From: Michael Sartisky <msartisky@leh.org>
Subject: News from LEH
Reply: msartisky@leh.org


December 2009 e-Newsletter
left_round New LEH Board member

Michael Bernstein, PhD.  Dr. Bernstein came to Tulane University in 2007 as the university's 11th Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. In addition, he serves as a professor of history and economics. Professor Bernstein came to Tulane from the University of California at San Diego (UCSD), where he served as the Dean of Arts and Humanities and as a Professor of History. A former Fulbright Scholar at Christ's College (Cambridge University), he has held research grants from the American Council of Learned Societies, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library Association, and the Economic History Association. In addition, he has been an Andrew Mellon Fellow at the National Humanities Center and has held a Residency Fellowship at Sophia University (Tokyo, Japan) under the joint auspices of the Organization of American Historians and the Japanese Association for American Studies. More recently, Dr. Bernstein received the Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award of the University of California, San Diego.
left_round LEH-sponsored Dictionary of Louisiana French published

With a Louisiana Publishing Initiative grant from the LEH, the University Press of Mississippi recently published the comprehensive new Dictionary of Louisiana French: As Spoken in Cajun, Creole, and American Indian Communities. The project's senior editor was Albert Valdman, director of the Creole Institute at Indiana University, and associate editor, Kevin J. Rottet, associate professor of French linguistics at Indiana University. Assistant editors included Barry Jean Ancelet, Richard Guidry, Thomas A. Klingler, Amanda LaFleur, Tamara Lindner, Michael D. Picone and Dominique Ryon.
left_round LEH-Sponsored events

Baton Rouge: On display through Dec. 13, the Louisiana Art and Science Museum presents Starry Messenger: Galileo's Vision in 21st Century Art, an exhibition of paintings, digital art, graphics, and sculpture in glass and bronze. Offered in conjunction with interpretive text, an exhibition catalogue and humanities-based public programs that explore the historical, scientific and cultural impact of Galileo Galilei, the exhibition observes the International Year of Astronomy, scheduled to coincide with the 400th anniversary of the invention of the telescope. To complement the exhibition, the museum presents Painting the Heavens: A Talk with Eileen Reeves at 2 p.m. Dec. 6. Galileo was involved in the art establishment of Florence, Italy, as a teacher, art patron, and art critic. Princeton professor Eileen Reeves, who is author of Painting the Heavens: Art and Science in the Age of Galileo, will discuss the impact of Galileo's heavenly observations on painters in the 17th century. The Louisiana Art and Science Museum is located at 100 River Road South, Baton Rouge. For more information, contact 225-344-5272.

Plaquemine: The Iberville Museum presents the latest installment of its People of Iberville exhibition and public program series entitled The Germans of Iberville. An exhibition showcasing the cultural, political and economic contributions of German-born settlers in the region continues through Dec. 5. The Iberville Museum is located at 57735 Main Street, Plaquemine. For more information, contact 225-687-7197.

Shreveport: The Meadows Museum of Art at Centenary College presents a temporary exhibition entitled Louisiana Artists from the Arthur Roger Gallery on display in the Focus Gallery through December 24. The Meadows Museum of Art is located on the campus of Centenary College, 2911 Centenary Boulevard, Shreveport. For more information, contact 318-869-5040.
left_round RELIC: Readings in Literature and Culture

Digging up items from battlefields sounds interesting, but it is best left to experts who analyze and document such finds for the benefit of historical understanding and broader public interest. RELIC's program "Battleground Louisiana: Civil War Events and Experiences" enables audiences to appreciate historic collections in museums and it encourages participants to share and understand local events from this American experience.   

Here are two recent examples of this great new program. In Stonewall (DeSoto Parish), Dr. Thomas Pressly of the Mansfield State Historical Site presented and explained the uses of artillery projectiles and other items from the Mansfield Battlefield in northwest Louisiana. He had one caveat - Civil War projectiles still lying below ground may still be live and volatile munitions because of the chemical instability of aging gun powder. In Columbia (Caldwell Parish), Dr. Terry Jones presented the audience with information on the war years in the immediate region, which saw its own version of a civil war, involving guerrilla bands and outlaw groups taking advantage of the war's chaos.  

The RELIC programs offer Louisiana's residents many opportunities for discovery in history, local culture, literature and other fields of the humanities.  For a complete listing of available programs, see the RELIC link at the LEH website and ask your local library about hosting one.
left_round Louisiana Cultural Vistas magazine

The Winter 2009/10 edition of Louisiana Cultural Vistas debuts Dec. 4. There is still time to purchase $20 gift subscriptions for family, friends and business associates. The new issue features:
  • Paintings by William Woodward culled from the collections of the New Orleans Museum of Art and The Historic New Orleans Collection. Woodward (1859-1939) was a Louisiana impressionist painter best known for his scenes of the French Quarter at the turn of the 20th century.
  • The recently discovered photographs of John T. Mendes, an amateur photographer who documented New Orleans in the 1910s and 20s. An LEH-funded book by the University of New Orleans Press has been released and an exhibit of Mendes's photographs will remain through February at The Historic New Orleans Collection.
  • Biographies of three generations of Native-American women from Louisiana's Koasati tribe, excerpted from the book Louisiana Women: Their Lives and Times.
  • The origins of New Orleans' nicknames, from "Crescent City" and "Queen City of the South" to "Big Easy" and the "City That Care Forgot."
  • A history of riots that broke out in New Orleans' Desire Housing Project in the early 1970s, excerpted from the LEH-funded book Showdown in Desire by Orissa Arend.
  • An examination of the cultures that defined New Orleans' character from Ned Sublette's 2008 LEH Book of the Year, The World That Made New Orleans.
left_round PRIME TIME and Target Literacy Continues in Spring 2010

The "Target Literacy" project is expanding to Arthur Ashe Charter School in New Orleans, La.  The generous support of the Target Corporation and the spectacular leadership of the United Way's New Orleans Kids Partnership (NOKP) along with the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities' PRIME TIME program will make it possible for parents and children to participate in an innovative literacy project that combines the efforts and resources of multiple community organizations including the Louisiana Children's Museum and New Orleans Outreach.

Target Corporation funds will be used to support a six-week PRIME TIME FAMILY READING TIME program. The program will be hosted by the Louisiana Children's' Museum for families of Arthur Ashe Charter School.  New Orleans Outreach staff will assist in recruitment and logistics.  The program will run Tuesdays from 6-7:30 p.m. from Feb. 23 through March 30, 2010.
left_round Joe W. & Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation awards funds to support Prime Time in New Orleans

In response to a funding proposal, the Joe W. and Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation is offering support for PRIME TIME programming in Louisiana. The Brown Foundation was established in 1959 and is involved in funding medical research; housing for the homeless; organizations who care for the sick, hungry or helpless; religious and educational institutions; and organizations and groups concerned with improving our local community.  In December, the foundation awarded PRIME TIME $5,000. These funds will supplement overall expenses for two PRIME TIME programs in metropolitan New Orleans during the spring 2010 term. "The generous support of the Brown Foundation will assist PRIME TIME in meeting the literacy needs of our community", said Miranda Restovic, PRIME TIME Co-Director. "We look forward to serving our community together in the coming months."

The LEH and the PRIME TIME staff wish to thank the Brown Foundation and its Board of Directors for their consideration and generosity. 
left_round PRIME TIME announces spring 2010 Louisiana sites

Congratulations to all spring 2010 PRIME TIME grant recipients! Approximately 20 PRIME TIME funding requests were received for spring/summer 2010 programming in Louisiana. However, due to drastically reduced state funding for the 2010-2011 fiscal year, only 4 programs could be covered by state funds. Donations solicited from private foundations will underwrite the remaining 16 programs. Additional information on these programs will be available soon.

Spring 2010 sites:
·    Abbeville - Vermillion Parish Library
·    Alexandria - Rapides Parish Library
·    Chalmette - St. Bernard Parish School Board-Andrew Jackson Elementary
·    Eunice - Arnold Ledoux Library, (Summer)
·    Jennings - Jefferson Davis Parish Title I Parent Center
·    Lafayette - Alice Boucher World Language Academy
·    Lake Charles - Gillis Elementary School
·    Lake Charles - Cameron Parish Public Library
·    Lockport - Lafourche Parish Library-Lockport Branch
·    New Orleans - Communities in Schools New Orleans-Fisher Charter School
·    New Orleans - Communities In Schools-Eisenhower School
·    Port Allen - West Baton Rouge Parish Library
·    St. Gabriel - East Iberville Parish Library
·    Shreveport - Southfield School
·    Thibodaux - Lafourche Parish Library-Thibodaux Branch

January 2009 PRIME TIME training workshop
The January Training Workshop dates are Jan.16 -17.  The workshop will be hosted at the Louisiana Humanities Center at Turners' Hall in New Orleans.  Participants from Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana are expected to attend. Please contact Shantrell Adams with any questions or concerns on the BFI submission process or for the January Training workshop.
left_round Louisiana Humanities Center


Wednesdays at the LHC - In December, the Louisiana Humanities Center features weekly programming. Our series on the history of the New Orleans mayoralty continued on Dec. 2 with a panel on Sidney Barthelemy, mayor 1986-1994, and again on Dec. 16 for a discussion of Marc Morial, mayor from 1994-2002.  Doors open at 6:30 p.m., admission is free but seating is limited and on a first-come-first-served basis. 

On Dec. 9, the "As Told By Themselves" oral history series brings in the legendary Rebirth Brass Band for a panel and performance starting at 7 p.m. Admission is $5.  The LHC is located at 938 Lafayette Street at the corner of O'Keefe in New Orleans. For more information, contact Brian Boyles at boyles@leh.org.
left_round LEH grant deadlines


Feb. 15 - Louisiana Publishing Initiative grants. For more information about the publishing grant, contact John Kemp at kemp@leh.org or call 504-620-2481.
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