Humanities Lectures in Community

COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES OFFERS COMMUNITY LECTURE SERIES

     COLUMBUS -- What do Bette Davis movies, jazz music, Yiddish
language, and the everyday writings of African-American teenage
girls have in common?

     They're culturally different forms of expression, and
they're topics in Cultural Expressions: Humanities in the
Community, a community-based lecture series sponsored by the
College of Humanities at The Ohio State University.

     In celebration of its 25th anniversary, the college is
presenting the four-part series at Bexley High School and the
Black Studies Community Extension Center, which are both co-
sponsors.  Bexley High School is at 326 S. Cassingham Ave., and
the Black Studies Community Extension Center is at 905 Mt. Vernon
Ave.  The events are free and open to the public.

     "These lectures are meant to bring university teachers and
members of the general community closer together," said Shari
Lorbach, coordinator of public relations for the college.

     "They are also intended to show how humanistic investigation
helps us better understand the many cultural forms we use to
express ourselves -- from movies and music to special languages
and storytelling."

     The series is:

Tuesday, Jan. 25, 7:30 p.m., Bexley High School
     Watching Bette Davis, presented by Professor Judith Mayne of
the Department of French and Italian and the Center for Women's
Studies.  Mayne will discuss why Bette Davis was such a popular
and appealing actress.  Using film clips, articles from the
popular press and biography, she will examine the career of this
unique actress, focusing on the themes of female rivalry.

Thursday, March 3, 7:30 p.m., Black Studies Extension Center
     Jazz: America's Music from Folk to Art -- A World Class
Contribution, presented by Professor Ted McDaniel of the
Department of Black Studies and the School of Music.  McDaniel
will talk about the cultural contribution that jazz has given the
world through major innovators such as Charlie Parker, Duke
Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie and Rahsann Roland Kirk.  In addition,
a jazz demonstration will be given.

Wednesday, April 6, 7:30 p.m. Bexley High School
     A Roadmap to Ourselves: The Rise of Yiddish Language and
Civilization, presented by Associate Professor Neil Jacobs of the
Department of Near Eastern, Judaic and Hellenic Languages and
Literatures; the Middle Eastern Studies Center; and the Melton
Center for Jewish Studies.  Jacobs will discuss the origins and
developments of Yiddish from its earliest beginning to its
emergence as the language of journalism, political and academic
discourse, and a vast national literature.  At its height, the
home territory of this 100-year-old language covered a larger
area of Europe than any other language except Russian.

Thursday, May 5, 7:30 p.m., Black Studies Extension Center
     Get Outa My Face: Everyday Uses of Writing Among African-
American Teenage Girls, presented by Associate Professor Amy
Shuman of the Department of English and the Center for Folklore
Studies.  Shuman studied the uses of everyday writing (such as
notes, diaries, letters and mail order business) in an inner-city
school attended by African-American, Puerto Rican-American and
Anglo-American students.  She will discuss students' reaction to
newspaper reports about racial violence at the school following
an incident between two African-American girls.  Shuman will
compare the letters students wrote to the newspaper with other
writing and stories about fights at the school.  At the heart of
these forms of communication is a powerful adolescent moral
system for determining who has the right to talk about whom, and
this moral system can lead to either violence or willingness to
work toward a greater good.  The stories, told and written, in
everyday life in the neighborhood and school can be a useful
resource for creative problem solving.
                                
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Contact: Gail Summerhill, College of Humanities, (614) 292-1882.


[Submitted by: REIDV  (reidv@ccgate.ucomm.ohio-state.edu)
               
Fri, 07 Jan 1994 13:49:56 -0500 (EST)]
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