-Saturday, March 24, 2007, 1 - 3 p.m.-
The cultural and political ferment in New York during the 1930s and the mobilization of New Yorkers to fight in the Spanish Civil War is the topic of a lecture and panel discussion, “Culture and Politics in a Time of War: New York and the Spanish Civil War,” sponsored by New York University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies, in collaboration with the Museum of New York City, NYU’s King Juan Carlos Center, the Gotham Center for New York City History, and the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA).
This event, to be held on Saturday March 24, 2007 at 1 p.m. at the New York Academy of Medicine coincides with, and helps inaugurate, the opening of the exhibition Facing Fascism: New York and the Spanish Civil War which opens at the Museum of the City of New York on Friday March 23, 2007.
The NYU-SCPS event is free and open to the public, and has been partially underwritten by a grant from the Empire State Development Corporation.
Those interested in attending should RSVP by visiting www.scps.nyu.edu/spanishcivilwar or calling 212 998-7171.
BACKGROUND
New Yorkers serving in the Spanish Civil War were part of the cultural ferment that characterized many counties in the period between the Depression and the Second World War- an alignment of art, radical politics, unionism, and internationalism. “Culture and Politics in a Time of War” looks at New York City as a locus of political discourse, cultural creativity, and engagement during a critical period in world history. It explores the richness of the cultural forces in New York- the arts, theater, writing, and journalism- engaged in depicting the Spanish Civil War and helping mobilize the antifascist opposition. It also looks at how political discourse and political affiliations became filtered through the lens of New York’s varying ethnic cultures. It considers the resonances and the parallels between this vital and vibrant period of history and our current ‘time of war’.
- WHAT: Culture and Politics in a Time of War: New York and the Spanish Civil War.
- WHO: Keynote speaker: Mike Wallace, author of the Pulitzer-Prize winning Gotham: A History of New York City; and chair, the Gotham Center for New York City History;
Other speakers include:
Peter N. Carroll, chair, Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives; and author of The Odyssey of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Americans in the Spanish Civil War;
Peter Glazer, associate professor of directing, University of California, Berkeley; award-winning writer and director of works including Wood Guthrie’s American Song, Heart of Spain: A Musical of the Spanish Civil War; and Foe, adapted from J. M. Coetzee’s novel; and
Rob Snyder, historian and associate professor of journalism and media studies, Rutgers-Newark; former editor of Media Studies Journal;, and author of The Voice of the City: Vaudeville and Popular Stories in New York and Transit Talk: New York’s Bus and Subway Workers Tell Their Stories.
- WHEN: Saturday, March 24, 2007, beginning at 1:00 PM
- WHERE: New York Academy of Medicine, 1216 Fifth Avenue (at 103rd Street), NYC
- REGISTRATION: To RSVP, please visit www.scps.nyu.edu/spanishcivilwar or call 212 998-7171.
- EDITORS ONLY: For media inquiries or to cover this event, please contact Christopher James at christopher.james@nyu.edu or 212 998-6876.
The School of Continuing and Professional Studies (www.scps.nyu.edu) is among the 14 colleges and schools that comprise New York University, one of the largest private universities in the United States. Founded in 1934, NYU SCPS each year educates some 4,200 undergraduate and graduate students and enrolls over 40,000 in its non-credit programs. A national leader in adult and professionally oriented education, NYU SCPS programs include non-credit courses that span more than 125 fields, 14 industry-focused Master’s degree programs, and nine Bachelor’s and six Associate degree programs specially designed for working adults.