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Category: "Social Studies 3.1"

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Trunks and Travel: A 19th Century Journey in New York State

Mary Jeanne Bialas, Sherrill
The audience is part of the program in this lecture, which brings to life the customs, sights, sounds, and formidable packing requirements of for a wealthy industrialist and his wife traveling in late-19th-century New York State.

Poking Fun: Political Puns and Social Satire in the Genre Paintings of William Sidney Mount

Elizabeth Kahn Kaplan, St. James
Subtle humor injected into scenes of country life by this world-renowned 19th century Long Island artist brought smiles to the lips of those in the know.

Rebels in Red Kerchiefs: East European Jewish Women and the Founding of the Jewish Bund

Harriet Davis-Kram, New York
A significant number of Jewish women were involved in Russian struggles for democracy during the end of the 19th century. Their active roles led to the emergence of Zionism as well as the Social Democratic Bund.

The Immigrant Saga: A Memoir of the Lower East Side & Early Jewish American Writers

Sanford Sternlicht, Syracuse
Where did they come from? Why did they leave their homes in Eastern Europe to sail the Atlantic to NYC? How did 1.5 million Jews adapt to, contribute to, and effect American society and culture?

Johann Sebastian Bach: Portrait of a Musician from the Baroque

Suzanne Forsberg, New York
A portrait of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) is illustrated with slides and CDs. The Baroque society in which he lived influenced the compositions he wrote for the courts of Weimar and Cothen, and the city of Leipzig.

The Balfour Declaration: The Central U.S. Role in Israeli-Palestinian Relations

Joseph Rappaport, New York
The United States has played a role in the Middle East conflict going back at least as far as 1917. Learn more about the modern history of Israeli-Palestinian relations, America's involvement in key milestones along the way, and the current challenges facing Israelis and Palestinians.

Understanding Past Native American Cultures in the Hudson Valley Through Archaeology

Eugene J. Boesch, Mahopac
The presentation will focus on Native Americans in the Hudson Valley, from its earliest occupation by humans, at least 12,000 years ago, to the period of initial European Contact.

The Lenape: Lower New York's First Inhabitants

David Oestreicher, White Plains
Who were the original inhabitants of lower New York? What were they like, and what remains of their culture today? Learn the true story of the Lenape -- not the romanticized figures of popular mythology or new-age literature, but a living people as they really are.

19th Century Circus: Sex, Violence and Politics

David Carlyon, Larchmont
When did circus change from raw adult fare to innocent family entertainment? A historian. and ex-Ringling Brothers clown investigates the reasons.

All Things Herriot: James Herriot and His Peaceable Kingdom

Sanford Sternlicht, Syracuse
In the Great Depression how could a poor, newly graduated, veterinarian from Scotland, who had taken a job caring for farm animals in Yorkshire, England, become a household name as a world class storyteller?

The Many Guises of King Arthur

William Seaton, Goshen
King Arthur appears in a variety of stories: some are heroic, some romantic, mystical, or simply entertaining. What can this ancient hero teach us today?

Stephen Crane as a Regional Writer

William Seaton, Goshen
At once rebellious and affectionate toward his home region, Stephen Crane's local references are essential to an understanding of his work.

The Panama Canal and the Transformation of a Nation

Robert R. McMillan, Garden City
The first civilian chairman of the Panama Canal recounts the canal's complex political history, its crucial importance to U.S. economic interests, and what the future may hold for Panama and its eponymous canal.

Sweet Treason: Literary Translation

William Seaton, Goshen
Illustrated by texts in several languages, this lecture argues for the value of literary translation in spite of the impossibility of complete success.

Winged Words: Notes on the Oral Performance of Poetry

William Seaton, Goshen
How does performed poetry differ from poetry on the page? Is one mode more authentic of effective? The speaker surveys the history of art.

The Radium Dial Painters: How a Local Tragedy Changed the Nation

Eugene J. Boesch, Mahopac
In 1920, young women employed as watch dial painters by U.S. Radium in Orange, New Jersey, began reporting health problems. By 1922, some were dying. But despite the fact that these women were working unprotected with a radioactive material, U.S. Radium rejected any claims that it was responsible. How did the tragedy of the "radium girls" became one of the nation's first recognized cases of industrial poisoning, and contribute to the movement to protect worker health?

From Founders to Farmers: An Archaeologist's View of Hudson Valley Homes of the 19th Century

Eugene J. Boesch, Mahopac
The transformation of domestic life in the 19th century -- from a largely rural lifestyle to a middle class consumer society -- set the stage for 20th century culture. Using the techniques of archeology, we explore how life was lived in 19th century homes of the lower Hudson Valley, and how the transformations of that era connects to our own contemporary experiences.

José Martí: Chronicler of New York City

Chaz Mena, New York
“A guest sees more in an hour than his host in a year.” -- José Martí, Cuban humanist, remains to this day the best chronicler of New York City’s gilded age.

'The Removal of Our Colour Population': Liberia and the American Colonization Society

Ron Soodalter, South Salem
In the early 1800s, our greatest statesmen met in Washington to make a vital decision: how to rid the country of its black population.

George Bellows at Woodstock

Ron Netsky, Rochester
He was the quintessential urban painter. Why did George Bellows spend the last five years of his life painting expressionistic landscapes and allegorical portraits in Woodstock, New York?

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