Immigration and the American Dream: “We the People” Today and Tomorrow with Thomas J. Davis

Oro Valley Public Library 1305 W. Naranja Drive, Oro Valley, 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

Representation Matters – Beyond the Binary: A History of Gender and Sexual Fluidity

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

Many people are confused by the seeming influx of new terms to describe gender and sexuality that have emerged in the last decade: nonbinary, genderfluid, genderqueer, pansexual, polysexual, and so on. But fluid conceptions of gender and sexuality (those that fall outside the binary concepts of male/female or heterosexual/homosexual) have been around for a long time. And […]

FREE

Women’s Resilience and Survival in the Holocaust with Björn Krondorfer

Mohave Community College - Lake Havasu Campus - Building 600 1977 Acoma Blvd, Lake Havasu City, AZ, United States

This talk will trace the lives of two women Holocaust survivors who both grew up in traditional Jewish families in Bedzin, Poland and later became residents of Arizona: Jane Lipski (Tucson) and Doris Martin (Flagstaff). They managed to survive the Nazi onslaught as adolescent girls. While Jane was able to escape the ghetto and join […]

FREE

Chiles & Chocolate: Sweet and Spicy Foods in the American West with Christine Glenn and Sandy Sunseri

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

Come have a taste of the rich and savory history of these food favorites, explore how early peoples used them, and how they have evolved and spread to all corners of the world. Food is a portal into culture and can convey a range of cultural meaning including occasion, social status, ethnicity, and wealth depending […]

FREE

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

The Palace 116 N. RailRoad Ave, Willcox, AZ, United States

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

Writers of the Purple Sage with Jim Turner

Buckeye Public Library - Coyote Branch Library 21699 W Yuma Rd, Suite 116, Buckeye, AZ, United States

This presentation covers five Arizona novelists: Zane Grey spent his honeymoon at the Grand Canyon and went on to be one of the first and most famous Western writers of all time; Harold Bell Wright came to Tucson with lung problems and became a bestseller from 1900 to 1930. University of Arizona writing professor Richard […]

FREE

Desert Rats, River Runners, and Canyon Crawlers: Four Arizona Explorers with Gregory McNamee

Cochise College Downtown Center 2600 E Wilcox Dr, Sierra Vista

Francisco Garcés, a Franciscan friar, arrived in what is now Arizona in 1768. Assigned to the church at San Xavier del Bac south of present-day Tucson, he traveled widely throughout Arizona and California, charting overland routes that later travelers would follow. Near where Garcés would meet his death in 1781, an American soldier named Joseph […]

FREE

The Evolution of an Icon–The History of Arizona Highways Magazine with Win Holden

McFarland State Historic Park 24 W. Ruggles St, Florence, AZ, United States

The first issue of Arizona Highways magazine was published in April, 1925. In this presentation, former publisher Win Holden will share the fascinating story of how a brochure produced by the Arizona Highway Department evolved into one of the most respected and revered publications in the world. With annual economic impact of over $65 million, […]

FREE

Flying Through Arizona: The Story of the First National Women’s Air Race with Natalie J. Stewart-Smith

Pebblecreek Tuscany Falls Ballroom 16262 Clubhouse Drive, Goodyear, AZ, United States

In 1929, the first national women’s air race from Santa Monica, CA to Cleveland, OH passed through Arizona. Stopping in Yuma, Phoenix, and Douglas, the intrepid fliers solidified their determination and sisterhood along these Arizona waypoints. Who were these aviators? What were their planes like in 1929? What challenges did they encounter along the way? […]

FREE

Jerome-Too Stubborn to Die-How the Town Survived Numerous “Near-Death” Experiences with Jay Mark

Coolidge Public Library 160 W. Central Avenue, Coolidge, AZ, United States

Numerous fires, landslides, floods, labor strikes, polluted air, epidemics, Depression, recessions, financial collapse, one adversity after another. Any one of these might spell the end of a lesser community. But, in Arizona, one town survived these “near-death” experiences, and more; yet managed to survive. Some might even say, “thrive.” This presentation looks at the numerous […]

FREE

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