Invitation and program for the Nevada Humanities Award ceremony, 1990

The Annual Nevada Humanities Award AWARD RECIPIENTS Edythe Katz Chairman, Nevada Commission on the Holocaust, for community leadership and service to mankind Robert Maxson President, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, for educational excellence and humanistic concern Harrah's Hotels and Casinos Philip G. Satre, President and Chief Executive Officer, for corporate partnership in support of education statewide Eugene Moehring Professor of History, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, for dedicated teaching and historical scholarship APRIL 28, 1990, GOLDEN NUGGET HOTEL, LAS VEGAS, NEVADA PROGRAM MENU Introductions Marilyn Melton, Chairman Nevada Humanities Committee A National Humanities Perspective Jamil Zainaldin, President Federation of State Humanities Councils Cream of Asparagus Soup Salad Johann Strauss Rolls and Butter Calloway Chardonnay Breast of Capon Viennese Fresh Vegetables Presentation of Awards Presentation of Sagebrush Urbanity: Nevada's Humanities Wilbur Shepperson, Author Fresh Fruit Crepe Coffee and Tea For almost twenty years, the Nevada Humanities Committee has sup-ported community-based public humanities programs for Nevadans. Its activity is based on the conviction that the study of literature, history, archaeology, music and the arts, philosophy and religion, not only acquaints Nevadans with their history and cultural legacy, but explores the full range of human experience and human values, examining essential questions that face all people. The Nevada Humanities Committee is a state-wide, non-profit organization, affiliated with the National Endowment for the Humanities. YOUR HOSTS - THE NEVADA HUMANITIES COMMITTEE John Brebbia Las Vegas Theda Cox Boulder City Joseph A. Fry Henderson Georgia Fulstone Smith Valley Robert G. Gray Ely Hon. Procter Hug, Jr. Reno E. Lavonne Lewis Vice-Chairman Las Vegas Michon Mackedon Fallon Mary-Ellen McMullen Reno Marilyn Melton Chairman Reno Dennis Parks Tuscarora Wilbur S. Shepperson Reno John C. Unrue Las Vegas Herman Van Betten Henderson Anne Howard Reno Judith Winzeler Executive Director Joseph Finkhouse Assistant Director THE ANNUAL NEVADA HUMANITIES AWARD THE PLATES These plates were made of white stoneware, a protoporcelain clay. The glaze is a high lime semimatt formulated by the artist, who subsequently placed his hand on the plate, then sifted a fine dust of copper concentrate (mined in the Battle Mountain area) to outline his hand. In the process of being fired in the kiln to 2350? F, the copper volatilized, creating the various hues of color. THE ARTIST Dennis Parks, from Tuscarora, Nevada, was the recipient of the Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts in 1990. His works are in the permanent collections of eleven museums, including the Victoria and Albert, London, the International Ceramics Museum, Faenza, Italy, Mouhkino Museum, Lenin-grad, and the Sierra Nevada Museum of Art, Reno. He is a member of the International Academy of Ceramics, Geneva, and the Nevada Humanities Committee. NEWSLETTER Volume 15, Number 1 Spring 1990 THREE INDIVIDUALS AND HARRAH'S TO RECEIVE FIRST HUMANITIES AWARDS The first annual Nevada Humanities Awards Banquet will be held Saturday, April 28, 1990, at the Golden Nugget Hotel in Las Vegas. Hosted by the Ne-vada Humanities Committee, the black tie optional affair will recognize three individuals and one corporation who have demonstrated outstanding dedica-tion, imagination and leadership in their active service to the promotion and pub-lic understanding of the humanities in Nevada. The award recipients will be pre-sented with an original ceramic piece by internationally-known potter (and Ne-vada Humanities Committee board member) Dennis Parks, of Tuscarora. Cocktails at 6:30 will precede dinner at 7:30 p.m. For information about the banquet, the awards, or reservations, call either of the Nevada Humanities Com-mittee Offices: 798-0337 in Las Vegas, and 784-6587 in Reno. The four recipients are: Edythe Katz, founder and chairman of the Nevada Holocaust Education Committee; Robert Maxson, President of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Eugene Moehring, Chairman of the History Department at UNLV and author of Resort City in the Sunbelt: Las Vegas 1930-1970; and Harrah's Hotels and Casinos. The four recipients embody the depth and diver-sity of Nevadans' commitment to the hu-manities. Las Vegan Edythe Katz is a long-standing cultural activist who has worked with schools, museums, libraries and business to ensure and enliven the humanities in southern Nevada. In 1980, she founded the Nevada Holo-caust Education Committee, and serves as its chair. Among the many events Continued on page 2, col / NEVADA HUMANITIES COMMITTEE RECEIVES $60,000 GRANT FOR PROJECT ON WATER, THE DESERT AND CIVILIZATION The Nevada Humanities Committee has received a $60,000 Exemplary Award from the National Endowment for the Hu-manities for a year-long, statewide series of public programs entitled "A River Too Far?The Past and Future of Civilization in the Desert." The project, to be initiated in the early fall, will bring together the general public, teachers, students, schol-ars, local and state officials, and busi-nesses to examine, discuss and debate the history, the current issues, and the futureof life in arid America, and Nevada in particular. The programs of "A River Too Far?" will open in mid-October in Reno and Las Vegas with the Annual Humanities Lecture, featuring author and former Sec-retary of the Interior Stewart Udall. Fall will also see a major scholarly confer-ence in Las Vegas on the history of the Colorado River and its lessons for urban survival in the Southwest. A similar conference to be held in Reno in March will deal with the history of reclamation in this country, and associated issues of water and urban and rural culture. Conferences like these are designed to open, facilitate and deepen the public Continued page 4 col 3 THOMAS JEFFERSON RETURNS Those people who had an opportunity to meet Thomas Jefferson during his tour of Nevada a year ago February, will be de-lighted to hear that the Committee, with the assistance of the John Ben Snow Memorial Trust, has scheduled a return engagement for the second week in April. Clay Jenkinson was instrumental in creating the Great Plains Chautauqua which he directed for a number of years. Each summer, this five-state project sends 50 scholars into 175 communities for a several-day residency. Bringing the tent along, they offer "in character" presenta-tions, followed by in depth discussion, reading programs, and other educational activities. Jenkinson first developed Jef-ferson for the Great Plains Chautauqua and has been invited to give numerous programs throughout the country. The improvised sessions require an intimate Continued on page 4, col. 2 Edythe Katz Robert Maxson Philip Satre of Harrah 's Eugene Moering AWARDS continued from page 1 organized by this Committee was the Las Vegas appearance of the exhibit "Anne Frank in the World: 1929-1945." In 1989, she was named by GovernorMiller to the newly created post of Chairman of the Nevada Commission on the Holo-caust. Robert Maxson came to Nevada in 1984 as the new President of the Univer-sity of Nevada, Las Vegas. In his five and a half years in Nevada, Dr. Maxson has significantly raised the quality and stature of higher education in Nevada. Through initiatives such as the Year of the Arts, his support for honors and scholarship pro-grams for Nevada youth, and his commit-ment to extending the reach ofthe univer-sity into the community, he has deeply enhanced the value of the humanities and humanities education. The third award, made to Harrah's Hotels and Casinos, recognizes the cru-cial role played by the private sector in the advancement of humanities educa-tion in our state. Harrah's support of the humanities is extensive and sincere, and ranges from the time donated by its offi-cers to serve on local cultural boards, to major contributions for educational pro-grams and generous support for the An-nual Humanities Lecture. Philip G. Satre, PresidentandChief Executive Officer, will accept the award on behalf of Harrah's. Resort City in the Sunbelt: Las Vegas 1930-1970 is arguably the most impor-tant history written about southern Ne-vada. Through it, author Eugene Moehring has given all Nevadans the opportunity to view their history from the perspective ofthe scholar?the historian, not the usual sensationalist?and has brought them a singularly important per-spective on themselves and their world. It sets a standard for humanities scholarship in Nevada. Professor Moehring is Chair-man of the History Department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he has taught since 1976. While by no means exhausting the listofthose individuals and organizations who serve the humanities throughout the state, these four recipients of the first awards set a clear example for service to the humanities in Nevada, and the Ne-vada Humanities Committee hopes you will join us to honor their service to the state and its people. REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS ON THE DESERT CHALLENGE In conjunction with the exemplary proj-ect, "A River Too Far?," the Nevada Humanities Committee would like to invite grant proposals for community-based projects addressing the history, culture, problems and future of civiliza-tion in the desert, with special reference to the Nevada experience. The goal of the project is to provide Nevadans with the broad-based knowl-edge and historical context necessary to address the complex series of issues, problems and challenges that will face desert dwellers in the years to come. Questions addressed by such projects might include: In what ways have the climate, geology and geography of the American West produced a distinctive cultural environment, and what implica-tions has this had for the state of Nevada? What are the unique cultural manifesta-tions of the desert? What is the future of the desert? How does the contemporary West compare to earlier desert cultures? Some of the kinds of projects that would be considered by the Committee for funding would include (but certainly not be limited to): lectures, film series, seminars, panel discussions, folkloric, archeological or ethnographic programs, reading/discussion programs, creative or performance programs which serve as Continued on page 4 col. I PAGE 2 RECENT HUMANITIES GRANTS AWARDED RECENT HUMANITIES GRANTS AWARDED The Nevada Humanities Committee met in Elko on January 26 - 27 for the first of three grant review meetings scheduled for 1990. The Committee received thirty seven grant proposals requesting $144,811. Twenty five proposals were funded for a total of $93,850. Grants to Nevada organizations were awarded for the following programs: MEDIA AWARDS Humanities on the Air. KNPR-Nevada Public Radio, Las Vegas, Tonopah, and Panaca, $10,000. This challenge grant will support acquisition costs for the docu-mentary program "Soundprint" and production costs for the new program, "Humanities Commentaries." For more information, contact Lamar Marchese, 456-6695. Pleasures of Early Music/Native American Folklore Project. KUNR-FM, Reno, $9,935. These two, locally-produced programs will explore the music of the eighth through eighteenth centuries, and the mythology and folklore of the American Indian, respectively. Contact John Greene, 784-6591. KUNV Humanities Programming. KUNV-FM, Las Vegas, $520. Funds will support two nationally-syndicated programs: "New Letters on the Air," featuring American authors and poets, and the multi-cultural news magazine "Crossroads." Contact Rob Rosen-thal, 739-3877. KNPB Humanities Programming KNPB Channel 5, Reno, $10,000. Grant will provide funds for underwriting several national pro-grams, and production of "The Nevada Experience," a program devoted to the understanding of the complexity of life in this state. Contact Sherri Dangberg, 784-4555. TUSCARORA Nightfire Theater $10,000. The town of Tuscarora and Tuscarora potter Dennis Parks will be the subjects of this documentary. The film will look at Park's artistic production in the context of place: the influence of the town and the state of Nevada as a supplier of artistic, intellectual and spiritual resources. Contact David Schickele, 415/922-6627. GENERAL GRANTS Woman: Image and Image Maker. The Women's Studies Committee, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, $9,050. A three-day symposium brought together six nationally known scholars and artists to present lectures, readings, performances and panel discussions about the role and portrayal of women in contemporary American culture. Contact Catherine Bellver, 739- 3431. The Politics of Literary Criticism. The Department of English, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, $4,768. A public lecture and roundtable discussion was February 5 - 6 at UNLV. The program featured three of the best known and most exciting literary critics working today, including Stanley Fish, Chair of the English Departmentand Professor of Law at Duke University. Contact Chris Hudgins, 739-3533. The Maya Glyph Project. The Division of Extended Education and Summer Term, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, $1,300. Professor Tom Jones of Humboldt State University will give a public lecture on Maya writing, language and culture April 27 in Las Vegas. He will also lead a 2-day workshop on the deciphering of Maya texts. Contact Mannetta Braunstein, 739-1022. EDUCATION GRANTS Summer Institute on Modernism in America and Europe. The Southern Nevada Writing Project, $3,350. This three week teacher seminar will be held in late June and early July, and will allow Nevada teachers to explore trends in art, music, literature and history from 1908-1945. Contact Roberta Cartwright, 658-1581. Arthurian Institute: Integrating Humanities Instruction into the Secondary Curriculum. The Research and Educational Planning Center, University of Nevada, Reno, $4,525. This program is built around a summer seminar, for rural Nevada teachers, providing participants with an intensive experience in the humanities as well as a model for an integrated humanities program in their own classrooms. Contact Deborah Loesch-Griffin, 784- 4921. Orff-Schulwerk Teacher Training Course. Nevada's Desert Valley Chapter of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association, $3,350. This multidisciplinary approach to teaching music will include special sessions on storytelling, in addition to speech, language, movement and music. The teacher's course will be held in late June. Contact Gloria Fuoco-Lawson, 451-7981. HUMANITIES SCHOLAR-IN-RESIDENCE Oral History Training Project. The Churchill County Museum Association, Fallon, $7,311. The grant will provide for the training of local volunteers in the techniques of oral history by an experienced oral historian. Volun-teers can then interview area residents to record and preserve their heritage. Contact Sharon Taylor, 423-3677. EXHIBIT GRANTS World War II and the Emergence of Modern Las Vegas. The Nevada State Museum and Historical Society, Las Vegas, $7,485. This exhibit will be in the planning stages for the rest of this year and will open in their galleries in January 1991. It will focus on the growth of Las Vegas in the years immediately, during and after World War II. Contact Frank Wright, 486-5205. Railroad History of White Pine County. White Pine Public Museum, Ely, $2,882. This permanent exhibit will examine the railroad's history and its effect on the land and economy of White Pine County, and will be housed in the soon to be restored Cherry Creek Depot. Contact Sean Pitts, 289-4710. PAGE 3 MINI GRANTS Emerging Legacy: African-American Art 1880-1987. The Nevada Institute for Contemporary Art, Las Vegas, $1000. A video about the social and political history of Afro-Americans as told through their art will travel throughout Clark County Schools in conjunction with the exhibit "Emerging Legacy." Contact Arlene Blut, 739-3751. Modernity of Theophile de Viau. The North American Society for Seventeenth Century French Litera-ture, $900, As part of this organization's annual meeting, a public lecture on Baroque literature and culture by Dr. Guido Saba, of the University of Rome, was given in Las Vegas on March 2. Contact Dr. Marie- France Hilgar, 739-3545. Poetry in the Schools?Battle Mountain and Lovelock. The Northern Nevada Teachers of English, Carson City, $951. PoetShaun Griffin visited schools in these two communities in early February to conduct workshops for students and adults on the making and enjoying of poetry. Contact Bill Abrams, 885-3136. Junior Great Books Discussions. Henderson Public Library, $855. This is a pilot program, to run through the first half of 1991, consisting of three series of Junior Great Books Discussions for ele-mentary school age children. Contact Symme Benhoff, 565-8402. McAvoy Layne: Mark Twain. Nevada Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Las Vegas, $780. Layne, a noted Mark Twain "impressionist," presented Twain's historical background, life, and literature to ele-mentary students and those attending the NASCD Conference in Las Vegas. Contact Teddy Brewer, 799-5530. Enhancing the Reading Process Through Direct Access to Authors. Clark County School Librarians Association, $1000. The noted children's author, Dean Hughes, visited ten elementary schools in Las Vegas and did an evening program at Winchester Community Center, March 7-9. Contact Cynthia Montoya, 456- 5299. A Festival of Islam. Reno/Sparks Metro Ministry, $1000. This program, dedicated to the reduction of prejudice through cross-cultural education, will include an art exhibit, Qur'an and musical recitals, and lectures on Islamic history, culture and art. Contact Dr. Ahmed Essa, 747-5505. RESEARCH GRANTS The Nevada Perspective on the Colorado Development, 1920- 1936. Christine Chairsell, Las Vegas, $1000. This project will explore Nevada's crucial, yet overlooked role and perspective during the negotiations of the Colorado River Com-pact, the Boulder Canyon Act, and related events. The Portuguese Festas in Nevada: Celebrations to the Holy Spirit Marie Boutte, Reno, $1000. Dr. Boutte will examine the Portuguese religious festas, in their historical and contemporary contexts, as they are celebrated in towns like Fallon, Yerington, and Lovelock. The Social Costs of Rapid Growth in Southern Nevada. Robert Parker, Las Vegas, $1000. In a broad cultural context, this project will critically examine the social costs associated with southern Nevada's skyrocketing popu-lation and rapid urban development. The Indian Reorganization Act. Elmer Rusco, Reno, $1000. Research focusing on the Indian New Deal will increase our knowledge of the issues of education, tribal government and agriculture addressed in the legislation and fill a gap in Nevada's collective memory. Desert continued the basis for discussion of larger issues, exhibits, television and radio programs, film, video and slide presentations. Grants of any amount up to $10,000 will be made. Since the goal is to examine the his-tory and complexity of life in the desert, all proposed projects must fulfill the Committee's three general requirements: one or more of the humanities disciplines must be central to the project; humanities scholars must be involved in the planning and presentation of the project; and the project must result in a public program. The staff of the Committee will be happy to discuss possible projects with interested groups, help locate scholars, and assist in the preparation of the pro-posal. The Committee invites all inter-ested groups to contact our offices for ad-ditional information and grant guide-lines. Jefferson continued knowledge of Jefferson's voluminous writing as well as great fortitude and skill. Jenkinson will answer any question, speak on any topic, but always using, to the degree possible, Jefferson's own words. Since his last visit to Nevada, Jenkin-son was awarded the prestigious Charles Frankel Prize, given by the National Endowment for the Humanities, received a doctorate in English Renaissance Litera-ture from Oxford University, and em-barked on a second Ph.D. program, this time in classical languages, at the Univer-sity of Colorado. A public presentation on Thursday, April 12, at 7:30 p.m. in Nightingale Hall on the University of Nevada, Reno cam-pus, will support the Reed High School class representing the state in the bicen-tennial competition in Washington D.C. Adultticketsare$12., student tickets, $6. Exemplary Grant continued dialogue about the desert. To encourage the general public to take a more active voice in the discussion, a series of read-ing/ discussion programs, along the lines of the successful National Issues Forum series, will be developed in several loca-tions of the state, and will feature read-ings and films about the desert, water, reclamation and irrigation. The project will conclude with a major lecture on the desert or the western environment, by a major speaker still to be chosen, in the fall of 1991. Exemplary Awards were created by the National Endowment for the Hu-manities to encourage states to exert imaginative leadership in developing innovative and interesting humanities programs. Awards are granted on a com-petitive basis; the Nevada Humanities Committee is one of only nine state hu-manities councils to receive an exem-plary award this year. PAGE 4 NATIONAL HISTORY DAY COMES TO NEVADA National History Day, a national student competition in historical research, has flourished nationwide since 1974, at-tracting the annual participation of 350,000 students in 48 states, excluding only Nevada and one other state (which we will not mention by name). To correct that situation, Cathy Gorn, Assistant Director of the Cleve-land- based program, visited Reno and Las Vegas recently to meet with teachers, historians, and school and university administrators to introduce them to the idea and goals of National History Day. National History Day has been an enormous success in other states, notes Gorn, both for the students and their schools. Students receive an intense preparation in the application of reading and research which is invaluable, espe-cially to college-bound students. And the schools receive an equally invaluable enhancement to their social studies, English, theatre and media programs. The chances for success in Nevada are excellent. At both ends of the state she met an enthusiastic response, and left Nevada very optimistic about the chances of starting the program here as early as next fall. National History day is a competi-tive program for students in grades 6-12, based on the familiar "science fair" for-mula, and designed to return history to a central place in the school curriculum. SAGEBRUSH URBANITY: NEVADA'S HUMANITIES No one is more qualified than long-time board member Wilbur Shepperson to write a brief history of the Nevada Hu-manities Committee. Established in 1971, the Committee's history is tied to national politics, flamboyant local per-sonalities, and the unique character of the state. Shepperson's lively - and per-sonal - account will be presented to Marilyn Melton and the Committeeatthe awards banquet in Las Vegas on April 28. A limited number of copies will be avail-able upon request. ?' m ~AI i ?? vMsar ?ir-i'-'hi teaHis Drawing from The Bustos Wickiups TRAVELING EXHIBITS AVAILABLE TO YOUR NON-PROFIT GROUP Three exhibits will be touring the state during the next two to three years. Call now to reserve these displays. Each is free-standing, four panels with photos and texts on front and back, and designed for use in limited space. Any non-profit group in Nevada may borrow these ex-hibits: schools, libraries, senior citizen centers, museums, convention facilities or city hall. Also, arrangements can be made for speakers or additional program-ming by calling Joe Finkhouse or Carole Lefcourte in Las Vegas (798-0337) and Reno (784-6587), respectively. Politics and Women in the Sagebrush State, contact Elaine Enarson, Women's Studies Program, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada 89557; 784-1560 The Bustos Wickiups: The Archaeology of an 18th Century Shoshoni Pine-Nut Camp. Available by mid-summer. Devel-oped by the White Pine Public Museum and Utah State University. Contact Carole Lefcourte, Nevada Humanities Committee, P.O. Box 8029, Reno, Ne-vada 89507; 784-6587 lack Longstreet County. Available by mid-summer. Curated by historian and writer Sally Zanjani. Contact William Metscher, Central Nevada Historical Society, P.O. Box 326, Tonopah, Nevada 89049;885-5937 From Jack Longstreet County From Politics and Women in the Sagebrush State PAGE 5 The Nevada Humanities Committee is a statewide, non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote community inter-est in the humanities by helping to organ-ize and fund community-based public humanities programs. The humanities include the study of languages, linguistics, literature, history, jurisprudence, philosophy, archeology, comparative religion, ethics, the history, criticism and theory of the arts, and those aspects of the social sciences which can be examined from a critical, historical or philosophical perspective. More than just academic fields of specialization, the humanities allow us to bring the knowledge of history, philoso-phy, literature and other fields to bear on all human activity. They allow us to examine the full range of human values and human civilization, to bring our-selves and our children into the realm of ideas. Interested groups and prospective applicants are urged to call our offices in Reno or Las Vegas for information and as-sistance. HALCYON w a m m DATES TO REMEMBER April 6, 1990 ? Spring deadline for grant applications. April 28,1990 ? First Annual Nevada Humanities Awards Dinner, Golden Nugget Hotel, Las Vegas. September 14,1990 ? Fall deadline for grant applications. Applications for mini grants?grants of less than $1000?and planning grants may be submitted at any time. if^iifni IUI rHiitiiuici^iiniiiHig iitiiuiHifiifiiHiiiiiiie^ n HALCYON AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST In previous years, Halcyon has been sent free of charge to our entire mailing list. With that list approaching 4500 names, though, we can no longer afford to do this. We will continue to send Halcyon to Nevada scholars, and to humanities proj-ect directors and participants. Most im-portantly, all those who wish to receive Halcyon regularly will be able to do so. Please call or write to either the Reno or Las Vegas office to let us know that you are a regular reader of the journal and we will continue to send it to you, as in the past, free of charge. NEWSLETTER COMMITTEE John Brebbia Las Vegas Theda Cox Boulder City Joseph A. Fry Henderson Georgia Fulstone Smith Valley Robert G. Gray Ely Anne Howard Reno Hon. Procter Hug, Jr. Reno E. Lavonne Lewis Vice-Chairman Las Vegas Michon Mackedon Fallon Mary-Ellen McMullen Reno Marilyn Melton Chairman Reno Dennis Parks Tuscarora Wilbur S. Shepperson Reno John C. Unrue Las Vegas Herman Van Betten Henderson Executive Director Judith Winzeler (702) 784-6587 Reno Office Joseph Finkhouse Assistant Director Las Vegas Office 4765 Brussels Ave. Las Vegas, NV 89119 (702) 798-0337 Nevada Humanities Committee 1101 N. Virginia Street P.O. Box 8029 Reno, Nevada 89507 Address Correction Requested Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Reno, NV Permit No. 706 The Nevada Humanities Committee logo is derived from a petroglyph representing a human hand located at Rattlesnake Well, Mineral County, Nevada, ca. 800-1200 A.D.