National Archives and Records Administration Announces December Schedule for Lectures and Booksignings
Press Release · Thursday, October 30, 1997

Washington, DC

In December, the National Archives and Records Administration presents several free lectures and booksignings that examine a wide range of topics.

The programs are free and open to the public and will take place at the downtown National Archives Building, Pennsylvania Avenue between 7th and 9th Streets, NW. The public may verify times and dates by calling the National Archives public events line at 202-501-5000 (TDD users may call 202-501-5404).

Wednesday, December 3 -- New Deal for the Arts series
Scott DeVeaux, associate professor of music at the University of Virginia, will discuss The Birth of Bebop: A Social and Musical History. This study in American and cultural history shows that bebop was simultaneously an artistic movement, an ideological statement and a commercial phenomenon. The author links the musicians of the early 1940s to their predecessors in the Swing era and to other developments during World War II, drawing from rich oral histories. Theater. Noon.

Thursday, December 4 -- History, Government and Culture
Michael Kammen, Newton C. Farr Professor of History at Cornell University and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, will discuss "Government and Culture in the United States: Historical Background and Contemporary Conflict," one of the topics examined in his new book of essays, In the Past Lane: Historical Perspectives on American Culture. The role of the historian, the relationship between culture and the state and uses of tradition in American commercial culture are among the subjects addressed in his new book, published by Oxford University Press. This program will be introduced by Spencer Crew, Director, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. Noon. Room 105.

Wednesday, December 10 -- First Ladies
Nancy Keegan Smith, National Archives Access Officer for Presidential Holdings, will discuss "The Role of 20th-Century First Ladies as Documented in the Holdings of Presidential Libraries," covering every First Lady since Lou Henry Hoover. She will discuss the unique way in which each of these First Ladies viewed her role and illustrate this with materials from the libraries. Ms. Smith is co-editor of Modern First Ladies: Their Documentary Legacy, published by the National Archives and Records Administration. Noon. Room 105.

Thursday, December 11 -- Civil War series
James M. McPherson is the George Henry Davis ‘86 Professor of American History at Princeton University and winner of the 1989 Pulitzer Prize in History for Battle Cry of Freedom. He will discuss one of the most skillful young officers in the Union Navy, who became captain of the USS Gettysburg and whose documents are among the few accounts we have from the perspective of a navy officer. Lamson of the Gettysburg: The Civil War Letters of Lieutenant Roswell H. Lamson, U.S. Navy is published by Oxford University Press. Co-editor Patricia R. McPherson will participate in the question period following the lecture. Today’s program will be introduced by archivist and Civil War specialist Michael Musick. Noon. Theater.

For additional PRESS information, please contact the National Archives Public Affairs staff at (301) 837-1700 or e-mail public.affairs@nara.gov.

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