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2013-14

Fall | Winter | Spring | Program Director: Ivy Wilson

CO-SPONSORSHIPS

Fall Quarter 2013

Tuesday, October 29, 5:30 pm || McCormick Tribune Center, 1870 Campus Drive

Nikky Finney (Creative Writing, University of South Carolina), A Reading and Conversation with Nikky Finney
A Kreeger Wolf Reading (Audio/Video Recording)
Please join us for a poetry reading and conversation with Nikky Finney.  Following the reading, poet and editor Parneshia Jones will interview Finney about her work, growing up during the civil rights movement, and the fiftieth anniversary of the March on Washington.  Reception and book signing to follow. Seating is limited.
Sponsored with the Program in American Studies and Northwestern University Press
With generous support from the Northwestern University Library and the Black Alumni Association

Wednesday, November 20, 3:30 pm || Evanston

Experiential Learning Outing: 12 Years a Slave
The movie starts at 4:00 p.m. (134 mins).  We will meet in the American Studies office at 3:30 to go over to the theater together, with dinner & discussion afterward, around 6:30 p.m. at Dixie Kitchen.

Monday, December 9, 10:00 am || American Studies Lounge (University Hall 022)

American Studies Holiday Gift Wrapping
For the last five years some of us in American Studies have helped adopt at least one family from Family Focus for the holidays. I am hoping that the generous spirit of giving continues this season.  Each person should try to donate at least $15-$20, as each member of the family must receive at least one gift. Donations will be accepted at the American Studies office. 

Winter Quarter 2014 

Thursday, March 6, 2014, 5:00 – 6:00pm || American Studies Lounge (University Hall 020)

American Studies informational meeting for prospective majors

Does an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the U.S. and its place and meaning in the world fascinate you? Do small seminars that inspire collaborative conversation and debate appeal to you? Does the idea of a capstone senior project culminating your undergraduate experience intrigue you? If so, please come to the informative meeting for prospective American Studies majors on Thursday, March 6th!.  Light refreshments will be available. [ EVENT POSTER ]

Monday, March 10, 6:00 pm || Hagstrum Room (University Hall 201)

The Northwestern University Political Union presents, "A Panel on the ASA Resolution Boycotting Israeli Academic Institutions," featuring student panelists Serene Darwish, Moira Geary, Jonathan Kamel, and Josh Boxerman

This past November, the national American Studies Association passed a resolution at the last convention to boycott Israeli academic institutions. The resolution, and others like it, has generated substantial controversy. In conjunction with the Program in American Studies, the Political Union is sponsoring a panel discussion featuring undergraduate students debating the issue.  [ EVENT POSTER ]

Spring Quarter 2014 

Thursday, April 24 || 12:30-2:00 pm || Hagstrum Room, University Hall 201 || light refreshments

ELENA GONZALES Visiting Scholar, American Studies, Northwestern University

"Resonance, Wonder, and Empathy: Strategies in Curatorial Work for Social Justice"

ABSTRACT: Museums can and should work for social justice through exhibitions. This work is part of the answer to museums’ crisis of relevance in the 21st century. I am assembling curatorial tactics into a strategy to enhance curatorial work for social justice. I propose intentionally engaging visitors’ sense of wonder in combination with experiences of resonance. Together, these tools help us to create empathy in the visitor, a precursor to working for justice. In this talk, I will present these strategies through a case study of the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum.

BIO: ELENA GONZALES is a sixth year doctoral candidate in American Studies at Brown University, where she received her Masters in public humanities in 2010. Her work focuses on curatorial work for social justice. Her dissertation charts this type of work across diverse museums, arguing that exhibitions work for social justice most effectively when engaging both intellectual and embodied emotional responses. Elena has curated exhibitions at the National Museum of Mexican Art, Brown, and the Culinary Arts Museum at Johnson and Wales University. She has worked at the National Museum of American History and the Anacostia Community Museum at the Smithsonian, and taught a curatorial studies seminar at Brown. Elena was a 2012 Ford Dissertation Fellow. She is thrilled to be a visiting scholar in American Studies at Northwestern and is always open to working with students. [ EVENT POSTER ]

Thursday, May 8 || 5:00-9:00pm || Leopold Room, Harris Hall 108

Professor Carl Smith Retirement Reception

Friday, May 9 || 5:00-9:00pm || Leopold Room, Harris Hall 108

40th Anniversary Celebration of the Program in American Studies

Saturday, May 10 || 9:00am - 9:00pm || Leopold Room, Harris Hall 108

40th Anniversary Celebration of the Program in American Studies

Friday, May 23 || 4:00pm || Hagstrum Room, University Hall 201

The Program in American Studies cordially invites you to the

AMERICAN STUDIES SENIOR RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM: “American Archives, Past, Present, and Future”

Please join us as we celebrate the accomplishments of the following American Studies graduating seniors, who will deliver presentations on their research:

The symposium will have two panels with four students apiece moderated by a faculty member.

The first panel, comprised of JACK FOSTER, HAILEY KARCHER, STEPHEN REES, and JOHN SECARAS will be moderated by Professor Jay Grossman.

The second panel, comprised of BRIDGET ILLING, MAX JONES, LAUREN BUXBAUM, and RHAINA COHEN will be moderated by Professor Traci Burch.

 Dinner will follow the presentations. [ EVENT POSTER ]