Did you know that U.S. society lived through major economic crises before the Great Depression? How did American popular theater depict these financial crises? A reference question sent our graduate fellow Gyorgy “George” Toth looking in our John Springer Printed Ephemera Collection, which has some amazing playbills, programs, and advertisements of popular theater from the turn of theContinue reading ““The Defaulter,” or, the Loan Crisis on the American Stage”
Category Archives: Collection Connection
Cooking Pamphlets as Culture
On April 14th Special Collections & University Archives staff visited the International Students’ Cooking Club. György Tóth, a PhD candidate in American Studies and the senior Olson Fellow, prepared some dishes from his native Hungary. Besides the dinner, the evening also featured an introduction to the Chef Louis Szathmáry II Collection of Culinary Arts, with anContinue reading “Cooking Pamphlets as Culture”
American Indian Powwow & Exhibit Share Native Living Traditions
Addendum to blog entry on August 7, 2012: Are you looking for a cultural activity for this coming weekend? How about attending the Meskwaki Powwow in Tama, Iowa? Here is a little historical preview from our exhibition titled “American Indian Dancing: Ethnic Stereotypes, Community Resources, Living Traditions”: The Powwow Then and NowContinue reading “American Indian Powwow & Exhibit Share Native Living Traditions”
Once Upon a January Day: Presidential Politics in Iowa
Are you getting ready for the Iowa Caucuses next Tuesday? The University of Iowa Special Collections has some remarkable holdings of the history of presidential politics. Come visit us to catch a glimpse of caucuses and elections past, and even see the signatures of U.S. presidents! The Iowa caucuses have been the first majorContinue reading “Once Upon a January Day: Presidential Politics in Iowa”
The U.S. Goes to War – and the War Comes to Iowa IV.
We are commemorating the 70th anniversary of the U.S. entry into World War Two by highlighting some items in our collections relating to this event. Library and Information Science graduate student Katherine Wilson’s exhibition at Special Collections & University Archives brings the Iowan war effort to life. How did the University of Iowa and ordinary Iowans respondContinue reading “The U.S. Goes to War – and the War Comes to Iowa IV.”
The U.S. Goes to War – and the War Comes to Iowa III.
We are commemorating the 70th anniversary of the U.S. entry into World War Two by highlighting some items in our collections relating to this event. How did Henry A. Wallace, an Iowan and national politician respond to the coming of World War II to the United States? A look at his official Vice PresidentialContinue reading “The U.S. Goes to War – and the War Comes to Iowa III.”
The U.S. Goes to War – and the War Comes to Iowa II.
We are commemorating the 70th anniversary of the U.S. entry into World War Two by highlighting some items in our collections relating to this event. How did Iowans see the coming of World War Two to the United States? The works of Jay Norwood “Ding” Darling, editorial cartoonist of the Des Moines Register regularly commentedContinue reading “The U.S. Goes to War – and the War Comes to Iowa II.”
The U.S. Goes to War – and the War Comes to Iowa
We are commemorating the 70th anniversary of the U.S. entry into World War Two by highlighting some items in our collections relating to this event. Nile C. Kinnick, Jr. was a University of Iowa student in 1939. The war began in Europe the same fall season when Kinnick and the UI “Iron Men” once again putContinue reading “The U.S. Goes to War – and the War Comes to Iowa”
Comics: Entertainment or Social Critique?
Are comic books a good vehicle for social critique? Is Superman’s romance with Lois Lane trying to tell us something about our own relationships? Can comics promote racial inclusion? As a spinoff of the recent symposium on graphic language, Special Collections and University Archives presents The Comics Continuum, an exhibit from our collections available forContinue reading “Comics: Entertainment or Social Critique?”
The More Things Change… Political Cartoons Exhibit Highlights Un/Civil Discourse over the Past Century
How many of the issues of the 2012 presidential elections are new to our society? What did politicians and the media say about unemployment and social security in the 1930s, the 1970s, or the 1990s? Were the elections of the last century less divisive in their language than those of today? What guidance canContinue reading “The More Things Change… Political Cartoons Exhibit Highlights Un/Civil Discourse over the Past Century”