NORTH ADAMS - Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts will begin a series of humanities workshops next month lead by faculty members.
History professor Frances Jones-Sneed has announced the start of the series, "Of Migrations and Renaissances: Harlem, N.Y., and South Side Chicago, 1915-1975."
The six professional development programs will take place Saturday mornings at the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, 10 to noon, on Dec.
1 and in 2008 on Jan. 26, Feb. 23, March 29, May 31 and July 26.
They are free and open to the general public, as well as to college, high school, and middle school teachers interested in exploring the
relationship between the "Great Migration" of black Americans out of the South and the creative expression in the large racial enclaves of Harlem and Chicago during the 20th century.
"Each Saturday morning, visiting scholars will present a lecture on topics of the Harlem Renaissance, African-American music, literature, art and history. In the afternoon, 12 workshop participants - 10 from Berkshire County and two from New York State - will attend a workshop to explore the topic further," Jones-Sneed said. "In addition, workshop participants will complete an independent educational project."
Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and designated as a "We the People" project, workshop topics will focus on the history of the Great Migration; jazz, blues, and gospel music; literature and art of the Harlem Renaissance; social realism in the 1930s and 1940s, and the 1960s black arts movement, according to Jones-Sneed.
A co-director of the project with literature professor Richard Courage of Westchester Community College/State University of New York, Jones-Sneed will lead the first workshop, "African-American Migration from World War I to the 1970s," to be held on Dec. 1, 10 to noon at the Berkshire Museum.
The session will focus on the Reconstruction-era "Old Settlers" of New York and Chicago, the three major lanes of 20th-century migration and movement from rural to urban areas and among cities, and Caribbean migration to the East Coast.
Subsequent sessions are:
● "The Flowering of New Literary Talents after World War I and the Continuing Spirit of Cultural Renewal in Subsequent Decades" on Jan. 26.
● "The Harlem Renaissance as a Political and Cultural Movement" on Feb. 23.
● "Music of the Harlem Renaissance and Beyond" on March 29.
● "Cultural Renaissance of the South Side of Chicago" on May 31.
● "The Black Arts Movement - BAM" on July 26.
Jones-Sneed hopes that, in addition to teachers from Berkshire County,
teachers from Vermont, New York, and Connecticut will be interested in the workshop sessions.
"Of Migrations and Renaissances: Harlem, N.Y., and South Side Chicago,
1915-1975" is being co-sponsored with the Berkshire Museum, the Boston
Symphony Orchestra, Northwestern Connecticut Community College,
Berkshire Community College, Upper Housatonic Valley African-American
Heritage Trail, Berkshire County regional school districts and the
University of Massachusetts at Amherst's W.E.B. Dubois Special Collections and archives.
This is the second NEH grant awarded to MCLA in recent years and the
second to receive designation as a NEH "We the People" project. In March 2005, NEH awarded MCLA a $100,000 grant and a "We the People" designation to support "The Shaping Role of Place in African American Biography," which included black studies curriculum development in local school districts. "We the People" is an initiative that supports the strengthening of the teaching, study, and understanding of American history and culture.
For more information about the workshop, contact Darlene White of BSO
Berkshire Education Programs at dwhite@bso.org or call 413-637-5274.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
Your Comments
iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary.
No Comments
Multiple Departments Respond to Lanesborough Structure Fire
By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Multiple fire departments responded to a structure fire off Narragansett Avenue on Wednesday afternoon.
The Fire Department received a call from the owner of 6 Bangor St. reporting a smoke and flames at around 1:44 p.m.
Firefighters arriving on scene reported heavy smoke emanating from the the 1940s single-family ranch home in the thickly settle neighborhood.
The blaze was brought under control in less than an hour and there were no civilian or firefighter injuries.
"The homeowner was outside doing some work, evidently, opened the door when she came back in the house, and there were flames and smoke, so she backed out and called us, and that's all we know right now," Deputy Fire Chief Glen Storie said around 2:35 p.m.
The fire was out at that time, and first responders observed "quite a bit of damage" to the home. The cause is still under investigation.
Lanesborough, Cheshire, and Pittsfield departments responded to the scene, and Hancock covered the station during the call.
"The first crew in knocked the fire right down with the first engine," Storie said.
Smoke could be seen coming from the back of the home. Part of Narragansett Avenue and Bangor Avenue were blocked off while firefighters battled the blaze.
Cassidy Flynn scattered five hits in a complete-game effort in the circle as Lenox upset top-seeded Hoosac Valley, 3-2, in the quarter-finals of the Division 5 State Tournament. click for more
Brayden Durant struck out seven and walked one in a complete-game effort on the mound Saturday to pitch the Drury baseball team to a 6-0 win over Keefe Tech in the quarter-finals of the Division 5 State Tournament at Joe Wolfe Field. click for more
Jason Codey struck out 13, walked two and allowed just an infield single as the Generals earned a 7-1 win over Wahconah to claim their third straight regional title. click for more
Gracelyn Wright struck out eight, and Genevieve Lagess went 3-for-5 with four runs batted in as the Hurricanes beat Monson, 17-3, to claim their first Western Mass title in four years. click for more
For the boys, Ward Bianchi helped lead the way with a win in the shot put and a second place in the javelin as the Mounties finished 16 points ahead of runner-up Pittsfield (pending the results of the pole vault, which were unavailable at 11 p.m. Friday night). click for more
