WHAT LIBRARIES NEED

WHERE TO GET IT

LOOKING AT: JAZZ , AMERICA'S ART FORM

This exciting new series explores the cultural and social history of jazz as it developed as an art form invented in early 20th century America, an art form that has evolved into an enduring expression of creativity and innovation. The history of jazz is much more than the history of an extraordinary musical genre - it is also the story of central social, political and cultural issues of the 20th century that continue to play a part in our fledgling 21st. Program and film list.

THE WORLD WAR I YEARS: AMERICA BECOMES A WORLD POWER

The United States' entrance into World War I in 1917 changed the country in profound ways; not only in inaugurating the major role it would play in global affairs for the rest of the century, but domestically as well. In mobilizing for and undertaking its part in the global conflict, America discovered new strengths but also faced fissures and weaknesses in its social fabric. The trends that arose during the war years would set the agenda that dominated American life for the rest of the century. Program and film list.

FROM ROSIE TO ROOSEVELT: A FILM HISTORY OF AMERICANS IN WORLD WAR II

Where were you in World War II??
Weekly film screenings, lectures, reading, and discussions will deepen participants' understanding of the history of World War II and the war's impact on our world today. Participants view award-winning documentary films, read from Studs Terkel's The Good War (the excellent oral history of people who served abroad and on the home front), and talk about how the experience that defined a generation still shapes lives today. The American Command features film biographies and historical accounts of American war leaders: Presidents Roosevelt and Truman, and Generals Eisenhower, Marshall, and MacArthur. The American People focuses on how the war, and the country's mobilization for it, set into motion social and economic trends that continue to play out in America today (individual programs focus on the combat soldier, the role of women, the internment of Japanese-Americans, the role of African-Americans, and the United States and the Holocaust).

POST-WAR YEARS, COLD WAR FEARS:
AMERICAN CULTURE AND POLITICS, 1946-1960

This documentary film, reading, and discussion series picks up America's story where "From Rosie to Roosevelt" (see above) leaves off. Exploring both the political and social history of the post-war period, "Post War Years" examines how America's new affluence, along with the demographic shift to the suburbs and a pent-up demand for goods and housing, combined to create a new consumer culture of the 1960's. The program will also investigate the origin and progression of the Cold War, the rise and fall of McCarthyism, the burgeoning of the civil rights movement, and the inception of modern feminism. Program and film list.

THE SIXTIES: A FILM HISTORY OF AMERICA'S DECADE OF CRISIS AND CHANGE.

The decade of the 1960s was the most turbulent, perhaps the most memorable, and no doubt the most controversial in the twentieth century. The debate over its legacy has by no means been resolved; it continues to generate emotional reactions, an extraordinary mix of memories, and a wide range of interpretations as to its origins, content and consequences. Program and film list.

PRESIDENTS, POLITICS AND POWER: AMERICAN PRESIDENTS WHO SHAPED THE TWENTIETH CENTURY.

The 20th Century demanded strong leaders. Meet the men who faced the challenge: Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan. This series offers participants the opportunity to view outstanding documentary films and engage in dialogue about six men who redefined our country's presidency. Program and film list.

FAST FORWARD: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & THE COMMUNICATION REVOLUTION

This exciting series uses award-winning documentary films and text to involve the public in a study of the impact of science and technology in the 20th century. Programs focus on the rapid introduction of new communication technologies (the telephone, movies, radio, television, and the Internet) and on the astonishing impact that technological innovations have had on our work and home lives. We'll discuss how American society stimulated and encouraged technical change in communications and how these changes altered social, political, and economic patterns. Program and film list.

THE RESEARCH REVOLUTION: SCIENCE AND THE SHAPING OF MODERN LIFE

This series examines the atomic age, robotics, genetics, forensics, global warming, and biodiversity ~ how scientific research has changed our lives. The twentieth century has witnessed many extraordinary events and experiences but none more significant than the pace of scientific discovery and technological transformation. This film/discussion series will provide an historical perspective and a contemporary context on: how artificially created substances have transformed our daily lives and the very way we view the relationship between the natural and the artificial; how war and national defense have been revolutionized by the infusion of scientific, technological and even social research; and finally, on the way we view ourselves in relation to our natural environment. Program and film list.