how it relates to other celebrations throughout the year, the Illinois French Creole songs performed, and the festivals still held in the Midwest.
A Road Scholar Program by Erik Gellman
Erik Gellman will present five myths of late 1960s Chicago history. These myths show how popular memory (and the lack of memory altogether) have prevented students and citizens of Illinois from better understanding our contemporary urban problems around issues like access to jobs, the pipeline from failing schools to prisons, and the use of urban space. By using film footage and images, along with Gellman's extensive research on Chicago civil rights activities during this period, Erik Gellman illustrates a much more relevant urban history of the late 1960s. This talk addresses touchstones like the campaign of Martin Luther King, the Democratic Convention of 1968, and the assassination of Fred Hampton as points of departure to understand the context of social change and its repression during this tumultuous era.
The Way We Worked, the Smithsonian's newest Museum on Main Street exhibition, is curated by Bruce Bustard, from the National Archives.
American work takes place everywhere - on the land, on the streets of our communities, in offices and factories, in homes, in schools, in water, and in outer space. Through an exploration of the tools and technologies that enabled and assisted workers, from early American history through to the present day, this exhibit will explore how technology, society, and culture have shaped a more complex, and oftentimes more stressful, work environment.
The Way We Worked will also explore the diversity of the American workforce - one of its greatest strengths and biggest challenges - and will showcase how people from different racial and cultural backgrounds both came to identify and segregate from one another.
Coya Paz, Assistant Professor in The Theatre School at DePaul University and social commentator on Vocalo.org 89.5, will be our guest speaker.
From "Pew Research Determines Love is Dying in America" by Doug Barry
A new infographic from Pew, the think tank that sounds like a baroness's delicate sneeze, shows that fewer Americans believe in marriage and are trying to fill the emptiness in their hearts with expensive Valentine's Day gifts and fancy, last-minute dinners. While about 39% of all Americans (and 44% of all those cynical, emotionally numb 18-29 year-olds) say that marriage is obsolete, that won't stop them from spending $17.6 billion this year…Valentine's Day dinners will run Americans about $3.4 billion, a shade less than their jewelry purchases ($3.5 billion), and way more than they'll spend on flowers ($1.7 billion).
