May 4th Class: Oct. 12 & 14
Dr. Barbato was sick on Monday, but on Wednesday we talked about the Walking Tour and our thoughts about it. We agreed that Alan's commentary was excellent, especially his rant about the gym annex (that was epic). Dr. Barbato talked about the possibility of combining a live tour with an audio tour, and perhaps enhancing the audio tour with commentary. She let us know that the Walking Tour should be up and ready by May 4, 2010, the 40th anniversary (and I plan on going back there for that).
And now, on to the week!
Oct. 12
Since Dr. Barbato was sick, Dr. Patti Schwartz (an English prof who's taking the class with us) played a vid from the History Channel, hosted by Tom Brokaw, about 1968 as a whole. Heads up, TDS fans - Jon Stewart was in it!
Pat Buchanan called it "the worst year in American history." It started with the Tet Offensive, a 3-week ground assault in Vietnam that showed America that the war was unwinnable. On the homefront, 1968 was a big year for the counterculture - communes, pot, hippies, free love, LSD, music. And the Smothers Brothers used satire to snark on the war, and they were a huge influence on Jon Stewart, who basically does the same thing with less censorship.
In '68 Eugene McCarthy ran against President Johnson on an anti-war platform. He came close, but then Bobby Kennedy entered the race. Johnson bowed out in March and was replaced by his Vice President, Hubert Humphrey, who became the Democratic nominee. Richard Nixon became the Republican nominee.
It was also the year of the Orangeburg Massacre and the assassinations of Bobby Kennedy and MLK. After King was killed, riots broke out across the country except for Indianapolis, where Bobby Kennedy went to a ghetto and calmed the crowd. That was also when the Columbia Invention occurred, when students shut down Columbia University in protest of the university wanting to raze a Harlem playground in order to expand.
(Then I had to leave because my bus got there early, so I missed the Democratic Convention in Chicago, booooo)
Oct. 14
We talked about the Kent State atmosphere in the '60s. It was a very blue-collar university with students being the first in their families to go to college. The majority of students weren't socially active, but there was a social core of activists at Kent who were active in the larger anti-war movement. Kent also had one of the first chapters of CORE (Congress on Racial Equality), which worked to integrate the swimming pools in Kent and Ravenna. Because of the blue-collar makeup, students were at first supportive of the war (entering the service was seen as a step up), but when people started coming home and recounting their experiences, people opposed it - seeing many dead on TV galvanized them even more.
Next week, we'll talk about the Vietnam War and anti-war music. I might even make another playlist!
And now, on to the week!
Oct. 12
Since Dr. Barbato was sick, Dr. Patti Schwartz (an English prof who's taking the class with us) played a vid from the History Channel, hosted by Tom Brokaw, about 1968 as a whole. Heads up, TDS fans - Jon Stewart was in it!
Pat Buchanan called it "the worst year in American history." It started with the Tet Offensive, a 3-week ground assault in Vietnam that showed America that the war was unwinnable. On the homefront, 1968 was a big year for the counterculture - communes, pot, hippies, free love, LSD, music. And the Smothers Brothers used satire to snark on the war, and they were a huge influence on Jon Stewart, who basically does the same thing with less censorship.
In '68 Eugene McCarthy ran against President Johnson on an anti-war platform. He came close, but then Bobby Kennedy entered the race. Johnson bowed out in March and was replaced by his Vice President, Hubert Humphrey, who became the Democratic nominee. Richard Nixon became the Republican nominee.
It was also the year of the Orangeburg Massacre and the assassinations of Bobby Kennedy and MLK. After King was killed, riots broke out across the country except for Indianapolis, where Bobby Kennedy went to a ghetto and calmed the crowd. That was also when the Columbia Invention occurred, when students shut down Columbia University in protest of the university wanting to raze a Harlem playground in order to expand.
(Then I had to leave because my bus got there early, so I missed the Democratic Convention in Chicago, booooo)
Oct. 14
We talked about the Kent State atmosphere in the '60s. It was a very blue-collar university with students being the first in their families to go to college. The majority of students weren't socially active, but there was a social core of activists at Kent who were active in the larger anti-war movement. Kent also had one of the first chapters of CORE (Congress on Racial Equality), which worked to integrate the swimming pools in Kent and Ravenna. Because of the blue-collar makeup, students were at first supportive of the war (entering the service was seen as a step up), but when people started coming home and recounting their experiences, people opposed it - seeing many dead on TV galvanized them even more.
Next week, we'll talk about the Vietnam War and anti-war music. I might even make another playlist!