Southwest Rock Calendars and Ancient Time Pieces with Allen Dart

Sedona Public Library 3250 White Bear Road, Sedona, AZ, United States

Native Americans in the U.S. Southwest developed sophisticated skills in astronomy and predicting the seasons, centuries before non-Indian peoples entered the region. In this presentation archaeologist Allen Dart discusses the petroglyphs at Picture Rocks, the architecture of the “Great House” at Arizona’s Casa Grande Ruins, and other archaeological evidence of ancient southwestern astronomy and calendrical […]

FREE

Understanding and Learning to Talk About Systemic Racism with Rowdy Duncan

AZ, United States

The term systemic racism is being used a lot these days by political pundits and ordinary people. What is the notion of systemic racism? What are the key definitions that we need to know to understand systemic racism? The concepts of race, racism, reverse racism, white privilege, intersectional racism, affirmative action, political correctness, and systemic […]

FREE

Specters of the Past-Ghost Towns That Built Arizona with Jay Mark

Phippen Museum 4701 U.S. HWY 89N, Prescott, AZ, United States

In addition to an entertaining, visual display of the communities, towns and settlements that contributed to the early growth of the state, this presentation also focuses on respect for these diminishing historic resources. Most of the photographs represent a comprehensive exploration of Arizona ghost towns made by Mr. Mark in the 1960’s and 1970’s. This […]

FREE

Landscapes of Extraction: The Art of Mining in the American West with Dr. Betsy Fahlman

Apache Junction Library 1177 N. Idaho Rd., Apache Junction, AZ, United States

Mining is the transformative industry of the American West—one that competes in scale and in color with the scenic landscape on its own terms, with the industrial sublime dynamically coexisting with the natural one. These landscapes are located at the bedrock of economic development—the risky speculation from which huge fortunes could be made and lost—and […]

FREE

Dams, Mines, and Hotels: Media and Misinformation Affecting the Grand Canyon with Matthew Goodwin

Casa Grande Public Library 449 N. Dry Lake St., Casa Grande, AZ, United States

In 1961 a newspaper article discussed a proposal to build an 18-story, 600-room hotel inside the Grand Canyon descending from the south rim to the canyon floor. A letter-writing campaign ensued that succeeded in blocking the hotel. But lawmakers instead passed a bill that allowed the company to mine uranium there—they never had any intention […]

FREE

Star Wounds: Meteorites from Ancient Native American Sites with Ken Zoll

Apache Junction Library 1177 N. Idaho Rd., Apache Junction, AZ, United States

The occurrence of meteorites on archaeological sites in North America has been known since the early 19th century. From the Hopewell culture in the eastern United States to the Indians in the American Southwest and northern Mexico, meteorites have been found on these ancient sites. Much like meteorite hunters of today, ancient Native American cultures […]

FREE

What is Patriotism? with Dr. Matthew Whitaker

Florence Community Library 778 N. Main St., Florence, AZ, United States

Patriotism has been defined as loyalty to or defense of one’s country. What do political leaders and social activists mean when they use the term “patriot”? What is the difference between patriotism and nationalism? Throughout history people have demonstrated patriotism through military service, government service, protests, marches, sit-ins and more. How is patriotism expressed now? […]

FREE

The Science of Music, The Music Of Science with Janice Jarrett

Fountin Hills Community Center 13001 N La Montana Dr, Fountain Hills, AZ, United States

Why would so many physicists compare the universe to an orchestra? Why did Einstein use his violin playing to enhance his contemplation of the nature of the cosmos? The connection of music and math was illuminated early on when Pythagorus divided a string. Not surprisingly, from astro physicists to quantum theorists, the common base is […]

FREE

Black Woman Rising: African American Community Mothers in Phoenix with Dr. Akua Duku Anokye

AZ, United States

African American women have had a tremendous impact on the lives of Arizonans. In a project I’ve been working on for the past 20 years, I have had the privilege of interviewing some of these amazing women. I call them othermothers/community mothers–these social activist who emerged from the Black woman-centered network of community. Let me […]

FREE

Hippie Modernism: Literature, Counterculture, and Transforming Our Natural World with Dr. Gioia Woods

Arizona Humanities 1242 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ, United States

A dramatic surge in human activity, known as the Great Acceleration, transformed our natural world beginning in the mid-twentieth century. People’s relationship with the planet fundamentally shifted. Around this time in the United States in the late 1960s and into the 1970s, literature, literary production, and literary consumption became keenly attuned to ecological consciousness. Two […]

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