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 The
New Left Revisited in New York
Paul
Buhle (Senior Lecturer, History and American Civilization, Brown University),
John McMillian (History and Literature Program, Harvard University), and Jeremy
Varon (Assistant Professor of History, Drew University), will speak about the
recent book, The New Left Reconsidered (Temple University Press) and the ways
in which the movements of the 1960s, their origins and consequences, have been
re-evaluated by new and mostly young scholars during the last decade. Special
emphasis will be placed upon the localization of the scholarly examination, to
the cultural roots that precede "political" manifestations, to the subtle
break with Liberal views and practices of the Cold War era, and the rapidity of
the crisis that broke over the fragile New Left.
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 Every
Man a Speculator: A History of Wall Street
Historian Steve Fraser will discuss
his new book, Every Man A Speculator: A History of Wall Street in American Life
(HarperCollins). Wall Street's famously volatile and unpredictable nature has
left its mark on our political and business affairs, our religious life and our
popular entertainment, our ideals of masculinity, and our dreams of freedom. The
Street is a part of the American skyline and runs through the heart of the American
imagination. Fraser is the author of Labor Will Rule: Sidney Hillman and the Rise
of American Labor, and co-editor of The Rise and Fall of the New Deal Order. His
writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, The Nation, The American Prospect,
Raritan, and Dissent.
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 New
York's Water Supply System: A Study in the Monumental
The New York City water supply system is
a study in the monumental. Physical monuments like The High Bridge, carrying the
Old Croton Aqueduct across the Harlem River, survive as reminders of the visionaries
who conceived of and constructed this lifeline to the City's growing population.
The Third Water Tunnel, though largely unseen by the general public but still
being burrowed beneath city streets, represents a monumental feat of technology,
engineering and construction. This forum celebrates the 100th anniversary of New
York City's modern water supply system. Co-sponsored by the High Bridge Coalition,
panelists will examine historic and contemporary aspects of New York's water supply
infrastructure and its impact on our great city.
Moderator: Gerard Koeppel,
author, Water for Gotham
Panelists: Joel A. Miele Sr., P.E., Former Commissioner,
NYC Department of Environmental Protection, Diane Galusha, author, Liquid Assets,
Robert Kornfeld, Jr., AIA, Vice President, Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct,
Representative from NYC Department of Transportation, Bridge Division, Representative
from Local 147 Tunnel Workers Union
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 The
Reluctant Spiritualist: A Life of Maggie Fox
Author Nancy Rubin Stuart will give a book
talk and signing on her book, The Reluctant Spiritualist: A Life of Maggie Fox
(Harcourt Books). The book tells the riveting true story of a beautiful Victorian
teenager caught in a family web of greed and deception. Fox rose to celebrity
status as one of the founders of American spiritualism. Young Maggie Fox's alleged
ability to communicate with spirits in America's first séances of 1848
astounded the press, made her and her sisters the darlings of Broadway, inspired
thousands of child imitators and fascinated the most prominent men and women of
her era-among them Horace Greeley, Harriet Beecher
Stowe, William Lloyd Garrison,
Nathaniel Hawthorne, and William James. Her life took on a surprising series of
twists and turns, culminating with her startling confession at the New York Academy
of Music in 1888.
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 New
York in the 1970's: The Pre-Gentrification Years
May 18, 6:30 p.m.
- Recital Hall
This panel discussion will involve a number of 1970's iconic
personalities and chroniclers of the era. We will screen Phil Hartman's "No
Picnic", a 1987 drama of the Lower East Side and there will be readings from
Mark Jacobson's Teenage Hipster in the Modern World (Grove Press).
Panelists include: Michael Daly, Daily News columnist Legs McNeil and John
Holstrom, founders Punk Magazine Gillian McCain,. co-author,. Please Kill Me,
oral history of punk, Fab 5 Freddy, graffiti artist, deejay, producer Wild Style,
New Jack City Phil Hartman, and Mark Jacobson.
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New
York Stories: The Best of the City Section of the New York Times
June 16, 6:30 p.m. - Recital Hall
The forty essays collected in New
York Stories reflect an intimate understanding of the city, one that goes
beyond the headlines. The result is a passionate, well-written portrait of a legendary
and ever-evolving place. Featuring writers Patricia Volk, Ed Morales, and Jim
Dwyer , New York Stories profiles people like sixteen-year-old Barbara
Ott, who surfs the waters off Rockaway in Queens, and Sonny Payne, the beloved
panhandler of the F train. Other essays explore memorable places in the city,
from the Greenwich Village townhouse blown up by radical activists in the 1970s
to a basketball court that serves as the heart of its Downtown neighborhood.
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 A
Screening of the film Slumming It: Myth and Culture on the Bowery (A Mixed Greens
Production)
June 21, 6:30 p.m.
- Recital Hall
Slumming It: Myth and Culture
on the Bowery traces the rich, 200-year history of New York City¹s Bowery,
examining the myriad ways in which the street and its denizens were instrumental
in New York's evolution as an archetypal modern-day metropolis. Featuring interviews
with historians and present-day residents, as well as archival images and motion
pictures, the documentary juxtaposes today's Bowery with the characters, locations,
and stories that, more than a century ago, formed the extraordinary fabric of
this influential and infamous boulevard. Discussion follows with Director Scott
Elliott and Historian Dan Czitrom, Mount Holyoke College Co-sponsored
by REEL NEW YORK, Thirteen/WNET's local independent showcase, which enters its
10th season this summer.
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