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New York artist’s installation at Illinois will be accessible by computer
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -“Being Here,” Adam Pendleton’s upcoming four-day conceptual art installation at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will, in a sense, be everywhere. Much of the New York artist’s installation and commentary – and his audience’s physical and verbal response to the events – will be viewable on the World Wide Web, Oct. 10-13 […]
Polls, not Bush Administration, helped shape Americans’ bias against Saddam
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Why were so many Americans, as early as the first anniversary of Sept. 11, convinced that Saddam Hussein was behind the terrorist attacks in the United States? Did their mistaken belief that the Iraqi dictator was responsible for the attacks result from the Bush administration’s information campaign to convince the public to […]
Two new books examine history, meaning of roadside signs, parking lots
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Professor John Jakle continues to be a fearless Roads Scholar. Over the past decade the cultural geographer has cruised the nation’s highways and byways, exploring, dissecting and writing about its unique roadside landscape and culture. First he pumped America’s gas stations for their rich properties, then he frequented fast-food restaurants, and later, […]
Journal of Women’s History finds new home at University of Illinois
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is the new editorial home of the prestigious Journal of Women’s History (JWH). Previously at Ohio State University, the journal’s editorial base relocated to the U. of I. in July after Illinois’ proposal won out over those of several competing universities. U. of I. history professors […]
Authors advocate more and better women’s restrooms in public facilities
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Women have made significant strides in their fight for equal rights, but they’re being kept in line by inadequate restroom facilities. Restroom parity is not a frivolous issue, says Kathryn Anthony, a professor of architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The author of “Designing for Diversity: Gender, Race and Ethnicity […]
People’s concept of ‘land ethic’ linked to attitudes of use vs. conservation
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Bill Stewart believes that everybody – from the trail-mix-munching hiking enthusiast to the SUV-driving mall-shopper – has what he calls a “land ethic, whether they know it or not.” Most people, however, “acquiesce to the dominant cultural ethic, which tells us that in the urban, workaday world, we have no connection to […]
Poetry anthology celebrates work of social critic Aaron Kramer
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Although frequently ignored by the literary establishment during his lifetime, a self-described “peoples’ poet” and outspoken-but-loyal critic of the United States is celebrated posthumously in a new anthology of his work. The new anthology, “Wicked Times: Selected Poems” (University of Illinois Press) brings together for the first time the best poetry of […]
Presidential vote expert gives Democrats ‘distinct electoral advantage’
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – History has some good news for the Democrats on the eve of their convention next week in Boston. In terms of the relative size of their electoral base and its distribution across states, and despite current polling data, which is highly volatile at this juncture in the race, the Democrats begin the […]
Spanish Civil War journalist’s papers featured in new library exhibit
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Spanish Civil War explodes to life again – in all its heroics and horror – in a new acquisition and exhibit at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The papers of William Forrest, a soft-spoken – and openly leftist – Scottish journalist who covered the Spanish Civil War from beginning to […]
Library at Illinois working to preserve 125 years of agricultural history
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Page by page, America’s rich agricultural history is being ravaged, not by boll weevils, not by locusts, not by critters of any kind, but by time. However, librarians at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are engaged in a fierce battle to save hundreds of aged publications – the core history and […]
Grant will save pages of railroad journals in U. of I. library
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – As most librarians know, time has a way of destroying history. Age can yellow and stain the paper history is written on; it can dry it out and embrittle it; it can tear it, and ultimately reduce it to powder. But thanks to a new grant from the National Endowment for the […]
Archaeologists unearthing life of early integrated town in Illinois
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Independence Day has taken on new layers of meaning for a team of archaeologists who’ve been digging in western Illinois this summer. In fact, nearly everything about the excavation in the rolling farmland near Barry speaks volumes about freedom and liberty, nearly everything adds a chapter to the American Dream. Sponsored by […]