May 2002
Program Notes
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First Week (May 4- 10)
The Comic Era
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They've been linked with delinquency and illiteracy and were decried for their
sexual content. A Senate subcommittee even met to discuss their effect on America's
youth. Sound familiar? No, we're not talking about the movies or rap music, but
comics. And they came under close scrutiny in the mid-1950's. Some 50 years later,
though, comic books are still around. And while there may not be as many teen
eyes focused on their every page, the genre continues to expand. Batman fan Robert
Brown (NOVA) and communication studies professor Matt McAllister (Virginia
Tech), co-editor of Comics and Ideology, look at who's reading the
comics and who's drawing them.
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Second Week (May 11 - 17)
Last Days of the Confederacy
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By February 1865 after Robert E. Lee's Gettysburg defeat had dashed southern
hopes for the army Confederate leaders were at odds over whether to surrender.
President Jefferson Davis wanted to fight to the last man. But his secretary of
war felt differently. John Breckenridge tried to persuade Davis to surrender and
strike the best deal possible with the North. Author and historian William
C. Davis (VT) discusses the desperate last days of the Confederate Government.
Also featured, a look at the male friendships that formed in Civil War prison
camps. Historian Scott Nelson (W&M) says many Union prisoners formed
into loving couples in order to care for each other in the face of widespread
death from disease.
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Third Week (May 18 - 24)
Slave Reparations
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In 1968, a group calling itself The Republic of New Afrika startled the nation
with a suggestion that six Southern states be set aside for blacks in America
as a payback for slavery. Their call was perhaps one of the more radical suggestions
of ways to compensate African Americans for injustices suffered under slavery.
Such discussions began almost immediately after the Civil War and remain alive
today. In March, descendants of slaves filed a lawsuit against three American
corporations whom they claim profited from slavery. Constitutional law scholar
Davison Douglas (W&M) and historian William Alexander (NSU)
examine the history of reparations and consider the legal arguments in the current
lawsuit.
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Fourth Week (May 25 - 31)
The Dump Dominion
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Earlier this spring, Governor Mark Warner proposed a 5 dollar a ton tipping
fee for all trash deposited in Virginia landfills. Legislators rejected the measure,
but the proposal highlighted once again Virginia's status as the second greatest
importer of trash in the U.S. Have we become the Dump Dominion? Geologist Bob
McConnell (Mary Washington) discusses what makes Virginia a popular destination
for trash and some of the concerns it raises. Also featured: Biologist Andrew
Dolby (Mary Washington) looks at what, if anything, birds' songs tell us about
their parenting skills.
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