Humanities Network, Vol. 17, No. 1 (Winter 1995)

12 Pages·1.9 MB·English

by  California Humanities (formerly California Council for the Humanities)

HUMAN/TIeS
‘,
i-o
_ Winter 1995 • Volume 17/ Number 1
Congress MayAboush the National
Endowment for the Humanities
44
Editor's Note: Since federal regula¬ Reauthorization. For federal - -
tions prohibit CCH from using this agencies like NEH, NEA, and
newsletter to advocate specific legisla¬ IMS to continue to exist, Con¬
The question is
tive action, the following report is gress must pass authorizing
meant only to inform readers about legislation every five years. This
whether the federal
current and pending actions in legislation is separate from the
Congress that may affect CCH. In appropriation bills that deter¬
government has a
December, the Council mailed an mine the level of funding for
advocacy letter containing additional these agencies. Currently, the
A role to play in
information to newsletter recipients. authorizing legislation for NEH,
NEA and IMS has expired and
sustaining the
s this newsletter goes to new legislation will be consid¬
■: press, the 104th Congress ered in this session of Congress.
cultural life of the
Sit S:
is considering measures Reauthorization hearings began
©slffiS . •
that will abolish the National in the Senate at the end of
nation.
Endowment for the Humanities January. Early reports indicate
(NEH) or significantly reduce its that "everything is on the table"
-H-
budget. NEH provides the Califor¬ and that major changes will be
iill
nia Council for the Humanities considered. In the House, a
- ' ' -m (CCH) with nearly eighty percent reauthorization bill has been tion programs, such documentary
, of its support. Cuts to NEH could assigned to a subcommittee films as Ken Bum's Civil War, and
mean the elimination of CCH. chaired by Randy "Duke" research grants to humanities
Cunningham, Republican from scholars—have received broad
At Least Three Hurdles San Diego. Representative Frank bipartisan support in Congress. e
Continued funding for NEH— Riggs, Republican from Eureka, NEH's National Council on the
and for the National Endowment also serves on this committee. Humanities includes both Republi¬
for the Arts (NEA) and the Institute can and Democrat appointees; the it this issue
for Museum Services (IMS), which Appropriations. If NEH is not CCH board has five members who
are authorized in a single piece of "zeroed out" in the rescission were appointed by Governor
legislation—faces at least three hearings and if it is reauthorized Wilson. Every U.S. president from
major hurdles in the coming weeks by Congress, the next hurdle for Richard Nixon to Bill Clinton has Humanities At
and months: its continued existence will be the spoken in favor of maintaining Home.page 2
appropriations process, which NEH. And fourteen years ago, a
Council member Mas
Rescission. Some members of the will determine the amount of commission appointed by Presi¬
Masumoto advocates
new Congress have called for deep funding NEH receives. NEH's dent Reagan to consider the making the humanities part
cuts in the current 1995 budget. current budget is $177 million, or elimination of both NEH and NEA of local community life.
The effort is to nullify parts or all of about seventy cents per U.S. concluded that "the strength of
the budget passed by the previous citizen. Should NEH survive to America's arts and humanities is Grants
Congress. Theoretically, all appro¬ this point, opponents are expected essential to the well-being of the Awarded.page 3
priated but unspent dollars for to demand deep cuts in its bud¬ nation" and that "our federal The Council awards
NEH could be rescinded. Repre¬ get. Appropriations hearings for government bears a responsibility $205,822 in major grants
sentative Ralph Regula, Republican the fiscal year 1996 budget will for encouraging and protecting the to 14 public humanities
of Ohio and chair of the interior begin later in the spring. arts and the humanities." projects.
But the Contract with America,
subcommittee with appropriations
responsibility for NEH, began Past Support the House majority's blueprint for Molheread
hearings related to rescission In the past, NEH and its programs legislative action, calls for a $531 Update.page 8
million reduction in funds for the
during the last week of January. A and affiliates—including the state A report on the Motheread
arts and humanities over the next
second round of hearings is sched¬ humanities councils, brittle book Training Institute held
five years, which translates into a
uled for sometime in February. and historical artifacts preserva- recently in Los Angeles.
thirty percent cut to the NEH's
current annual budget of $177 New Ceuntil
million in each of the next five Members.page 9
years. More recently conservative Four new members will
“Faces of Destiny” Exhibit columnists Charles Krauthhammer join the Council in March.
T and George Will, as well as a
number of U.S. Representatives CCH Alumni
and Senators, have urged the total Profile.page 10
his photograph of Ghost Bull and Kills Enemy was taken
elimination of NEH. And in a Former CCH Chair Walter
by Frank A. Rinehart in Omaha, Nebraska circa 1898. It
January 3 interview on C-SPAN, Capps reflects on his time
is one of the photographs in the CERA-sponsored "Faces
House Speaker Gringrich said on the Council and on his
of Destiny" exhibit now travel¬
NEH was "proposing changes that recent run for Congress.
ing in California.
are destructive of American
The exhibit features images civilization" and promised to try Become a friend of the
from an extraordinary 1898 Humanities.page 11
to zero its appropriations.
Indian Congress that drew five
hundred Native American
The Fundamental
leaders and representatives of
Question
thirty-six tribes to Omaha for an
Ultimately, what is at issue is one of
educational exchange of ideas
the fundamental questions of our
and demonstrations of different The California Council for
republic—what is the proper role of
crafts and life styles. the Humanities is a state-
government? Regarding NEH, the
For additional information based affiliate of the
question is whether the federal
about this exhibit, please see the National Endowment for
government has a role to play in
exhibit listings of the Humani¬ the Humanities. The
sustaining the cultural life of the
ties Calendar on pages six and Humanities Network is
nation. We hope citizens with
seven of this newsletter. published quarterly and
opinions about this question will
mailed to anyone who
write their representatives.
requests it from the San
Francisco office.
At
Humanities Home
by Mas Masumoto
1994 — a year of voter revolution, a
Liberal and conservative voices need to be
distrust of politicians, a call for change.
Where do we go from here? We go
heard, urban and rural perspectives need to
home.
1995 will be a year of angry voices and be conveyed, our histories need to be
angry people. Where and how do the
I
humanities fit? They belong at home. shared. All of our stories need to be told.
come from a farming back¬
ground. We're notoriously
■ .. .—"j
pragmatic, base much of our
thinking on common sense, and
concede to change only gradually. good. Deliberation in community tual missionaries who insist on
Moreover, we make decisions at publications, at neighborhood telling us how to think instead of
home, at the local level. libraries and schools or on local learning with us about how we all
I work with ordinary people in public television and radio shows think.
my vineyards and peach orchards. Mas Masumoto is a farmer and writer and can and often does lead to action. We need balance. Liberal and
We all care about everyday con¬ a CCH member from Fresno. His We need to respond to the realities conservative voices need to be
forthcoming book, Epitaph for a Peach
cerns close to home—family, that begin at home. heard, urban and rural perspec¬
(HarperCollins), will be published in June.
education, the work ethic, indi¬ When we reduce the distance tives need to be conveyed, our
vidual freedom. Social inequity and between people and problems, the histories need to be shared. All of
lost hope are not abstract issues; we The humanities—ranging from faces are no longer anonymous, our stories need to be told. Some
are confronted by them firsthand. lectures to films to exhibitions— and communities can respond with will have the means to tell their
But I do worry about a lost provoke thought and encourage long-term good will. I've witnessed story, others may need seed money
opportunity: the need for reflection. reflection. That's a necessary this literally in my fields. When we to create public-private partnerships.
In our daily race to make a living ingredient for conversation, stop categorizing ourselves as Public funds need to be allocated—
and raise our families, we seem to informed decisions and thoughtful either farmers or farm workers, we not for social engineering but to
have lost the time to question and action. Lively humanities pro¬ begin talking to each other differ¬ create incentives to seek solutions
think. We embrace quick political grams at the local level— a discus¬ ently. When others stop labeling through education. We all deserve
fixes and allow a few outspoken sion of the rugged individual, a me as "just a farmer" and begin to to hear each other's story.
voices to speak for us. We accept debate over multiculturalism, a think of the Central Valley as home In the local community—from
less instead of more discussion and probing examination about the less to millions and a vital part of the farmlands and rural towns to
presentation of diverse ideas. Yet as fortunate—foster ideas and chal¬ California, we join in a dialogue the suburbs and neighborhoods of
politics and the media frequently lenge us to respond fairly and and can contribute to responsible urban California—we find many of
become mediums for entertainment intelligently. The humanities solutions. the solutions are not political. The
rather than substantive delibera¬ empower all of us with knowledge. But the humanities need to work answers involve caring about basic
tion, real issues are left at home; Humanities do their best work at better, especially at the local level. human relationships and how we
they are left up to the common the local level, where it counts the We need more and different treat one another as neighbors. The
person, and home is where they most. Academic "feel good" debate forums to exchange ideas. All too humanities are perfectly suited to
must be resolved. about our problems does little often I've been audience to intellec¬ help us along this journey.
II”
“Searching for San Diego, Holds Photo Days
We are poor passing facts four neighborhoods involved with Mexican police at the
warned by that to give "Searching for San Diego." Caliente race track,
each figure in the photograph If you want to participate in the 1909. The
photograph was
his living name. "Searching for San Diego, II"
T donated by San Diego
— Robert Lowell project, you can help by locating
resident Alicia Valdez.
photographs available to be
Her grandfather,
he photographs surrounding copied that reflect the history of
Manuel Serrano, was
these words are fragments of the Barona Reservation, Hillcrest, chief of police and is
San Diego's history. Thanks Little Italy, and San Ysidro. pictured here in the
to "Searching for San Diego, II," a Please call 619/232-4020 for more bottom row, fourth
Council-conducted project that information. from the right.
builds on the successful 1993
"Searching for San Diego" project,
as well as to some generous indi¬
viduals, these photos will become
part of the permanent archives at
the San Diego Historical Society.
The photos were gathered at
"Photo Days" in three neighbor¬
hoods, where neighbors were
asked to bring in their old family
photos to be copied by the San
Diego Historical Society.
The "Photo Days" are part of a
larger effort to explore the history
of San Diego. The photos them¬
selves will be used to construct
exhibits about each neighborhood's
history. The exhibits will circu¬
late in the early summer and will
be accompanied by a play that is
based on oral histories from the Working on the American Voyager fishing Andrew Asaro, circa 1924, mending his Photos courtesy of the San Diego
boat. Donated by Katie Asaro. nets. Donated by Katie Asaro. Historical Society.
PUBLIC PROGRAMS
Shades of L.A.: A Search for
Visual Ethnic and Cultural History
in the Middle Eastern, Armenian
and Jewish Communities
Sponsor: Photo Friends of the L.A. Public Library
Project Director: Carolyn Cozo Cole
Amount of Award: $12,500 in outright funds and
$ 16,736 in matching funds if
$33,472 is raised in outside gifts
Begun in 1990, "Shades of L.A.," a widely
acclaimed social history project, locates and
copies the visual history of ethnic communities
in Los Angeles. This grant supports the exten¬
sion of the project to the Middle Eastern, Arme¬
nian and Jewish communities, seeking to add
nearly 2,000 new images to a public library
photographic collection that is a major resource
for scholars and members of the public. Project
components also include four scholar-led
workshops to train volunteers about the histo¬
ries and cultures of each community; eight
photo days; a community history program to
discuss humanities issues raised by the photo¬
graphs, and an exhibit of photographs drawn
from the newly collected images. Project activi¬
ties are slated to begin in January 1995, with the
photo exhibit opening in February 1996.
The Der Hagopian family in an 1892 photograph taken in Husenik, Armenia. The 8-year-old boy Hagop (right) came to
the U.S. in 1904. Forty of his descendants now live in Los Angeles. The "Slwdes of L.A." project will collect photos like this
one for its visual ethnic and cultural history archive. Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection.
A.C.T. Perspectives The Fine Art of California Indian
Sponsor: American Conservatory Theater, Basketry
San Francisco Sponsor: The Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento
Project Director: Bronislav Jakoljevic Project Director: Janice T. Driesbach
Amount of Award: $ 12,000 in outright funds Amount of Award: $12,500 in outright funds and
This grant supports four two-hour public $13,300 in matching funds if
symposia that will explore the spiritual, ethical $26,600 is raised in outside gifts
and cultural issues raised by plays being per¬ This grant supports the development of an
formed in American Conservatory Theater's exhibit featuring 60 masterworks by 12 master
1994-95 mainstage series. "Crises of Faith: Native American basketweavers of the 19th and
Death and Dying in the New Millennium" will early 20th centuries. The works will be drawn
use Tony Kushner's two-part Pulitzer Prize¬ from a variety of weaving traditions in Califor¬
winning play Angels in America as a departure nia and will explore the principles of Native
point for discussion of such issues as the rela¬ American aesthetics. The exhibition will be
tionship between death, dying and spirituality
supplemented by demonstrations of basketry
and a culture in which traditional secular and art by members of the California Indian
religious belief systems seem to be collapsing. Basketweavers Association, an illustrated
"Hecuba and History" will explore the moral, catalog with articles by prominent scholars in
historical and political threads of Euripedes' the field, and a day-long symposium focusing
classic text in light of recent world events.
on such topics as the origins of Native Califor¬
"Everyman's Theater: Postwar British Play¬
nian basketry traditions, the diversity of tradi¬
A discussion of issues raised by Tony Kushner's play wrights" will investigate historical, social and tions that exist within the state, and how tradi¬
cultural trends in postwar Great Britain. And
"Angels in America" is one of four public symposia in the tional communities incorporate new ideas and
"Is Shakespeare Still Our Contemporary?" will
"A.C.T. Perspectives" project. Here the Angel (Lise technologies into their basketry. Plans also call
Breneau) appears to the prescient Prior Walter (Garret focus on Othello to discuss broader issues of for the development of complementary exhibits
Dillahunt) in the A.C.T. production of "Angels in America Shakespeare's continuing legacy. These pro¬ and programs at other museums. The exhibit
— Part P. Millennium Approaches." Photo courtesy of grams begin in January 1995 and conclude at will open in Sacramento in July 1996 and will
the American Conservatory Theater. the end of May.
travel to three other museums later in the fall.
PLANNING GRANTS
MARITIME MUSEUM OF MONTEREY. $750. AFRICANA STUDIES DEPARTMENT, SAN DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH, UNIVERSITY
To develop a proposal for a series of public DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY and the AFRICAN OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS. $902. To support a
lectures and discussions about the Mexican era AMERICAN MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, SAN chautauqua performance by Dr. Judy Nolte
of Monterey's history (1822-1846). DIEGO. $1,430. To support "African American Temple portraying Mary Austin (1868-1934),
History in San Diego," a two-part lecture/ one of the earliest writers of the Southwest.
CENTRAL CALIFORNIA NIKKEI FOUNDA¬ workshop series focusing on African American
TION, FRESNO. $750. To develop a proposal local history in the San Diego area. SAN JOSE MUSEUM OF ART. $1,500. To
for "Nisei Baseball: Diamonds in the Rough,"a support "American Masters 1900-1940, Part II,"
thirty-minute documentary film about the Nisei UNIVERSITY ART MUSEUM, UNIVERSITY OF a three-part lecture series on American artists to
baseball organization and the Central Valley CALIFORNIA, SANTA BARBARA. $1,500. For accompany a traveling exhibit of works from the
communities in which the league developed. "Dear Robert: I'll See You at the Crossroads," Whitney Museum that is being mounted at the
two public programs about the life of American San Jose Museum of Art.
blues musician Robert Johnson.
MEDIA
T“1
SCRIPT
World of Dreams
Sponsor: Film Arts Foundation, San Francisco
Project Director: Eric Breitbart
Amount of Award: $ 10,000 in outright funds
San Francisco's 1915 Panama-Pacific Interna¬
tional Exposition and San Diego's 1915-1916
Panama-California Exposition celebrated the
achievements of California and the American
West and asserted a nineteenth-century opti¬
mism at the very moment that the world was
being altered by the outbreak of World War I.
This script project for a one-hour documentary
video explores the political, economic and social
history of the two California fairs that would
mark the end of an era. The project will pay
particular attention to three themes: the fairs'
impact on architecture and city planning; how
the fairs presented information as serious
exhibits and as entertainment, laying the
groundwork for modern theme parks; and the
fairs' role in the popularization of ideas about
A view of the Avenue of Progress at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition. The exposition is the subject of the
science, technology and social evolution.
" World of Dreams" documentary film project. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.
For the Protection of Themselves
and of Posterity: California's
Eugenic Sterilization Program,
Sean the Elder Howard Thurman Film Project
T 909-1952
Sponsor: Upstate Films, Rhinebeck, NY Sponsor: Bethel AME Church, Jamaica Plains, MA
Sponsor: Film Arts Foundation, San Francisco Project Director: Ralph Arlyck Project Director: Arleigh Prelow
Project Director: Ken Jacobson Amount of Award: $ 10,000 in outright funds Amount of Award: $ 10,000 in outright funds
Amount of Award: $ 10,000 in outright funds In 1969, project director Ralph Arlyck made a This script project for a one-hour documentary
In 1909, the California legislature passed a law short film about a four-year-old boy living in film explores the life and work of Dr. Howard
which ushered in a long-term sterilization Haight Ashbury. The film won the National Thurman (1900-1981), a pre-eminent African-
program that affected more than 10,000 male Student Film Festival and was shown on PBS. American theologian, philosopher and educa¬
and female patients in state institutions. Rely¬ This script project for a one-hour film revisits tor. The project will examine Thurman's intel¬
ing on scholarship in history, American studies, Sean, the subject of that earlier film and widens lectual and spiritual growth, focusing on his
sociology and literature, this script for a one- the inquiry to his extended family. It examines vision of community, which led him to co¬
hour documentary video will explore the social, Sean's life within the context of the dramatic found the Church for the Fellowship of All
political,' legal, scientific and ethical issues social, political and historical changes of the Peoples in San Francisco, the nation's first
involved in the California sterilization program, past 25 years and explores links among 1930s interracial and interfaith church. The project
as well as the program's relationship to the radicalism, 1950s McCarthyism, the 1960s will also explore the development of Thurman's
eugenics movement of the 1930s and 1940s and counter-culture and today's so-called Genera¬ non-violent "love ethic" and its influence on Dr.
to issues raised by contemporary scientific tion X. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights
discoveries in genetics. movement.
Hard Traveling
Sponsor: The Catticus Corporation, Berkeley
Project Director: Richard Wormser
Amount of Award: $9,86 1 in outright funds
Between 1870 and 1940, hoboes made up a
floating workforce that cut timber, built rail¬
roads, harvested crops and worked in the mines
throughout the American West. This script for a
two-part television series will tell the story of
hoboes and their contribution to the economic
development of the country, focusing on such
issues as the importance of the railroad to the
hobo life, attempts by militant unions to orga¬
nize the hoboes, and the development of the
hobo as an almost mythic figure in popular
culture. The California sequences of the pro¬
gram will include an in-depth examination of
how hoboes supplied much of California's farm
labor between 1870-1920, before being displaced
by migrant workers from Mexico.
The lives and economic contributions of hoboes is the focus of the television documentary series "Hard Traveling." Photo
courtesy of Richard Wormser.
u
The U.S.-Mexican War
Sponsor: KERA-TV, Dallas, TX
Project Director: Sylvia Komatsu
Amount of Award: $ 10,000 in outright funds and
$ 15,000 in matching funds if
$30,000 is raised in outside gifts
As a result of the U.S.-Mexican War (1846-1848),
Mexico lost almost half its territory, and the U.S.
gained more than half a million square miles of
land, including California and the present states
of Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and parts of
Oklahoma, Colorado and Wyoming, effectively
reshaping the cultural and political landscape of
the continent. This script for a two-hour docu¬
mentary film will mark the 150th anniversary of
that war by examining its causes and legacies
from both the Mexican and the American
perspectives. The project includes a unique
collaboration of scholars from both nations
which seeks to illuminate the full range of
historical, social and cultural forces that influ¬
enced this struggle for land, identity and power.
"The U.S.-Mexican War" film documentary project examines the history and consequences of the 1846-1848 war from
PRODUCTION
both the American and the Mexican perspectives. Photo courtesy of Special Collections Division, The University of Texas
at Arlington Libraries, Arlington, Texas.
Broken Color Remember Tomorrow: Ten African Americans and American
Sponsor: Film Arts Foundation, San Francisco Americans Confront the Year Jews: Coalition and Conflict
Project Director: J Clements 2000 Sponsor: Snitow/Kaufman Productions, Berkeley
Amount of Award: $7,500 in matching funds if Sponsor: Film Arts Foundation, San Francisco Project Directors: Deborah Kaufman, Bari Scott,
$15,000 is raised in outside gifts Project Director: Michael Katz Alan Snitow
Through the found writing of Ann Conger, this Amount of Award: $5,000 in matching funds if Amount of Award: $25,000 in matching funds if
16mm film will document the life of Conger, a $ 10,000 is raised in outside gifts $50,000 is raised in outside gifts
professional journalist who after marrying and Incorporating interviews, archival footage, This one-hour documentary video will investi¬
having children struggled with schizophrenia. popular music, excerpts from utopian novels, gate the historical relationship between African
Through this examination of Conger's life and and historical voice-overs ranging back to the Americans and American Jews, focusing on
writing, the project seeks to illuminate the 1890s, this one-hour television documentary will such issues as the diversity of views and experi¬
cultural and historical context of the American examine how a diverse group of Americans ences within each community, a shared secular
woman during the 1950s and 1960s and exam¬ view the approach of the next century and how culture, the relationships between black and
ine how the creative process and mental illness their visions of the future fit in the long tradition Jewish leaders during the Civil Rights era, and
coexist. The project will also explore philo¬ of American millenarianism, which includes the causes of the recent breakdown in cultural
sophical questions surrounding the definitions both the utopian and the apocalyptic. and political relationships.
of madness.
Ralph Bunche: An American Island of Roses
Odyssey Sponsor: International Documentary Association,
Sponsor: ETV Endowment of South Carolina, Los Angeles
Spartanburg, SC Project Director: Gregori Viens
Project Director: William Greaves Amount of Award: $9,550 in outright funds and
Amount of Award: $ 10,000 in outright funds and $8,875 in matching funds if
$13,000 in matching funds if $17,150 is raised in outside gifts
$26,000 is raised in outside gifts Following their exile from Spain during the
Ralph Bunche (1903-1971), the first African Inquisition of 1492, a number of Sephardic Jews
American to receive a Ph.D. in political science settled on the island of Rhodes in the Aegean
from Harvard University, rose to prominence at Sea and developed a unique Spanish-speaking
mid-century as United Nations Under Secre¬ community that lasted until the Holocaust
tary-General, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in reached the island in the 1940s. Focusing on the
1950 for his efforts to foster decolonization and memories of Rebecca Amato Levy, who avoided
his championing of human rights and world deportation to Auschwitz and now lives in Los
peace. Against the background of American Angeles, this one-hour documentary film
history and race relations, this two-hour docu¬ examines the cultural and individual histories of
mentary film production will examine Bunche's this community and explores its linguistic,
life and the social, political and intellectual religious, and historical links to other ethnic and
forces that shaped his career. The film will also Sephardic Jewish communities throughout the
examine Bunche's experiences at Thomas world.
Jefferson High in Los Angeles and at UCLA,
where his belief in the importance of education,
democracy, racial equality, and individual
agency was nurtured and challenged.
U.N. representative and Nobel Peace Prize-winner Ralph
Bunche is shown here during an August, 1960 visit to the
Republic of the Congo, just after the U.N. Security
Council sent peacekeepers to the country to restore order.
Photo courtesy of the United Nations.
f e
The public humanities programs listed here Feb. 1 "No Laughing Matter: Political
-
received funding support from the California Apr. 2 Cartoonists on the Environment"
Council for the Humanities. Please note that is a CERA-sponsored SITES
dates and times should be confirmed with local exhibit of more than 150 images by
sponsors. These listing are often provided to the cartoonists from 30 countries
Council well before final arrangements are made. exploring how politically inspired
art shapes awareness and concern
for the natural environment.
EXHIBITS
Community Memorial Museum of
Sutter County, 1333 Butte House
Road, Yuba City. 916/741-7141.
Mar. 5 - The CERA-sponsored exhibit, From the “No Laughing Matter" exhibit. Artwork
May 29 "Woven Vessels" moves to the courtesy of SITES.
Victor Valley Museum, 11873
Apple Valley Rd., Apple Valley.
619/240-2111.
Mar. 18 - "Four Hands Weaving: The The CERA-sponsored exhibit, "No
Apr. 26 Basketry of San Diego's Indig¬ 8-30 Laughing Matter: Political Car¬

enous Peoples'' is an exhibit
toonists on the Environment"
exploring the ongoing basket
moves to the Mt. San Jacinto
making traditions of the four
College Gallery, 1499 North State
indigenous cultures represented in
Street, San Jacinto. 909/654-8011,
San Diego county. The exhibit will
ext. 1522.
Prom the Sonoma County Museum's "Gold be accompanied by lectures,
Mountain" exhibit. Photo from the Sherman Boivin workshops and a symposium.
Collection. Boehm Gallery at Palomar Col¬
lege, 1140 West Mission Drive, San
Marcos. For more information,
Through "Gold Mountain: Legacy of the please call 619/744-1150, ext. 2425. Feb. 10 "African American History in San
Feb. 12 Chinese in Sonoma County" is an Diego" is a series of presentations
exhibit of images and artifacts and discussions about local Afri¬
about the history of Sonoma can American history projects.
County's Chinese community. At The day's first event begins at 1
the Sonoma County Museum, 425 p.m., at the Council Chambers,
Seventh Street, Santa Rosa. Please Aztec Center, San Diego State
call 707/579-1500 for more infor¬ University. The second event
mation. begins at 6 p.m., at the Mingei
International Folk Art Museum in
Through "Woven Vessels" is a CERA- San Diego. For more information
Feb. 25 sponsored exhibit exploring the call 619/594-6531.
multicultural traditions of
basketmaking and the evolution of
the basket into non-traditional Feb. 11 "African Spirit in the New World

contemporary forms. At Corona Black Cultures" is a day-long
Public Library Heritage Room, 650 public conference held in conjunc¬
S. Main, Corona. Call 909/736- tion with the "Dear Robert, I'll See
2386 for more information. You at the Crossroads" exhibition
about American blues musician
Robert Johnson. 10 a.m. At
Through "Faces of Destiny: Photographs Corwin East, University Center,
Mar. 18 from the 1898 Indian Congress in UC Santa Barbara. For more
Omaha" is a CERA-sponsored information contact 805/893-2951.
exhibit of images from an extraor¬
dinary gathering of Native Ameri¬
cans at the end of the last century. "Strange Danger" by Lisa D'Agostino is part of the
At the Museum of History and CERA-sponsored “Woven Vessels" exhibit from
Art, 225 S. Euclid Ave., Ontario. ExhibitsUSA that is traveling to CERA member
909/983-3198. museums in the state.
s
Feb. 15 The San Jose Museum of Art's Apr. 23 "The Reign in Spain" is a lecture

"American Masters, 1900-1940" and demonstration performance
project presents a lecture by Sheila by the San Francisco Consort
Braufman on the art and life of about the music of the Golden Age
Max Weber. The lecture series of Spain. Juan Pedro Gaffney will
complements a touring exhibition lead the discussion. 3 p.m. At Noe
of American paintings from the Valley Ministry, 1021 Sanchez at
Whitney Museum collection. 6:30 23rd Street, San Francisco. For
p.m. At the Fairmont Hotel in San more information, please call 415/
Jose. Please call 408/294-2787 for 282-2317.
more information.
Apr. 25 "Thomas Jefferson in Susanville"

Feb. 15 "Learning Jam" is a lecture/ features scholar Clay Jenkinson in

demonstration about the evolution a chautauqua program about the
of jazz forms, performance and nation's third president. At 7 p.m.
instrumentation by music profes¬ Lassen Community College
Leroy V. Quintana.
sor Marian Liebowitz. It is one in Lecture Hall in Susanville. For
a series of lectures on world music. more information, please contact
Noon. San Diego City College Mar. 7 "Artists Breaking Tradition: Janet Corey, The Lassen County
Theatre, 1313 Twelfth Avenue. Perspective as it Informs Cultural Historical Society, P.O. Box 321,
619/230-2400. References in Visual and Literary Susanville, CA 96130.
Arts' is a lecture by Leroy V.
Feb. A preview of Gregori Viens' Quintana, Department of Litera¬

"Island of Roses" will be part of ture, San Diego Mesa College. The
the two-day VITAS Film Festival. program is part of the "Border
At the Melnitz Auditorium on the Voices" project's "New Voices in
UCLA campus, 405 Hilgard. For the Humanities" lecture series. 7
festival program information, p.m. At Scripps Ranch High
please contact Amy Hale or School, 10410 Treena St., San Diego.
Shannon Thorton at 310/825-4242. 619/621-9020 for information.
Mar. 8 The San Jose Museum of Art's
"American Masters, 1900-1940"
project presents a lecture by land¬
scape painter Richard Mayhew on
the art and life of his friend Jacob
Lawrence. The lecture series
complements a touring exhibition
of American paintings from the
Whitney Museum collection. 6:30
p.m. At the Fairmont Hotel in San Clay Jenkinson as Thomas Jefferson.
Jose. Please call 408/294-2787 for
more information.
Apr. 30 "The Reign in Spain," a lecture

Poets Gary Snyder, Ai, Juan Felipe and demonstration performance
Herrera, and other nationally by the San Francisco Consort
acclaimed writers and humanities about the music of the Golden Age
Sarah Notrica, a matriarch of the scholars will participate in read¬ of Spain, takes place at the Crocker
Sephardic community on the Island ings, scholar-led panel discussions Art Gallery, 216 O Street, Sacra¬
of Rhodes, shown here in a circa and workshops during the second mento at 3 p.m. Dr. Ben Frankel
1920 photo courtesy of Rebecca annual Border Voices will also present a short slide
Amato Levy. The unique history of
Multicultural Poetry Fair" to be lecture that will include rare slides
this community is the subject of
held in San Diego's Balboa Park on from the British Museum. For
Gregori Viens' documentary film
March 11 and 12. Events begin at 9 more information, please call 916/
"Island of Roses."
a.m. Saturday, March 11, at Balboa 264-5423.
Park's Organ Pavilion. For more
Feb. 26. Maya Deren's "Divine Horsemen: information, contact J.F. Webb at
The Living Gods of Haiti" is the 619/293-2239.
subject of a film/discussion
program held in conjunction with Mar. 15 "Around the World through Brass"

the "Dear Robert, I'll See You at is a lecture/demonstration by
the Crossroads" exhibition about composer and musicologist John
American blues musician Robert Lorge about contemporary brass
Johnson. 2 p.m. At Corwin instrumentation. It is one in a series
Pavilion, University Center, UC of lectures on world music. Noon.
Santa Barbara. For more informa¬ San Diego City College Theatre, 1313
tion contact 805/893-2951. Twelfth Avenue. Please call 619/
230-2400 for more information.
Mar. 4 The "Shades of L.A." project will

hold a Photo Day for the Armenian Apr. 19 The San Jose Museum of Art's
community. Community members "American Masters, 1900-1940"
are invited to bring family photo¬ project presents a lecture by Dr.
graphs for discussion, interpreta¬ Wanda Korn on the art and life of
tion and selection for photogra¬ Charles Demuth. The lecture series
phers to copy for the L.A. Public complements a touring exhibition of
Library's archives. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. American paintings from the
Meeting Rooms A & B, Central Whitney Museum collection. 6:30 Collection of the Whitney Museum of
Library, 630 E. Fifth Street. For p.m. At the Fairmont Hotel in San American Art. Photo courtesy of the San Jose
information, call 213/228-7403. Jose. Please call 408/294-2787 for Museum of Art. From "American Masters,
more information. 1900-1940" exhibit.
s e S e n
Motheread Holds Training Institute in Los Angeles
As Council Motheread Coordinator be allowed to explore their
Khisna Griffin reports in the following imaginations, and adults must
article, the Los Angeles-area program encourage such exploration.
continues to expand, attracting new By Thursday evening, when
group leaders and participants. For the Institute concluded, thirteen
related articles on new foundation and parent-education social workers
donor support for Motheread, please had been prepared to lead their
see pages ten and eleven. For more own Motheread classes. Each
information about the Council's Los group leader will conduct three
Angeles-area Motheread program, Motheread classes within a year,
contact Khisna Griffin at 213/623- allowing the program to expand
i
5993. into four new neighborhoods and
serve as many as four hundred
n the early morning drizzle of additional families.
Monday, November 7, thirteen
parent-education social workers
from as far away as Pomona
gathered at UCLA's Sunset Recre¬
ation Center to take part in the
Motheread Training Institute
sponsored by the California Mary Helen Barajas and Lilian Payan, both from Good Beginnings Family Center, take
Council for the Humanities. advantage of DEAR time (Drop Everything and Read) during the Motheread training
Motheread is a family reading sessions. Good Beginnings works with parents and residents of the Pico Union area of Los
program that serves parents of Angeles.
young children. Parents meet
in small groups to read selected plans, mock Motheread sessions
children's books and discuss and discussions of dozens of
universal themes such as inde¬ books.
pendence, sharing and uncondi¬ On Thursday, Caldecott
tional love. Parents soon realize Medal winner Gerald
that there is much more to a McDermott shared his morning
children's book than colors and with the group. Mr.
a "nice" story. Parents take this McDermott, author of Anansi the
knowledge home and incorpo¬ Spider, Arrow to the Sun and
rate it into their discussions Raven, explained how myths
with their children about books and folktales play an important
and stories. Families involved role in his creativity. Mytholo¬
in Motheread have noticed gies and stories are part of what
changes—grades improve, makes us human, and humans
behavior improves and the of all ages relate to myths in a
entire family reads a lot more. very visceral way, McDermott
The training began with a said. Children may not have
session led by Nancye Gaj, any knowledge of the culture
president and founder of that the story comes from, but
Motheread. Training continued they will know the power of
with Dorothy (Dotty) Altman myth. They also understand Reginald Zachery of the Head Start Family Service Center and Lynn Wright-Kernodle,
and Cathy Jones leading partici¬ who holds the power in the Motheread coordinator for the North Carolina Humanities Council, take a break to
pants through three full days of myth. McDermott stressed that examine some of the more than 80 books now in the Motheread curriculum. Selected titles
from the curriculum have been translated into Spanish by CCH Associate Director Susan
curriculum immersion, lesson it is important for children to
Gordon. Photos by Suzanne Huddleson.
Is
“The Flapper Story” Part of the Council’s Film & Speaker Program
L
auren Lazin's thirty-minute feminist' group...It may interest
documentary won both a us to take a look at another
CINE Golden Eagle award generation who also traded
and an Academy Award for their legacy of social responsi¬
Student Documentary for its bility for celebrated self-inter¬
thoughtful examination of the est, and who in turn perhaps
provocative "New Woman" of accommodated themselves to a
America's Roaring Twenties. The limited notion of what 'libera¬
Flapper Story traces the historical tion' was all about."
developments that gave shape to The Flapper Story is one of
the flapper ideal, explores the thirty-six films in the CCH Film
ways in which the flapper rebelled & Speaker program. Through
against prevailing social mores, this program, CCH awards a
and also considers the contradic¬ small grant to a non-profit
tions and limitations underlying organization to rent and screen
the flapper's image of indepen¬ one of the films, followed by a
dence. scholar-led discussion of the
In The Flapper Story, film¬ humanities issues and themes
maker Lauren Lazin provides a explored in the film.
revised view of this part of For additional information
women's history. "Like the about the Council's Film &
flappers of the 1920s, the Speaker minigrant program,
young women of my generation please contact Stan Yogi at 415/
have been dubbed a 'post¬ 391-1474.
e 9
Next Council Meeting Date and Time Proposal-Writing Workshops Offered
The California Council for the Humanities' quarterly meeting will be Workshops are scheduled during February for people interested in
held in Riverside at the Mission Inn, 3649 Seventh Street. The meeting submitting grant proposals at the Council's April 1 deadline.
begins at 9 a.m. on Thursday, March 9 and adjourns at noon on Satur¬
day, March 11. In San Francisco:
For Media Project proposals
Wednesday February 8 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Internships Available For Public Program proposals
Thursday February 9 10 a.m. to noon
The Council has a number of internship opportunities available for
undergraduate and graduate students in humanities disciplines. Oppor¬
tunities exist in each of the Council's offices. Interested students should In Los Angeles:
contact Ralph Lewin in the San Diego office (619/232-4020), Susan Gor¬ Tuesday February 14 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Wednesday February 15 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
don in the Los Angeles office (213/623-5993) or Alden Mudge in the San
Francisco office (415/391-1474).
In San Diego:
Thursday February 16 10 a.m. to noon
Internet Update
The workshops are free, but advance registration is required. Please
Brief request for information or for grant guidelines, newsletters or
call the nearest Council office (415/391-1474 in San Francisco, 213/623-
other publications can be sent to the Council via e-mail at the following
5993 in Los Angeles, and 619/232-4020 in San Diego) to register and
address: [email protected]
confirm dates and locations. Please also request and read the updated
Please note that the Council cannot accept grant proposals or respond
Guide to the Grant Program before attending the workshop.
to detailed queries via e-mail. We are still working to make grant guide¬
lines, calendars and other materials available via anonymous ftp or
through a gopher space. Look for additional information in upcoming
issues of the newsletter.
New Council Members Announced
At its December meeting the Council selected four new members from nominations submitted during a public nominations
process. The new members begin their three-year terms in March of 1995.
Penelope V. Flores is associate professor of secondary education at San Gaines Post, J] is professor of history at Claremont McKenna College,
Francisco State University, where she specializes in both multicultural where he specializes in modern German history and the history of
education and mathematics education. She is diplomacy. Post served as dean of the faculty
also founder and chairman of the Philippine and as senior vice president at Claremont
American Humanities Council, education McKenna from 1983-88. Before coming to
editor for the Manila Bulletin, USA, a weekly Claremont, Post was associate professor of
Philippine American newspaper with nation¬ history at the University of Texas in Austin.
wide distribution, and editor of the journal of While there, he served on many public hu¬
the Association for Filipino Psychology, a semi¬ manities committees and commissions, includ¬
annual professional publication. She is a ing the Texas Committee for the Humanities,
former member of the board of the Illinois which is that state's counterpart to CCH. In
Humanities Council. Flores worked for many 1980, Post was the principal author of The
years as a teacher education expert for Humanities in American Life, the report of the
UNESCO, with field assignments in several national Commission on the Humanities. He
Asian countries. She was also evaluation is also author of Dilemmas of Appeasement:
coordinator for the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project, British Deterrence and Defense, 1934-1937 and The Civil-Military Fabric of
which field tested and produced a high school mathematics textbook Weimar Foreign Policy. Post holds a bachelor's degree from Cornell
series. Flores is the author of Mano Po: Selected Essays on Philippine Society University and a master's degree and Ph.D. in history from Stanford
and Culture. She holds a bachelor of science degree from the Philippine University. He served in the U.S. Army (artillery) from 1959-1961 and
Normal University, a master of science degree from the University of was a Rhodes scholar from 1961-1963.
Pennsylvania, and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.
J. Jorge Klor de Alva is the Class of 1940 Professor of comparative ethnic Santiago Rodriguez is the director of multicultural programs at Apple
studies and anthropology at University of California at Berkeley. He was Computer in Cupertino, California. He was formerly the university
formerly professor of anthropology at affirmative action officer at Stanford Univer¬
Princeton University and associate professor of sity. He has also served as director of inter¬
anthropology and Latin American studies and governmental relations. Office of the Com¬
director of the institute for Mesoamerican monwealth of Puerto Rico, in Washington
studies at the State University of New York at D.C. and was assistant director of the national
Albany. Klor de Alva is a member of the Hispanic employment program at the U.S.
Smithsonian Institution Council, the Commis¬ Civil Service Commission. In 1993 and 1994,
sion on the Future of the Smithsonian, and the Rodriguez was a keynote speaker in a Coun¬
American Anthropology Association's Com¬ cil-sponsored series of programs on cultural
mission on Minority Issues and Long Range diversity that was presented throughout
Planning Commission. He is also one of four California by the Smithsonian Institution.
organizers of a multi-year research, conference, Rodriguez has been active in numerous civil
and publication project charting the patterns of rights and Hispanic organizations at both the
interethnic contacts and cultural change in the Americas since 1492. With local and national levels. He is one of the co-founders of the national
Gary Nash and Louis Wilson, Klor de Alva is co-author of the Houghton Image organization and is a past member of the Ivy League Affirmative
Mifflin Social Studies Series K-8 textbooks and is currently working on Action Group. He currently serves on the board of the Teatro
the high school world history text. His other forthcoming or in-progress Campesino; Inroads, the consumer advisory council for Pacific Bell; and
publications include The Norton Anthology of Indigenous Mesoamerican the board of regents for Santa Clara University.
Literature, American Identities: Traditional, Contested, and Imagined, and
Truth or Hope?: Cultural Politics, and Nostalgia at the Century's End. Klor de
Alva holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy and a juris doctor from UC
Berkeley and a Ph.D. in the history of consciousness from the University
of California at Santa Cruz.
n n e
Two Los Angeles-Area Foundations Award Grants
to Motheread
In early November, both the S. Mark Taper Foundation and the Times
Mirror Foundation awarded grants to support the Council's Motheread
program. The S. Mark Taper Foundation awarded $10,000 to help the
Currently Reading: "Everything Council expand the Motheread program to more than one hundred
I can get my hands on by Vaclav additional families during 1995. The Times Mirror Foundation awarded
Havel. The one I'm working on right
$2,500, also to help the Council expand the Motheread program through¬
now is The Power of the Powerless; one
out the Los Angeles area. Having recently trained thirteen additional
that I like a lot is Summer Meditations.
Then for strength and comfort I have Motheread group leaders, the Council expects to be able to bring the
been reading Dag Hammarskjold's Motheread family reading program to as many as four hundred addi¬
Markings." tional families during the coming year.
Most Influential Books: "I
really have to say the Bible. That was
the early influence. The book that Hearst Foundation Grant Will Support CERA
meant the most to me during my
The Hearst Foundation has awarded the Council $25,000 to support a
college years was Plato's Republic. It
California Exhibition Resources Alliance (CERA) project to circulate six
opened me to a larger world. Prior
to that time, the religious texts had traveling exhibitions to member-museums throughout the state during
worked for me in a primarily 1995 and 1996. CERA is a Council program providing administrative
individual and personal way, but I support and a means of sharing exhibits among a statewide network of
got a greater sense of the possibility
small museums.
of a collective well-being from
reading Plato." The Hearst Foundation award makes it possible for the six exhibits—
along with scholar-based interpretive programs for the adult public and
Defining the Humanities: "I for school students—to travel to a total of twenty-six venues in twelve
always recall working on the com¬
communities, stretching from Eureka to El Centro, where they will reach
mission that approved the report
an estimated total audience of 104,000.
Walter Capps edited by Merrill Peterson—'Hu¬
manities and the American People.' The six traveling exhibits include: "Faces of Destiny—Photographs
N. Scott Momaday was there, taking from the 1898 Indian Congress in Omaha;" "Woven Vessels," an exhibit of
Professor of Religious Studies and note of everything but not comment¬ traditional and contemporary baskets; "No Laughing Matter—Political
Chair of the Department of Religious ing much, and at a certain point of Cartoonists on the Environment;" "Gum San: Land of the Golden Moun¬
frustration I asked him if he had a
Studies, University of California at definition of the humanities. He tain," an exhibit of photographs and artifacts documenting the story of
Santa Barbara said, 'The humanities are nothing the Chinese in the American West from the Gold Rush to the early 20th
more nor less than humans express¬ century; "Earth Angels," an exhibit of photographs by Nancy Buirski
Member of the Council: 1981 -1987 ing their humanity.' After a pause, about the lives of migrant farmworker children; and "Between Two
he added, 'In some symbolic form.'
Council Chair: 1983 -1986 Worlds: People of the Border," an exhibit documenting the human dimen¬
When I unpack that, I think it comes
pretty close. I think the humanities sions of crossing the border as experienced by Mexicans and Mexican-
Personal Information: are tied directly to the enunciation Americans.
of the human spirit. And that links For information about the dates and locations of these exhibits, please
■ Bom: May 5,1934 into religion and to Plato, to sacred
see the Humanities Calendar in this and upcoming issues of the Humani¬
Omaha, Nebraska texts and to other things through
ties Network newsletter.
which human beings express their
■ Family: Married to Lois Capps;
humanity."
three grown children
Memories of the Council:
■ Candidate for Congress from NEH Summer Institutes for Elementary and
"The times when the entire group
Santa Barbara: November 1994. Secondary Educators and Summer Seminars for
came together behind an idea that
tended to unite people. The clearest College Teachers
Education: example of that was when Magdalen The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is offering more than
Coughlin asked. Where is the
twenty summer institute programs for elementary and secondary educa¬
■ B.S. in Humanities, Portland common good? We are doing all of
State University, 1958. these other things, but have we tors and nearly fifty summer seminars for college teachers. The institutes
forgotten about the common good?' and the seminars cover a wide range of topics and disciplines and are
■ S.T.M. (master's degree in sacred There were many instances like offered at various locations throughout the nation during the summer of
theology), Yale University that—where somebody would say 1995.
Divinity School, 1961. something that really articulated
All those teaching in an American elementary, middle or high school—
what the group seemed to be groping
■ M.A. in Religious Studies, Yale for. The fact that it came out of whether public, private, or church affiliated—are eligible to apply for
University, 1963. citizen participation gave me the admissions to summer institutes. Librarians and school administrators
assurance that this was democracy in may also be eligible to apply for some institutes. Seminar programs are
■ Ph.D. in Religion and Western action. I will always look back on
intended to serve those whose primary duties involve teaching under¬
Culture, Yale University, 1965. that as being one of the most inspir¬
ing chapters in my life." graduates, but others who are qualified to do the work of the seminar and
First Teaching Position:
contribute to it (such as independent scholars and scholars employed by
■ Assistant in Instruction, Department Words of Advice: "As a nation, museums, libraries, historical societies, and like organizations) are also
we can get sidetracked on issues that
eligible and encouraged to apply.
of Religion, Yale University, are very consuming but don't give us
1963-64. the ability to keep up with what is The application deadline for most institutes is March 15,1995. The
actually happening, with the way in application deadline for summer seminars is March 1,1995. Applications
" When I was running for office, I was which the civilization is being should be sent directly to institute coordinators and seminar directors
formed. Every day, every week,
attentive to bumper stickers. The one I rather than to NEH. For a complete listing of the summer institutes and/
every month things are happening
saw over and over again was about that shape our collective life. The or summer seminars, please contact the National Endowment for the
random acts of kindness and senseless Council needs to be attentive to those Humanities, Division of Education Programs, Room 302,1100 Pennsylva¬
acts of beauty. But what people fear the dynamics and needs to give expres¬ nia Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C., or call 202/606-8377.
sion to or at least understand where
most is random violence. When we get
the society is. The Council ought to
to a point where randomness is the
be both a leader and a respondent in
norm, we are in real trouble—even if it that whole discussion." International Conference on Critical Thinking and
Educational Reform
is random virtue, which may be virtue
About His Run for Congress:
but is certainly not dependable. I would The Fifteenth Annual International Conference on Critical Thinking and
"There are predictable downsides to
like to find a way to get beyond random¬ Educational Reform will be held from July 30-August 2,1995 at Sonoma
running for public office that have to
ness. I keep coming back to the point do with getting oneself enmeshed in State University in Rohnert Park, California. The conference brings
that we need reliable ways of doing the political process; you really have together over 1,200 scholars and educators from all levels and domains of
things. It can't be on the basis of to fight to maintain your identity, education to discuss the theory and practice of critical thinking. The
because there are people at every
volunteerism. We need institutions we conference theme for this year is Three Waves of Research and Practice in
step who want to define you and
can trust. That is why I think it would who tell you that it is good for them Critical Thinking. Session proposals are requested and must be received
be very shortsighted to eliminate to be defining you. But I learned that by April 15,1995. For more information on proposal forms or registra¬
institutions that have been trustworthy, a candidate really can be an influence tion, contact: Center for Critical Thinking, Sonoma State University,
for good. If one does it right, one can
like NEH, CCH or NEA. They have Rohnert Park, CA 94928; telephone [phone], e-mail,
inspire people to a vision beyond the
done good work and are relatively [email protected], or fax [phone].
vision they may have had to begin
inexpensive." with."
e n