Immigration and the American Dream: “We the People” Today and Tomorrow with

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

The ongoing crisis at the US-Mexico border has fueled often ugly arguments about US immigration policy. The arguments are not new. Nor are their basic questions. The US has long touted itself as a land of immigrants, but repeatedly closed doors belie its boast. For its policies and practices have hardly been consistently welcoming. Almost […]

FREE

Metalsmith Matriarchs: Makers, Memory, and Reciprocity with Nanibaa Beck

Heroes Regional Park Library- Yucca Meeting Room 6075 N 83rd Avenue, Glendale

Nanibaa Beck addresses the ways Native women metal smith integrate indigenous knowledge, practice and tradition into their craft. She focuses on four to five metal smiths with a rotation in place, person, and style. This presentation and Nanibaa’s work demonstrate the connection of Native artists to Arizona and beyond as a place and identity. This […]

FREE

Deconstructing the Taco: The History and Lore of a Beloved Food with Gregory McNamee

La Siena 909 E Northern Avenue, Phoenix, AZ, United States

The foods of Arizona speak to the many cultures, native and newcomer, that make up our state. Consider the taco, that favorite treat, a staple of Mexican and Mexican American cooking and an old standby on an Arizonan’s plate. The corn in the tortilla comes from Mexico, the cheese from the Sahara, the lettuce from […]

FREE

Paper Sons and the Road to Citizenship, 1882-1965 with Li Yang

Virtual AZ, United States

A “paper son” is a term used for young Chinese immigrants coming to the United States prior to 1943 who claimed to be a son of a citizen but were, in fact, sons on paper only. In 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed to curb Chinese immigration to the U.S. The passage of this […]

FREE

Coming Home to a Place You’ve Never Been Before–Immigration, Refugee, Resettlement, Citizenship with Rodo Sofranac

San Tan Library- Bronze Room 31505 N Schnepf Rd, San Tan Valley, AZ, United States

The discussions of immigration, refugee resettlement, and citizenship are louder and more heated than ever. While the politics get noisier and the policies are mired, what about the people? This talk focuses on the personal stories of immigration. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss and share their experiences as a new settler and/or native […]

FREE

Saviors and Saints on the Arizona Frontier with Jan Cleere

Cochise College Downtown Center 2600 E Wilcox Dr, Sierra Vista

Health care in early Arizona was hardly reliable and frequently nonexistent. Often, settlers were on their own when tragedy struck with women taking on the responsibility for the well-being of their families. And if women were considered incapable of earning the title “Doctor,” they could certainly save souls. Meet a handful of women who influenced […]

FREE

More than Pocahontas and Squaws: Indigenous Women Coming into Visibility with Laura Tohe

Desert Caballeros Western Museum 21 N. Frontier Street, Wickenburg, AZ, United States

This visual presentation shows how Indigenous American women have contributed service to Arizona and the US, yet were stereotyped in films and remain invisible in the media. Nevertheless, they have been honored in all areas of public service—law, medicine, literature, military and activism with awards such as, the Presidential Freedom, the McArthur (genius award), the […]

FREE

Set in Stone but Not in Meaning: Southwestern Rock Art with Allen Dart

SOCIAL HALL WEST of R.H. Johnson Recreation Center 19803 N. R.H. Johnson Blvd, Sun City West, AZ, United States

Ancient American Indian petroglyphs (symbols carved or pecked on rocks) and pictographs (rock paintings) are claimed by some to be forms of writing for which meanings are known. But are such claims supported by archaeology or by Native Americans? Archaeologist Allen Dart illustrates how petroglyph and pictograph styles changed through time and over different parts […]

FREE

Era of Artificial Intelligence: What Is Research, and How Is Knowledge Created? with Andrea Christelle, Ph.D.

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

In today’s digital world, anyone can publish their writing. Anyone can make a movie. The democratization of knowledge or content creation has given a voice to untold stories. But there is a flipside. Who, or what, gets to create knowledge? Can AI systems create knowledge? When Chat GPT writes a student’s paper, is that original […]

FREE

Arizona’s Vintage Signs: Lighting the Future with Marshall Shore

Velma Teague Library - (VTL Meeting Room) 7010 N 58th Avenue, Glendale, AZ 85301 7010 N 58th Avenue, Glendale, AZ, United States

Arizona has become a hotbed of preserving vintage signage and neon. No wonder, with the rise of Arizona and automobile travel in the 40s, 50s and 60s. Thousands of people were traversing the broad expanses of highways and byways across the Southwest. As the cars sped past, restaurants, motels, curio shops and gas stations needed […]

FREE

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