Through My Eyes – The Impact of Implicit Bias

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

We come from different places and backgrounds. Our life experiences and backgrounds can affect the way we see the world and each other, for better or worse. What is implicit bias, and how does it shape our attitudes and actions towards others? How do stereotypes affect our understanding, actions, and decisions? “Implicit bias” can cause […]

Honky Tonks, Brothels and Mining Camps: Entertainment in Old Arizona

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

In pioneer Arizona, among the best places to experience the performing arts were in the mining towns. Striking it rich meant having disposable income, and miners, like the well-heeled of the Gilded Age, wanted to demonstrate their sophistication with culture. From the early popular music of ragtime and minstrelsy during the forming of these communities, […]

Mescal Agave Use in Arizona: Food, Fiber, and Vessel

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

The agave plant was used by Native peoples for numerous utilitarian items. Mescal served as a valuable food source still being harvested and prepared to this day by many Indigenous groups. For millennia people have pit roasted the heart of the plant yielding a nutritious food staple rich in calcium and zinc. This talk includes […]

Crime, Punishment, and Prisons in America

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

The United States officially incarcerates more persons than any other nation on earth. Incarceration cost U.S. taxpayers more than $80 billion in 2016. Some states such as New York in the East and Washington in the West spend between $50,000 and $60,000 a year for each prisoner. What does that cost buy? What purposes does […]

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Can We Get Along? Talking to Each Other About Controversies Now

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

Democracy is based on hope, the hope that we might solve our problems by talking to each other. Current controversies reflect our nation’s complex history, politics and values. Our views on whether or not America has changed for the better, or for the worse, can differ sharply within our families, our friends, and co-workers. Cultural […]

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The spread of fake news: Is there a vaccine for that?

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

Like a virus, fake news catches on erratically, intensely, and swiftly, and can leave the American public feeling dazed and confused. How can media producers and consumers cure the spread of this false-information outbreak? What steps are technology and media companies taking? How can we protect ourselves and maintain a healthy dose of democratic discourse […]

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Climate and Moral Responsibility in Arizona (Florence)

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

Global warming presents humanity with one of the most difficult ethical challenges ever faced. More than just a scientific problem this is a collective action problem requiring that we work together to find appropriate strategies for adaptation. It requires recognizing attribution of cause and effect and careful consideration of the likely outcomes of harm to […]

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The U.S. Constitution: What It Says and How It Works (Florence)

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

Most Americans think they know what the Constitution says but few have actually examined it. Here is an opportunity to review the concepts and composition of the document that functions as the legal foundation and framework of the nation. The Constitution provides principles for federal relations with the nation’s constituent states, citizens, and inhabitants. It […]

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Women’s Bands in America Performing Music and Gender (Florence)

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

Women's Bands in America is the first comprehensive exploration of women’s bands across the three centuries in American history. Sullivan will trace women's emerging roles in society as seen through women's bands—concert and marching—spanning three centuries of American history. The author will explore town, immigrant, industry, family, school, suffrage, military, jazz, and rock bands, adopting […]

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Hellraising, Heroic and Hidden Women of the Old West (Florence)

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

Although history tries to tell us ONLY men settled the Old West, that is shattered by Jana’s verbal tour through some of the amazing women who made all the difference. Any woman who came West in the 1800s had to be full of grit and spit to survive and Jana has collected the stories of […]

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