01-07-94 Humanities Lectures in Community COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES OFFERS COMMUNITY LECTURE SERIES COLUMBUS -- What do Bette Davis movies, jazz music, Yiddish language, and the everyday writings of African-American teenage girls have in common? They're culturally different forms of expression, and they're topics in Cultural Expressions: Humanities in the Community, a community-based lecture series sponsored by the College of Humanities at The Ohio State University. In celebration of its 25th anniversary, the college is presenting the four-part series at Bexley High School and the Black Studies Community Extension Center, which are both co- sponsors. Bexley High School is at 326 S. Cassingham Ave., and the Black Studies Community Extension Center is at 905 Mt. Vernon Ave. The events are free and open to the public. "These lectures are meant to bring university teachers and members of the general community closer together," said Shari Lorbach, coordinator of public relations for the college. "They are also intended to show how humanistic investigation helps us better understand the many cultural forms we use to express ourselves -- from movies and music to special languages and storytelling." The series is: Tuesday, Jan. 25, 7:30 p.m., Bexley High School Watching Bette Davis, presented by Professor Judith Mayne of the Department of French and Italian and the Center for Women's Studies. Mayne will discuss why Bette Davis was such a popular and appealing actress. Using film clips, articles from the popular press and biography, she will examine the career of this unique actress, focusing on the themes of female rivalry. Thursday, March 3, 7:30 p.m., Black Studies Extension Center Jazz: America's Music from Folk to Art -- A World Class Contribution, presented by Professor Ted McDaniel of the Department of Black Studies and the School of Music. McDaniel will talk about the cultural contribution that jazz has given the world through major innovators such as Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie and Rahsann Roland Kirk. In addition, a jazz demonstration will be given. Wednesday, April 6, 7:30 p.m. Bexley High School A Roadmap to Ourselves: The Rise of Yiddish Language and Civilization, presented by Associate Professor Neil Jacobs of the Department of Near Eastern, Judaic and Hellenic Languages and Literatures; the Middle Eastern Studies Center; and the Melton Center for Jewish Studies. Jacobs will discuss the origins and developments of Yiddish from its earliest beginning to its emergence as the language of journalism, political and academic discourse, and a vast national literature. At its height, the home territory of this 100-year-old language covered a larger area of Europe than any other language except Russian. Thursday, May 5, 7:30 p.m., Black Studies Extension Center Get Outa My Face: Everyday Uses of Writing Among African- American Teenage Girls, presented by Associate Professor Amy Shuman of the Department of English and the Center for Folklore Studies. Shuman studied the uses of everyday writing (such as notes, diaries, letters and mail order business) in an inner-city school attended by African-American, Puerto Rican-American and Anglo-American students. She will discuss students' reaction to newspaper reports about racial violence at the school following an incident between two African-American girls. Shuman will compare the letters students wrote to the newspaper with other writing and stories about fights at the school. At the heart of these forms of communication is a powerful adolescent moral system for determining who has the right to talk about whom, and this moral system can lead to either violence or willingness to work toward a greater good. The stories, told and written, in everyday life in the neighborhood and school can be a useful resource for creative problem solving. # Contact: Gail Summerhill, College of Humanities, (614) 292-1882. [Submitted by: REIDV (reidv@ccgate.ucomm.ohio-state.edu) Fri, 07 Jan 1994 13:49:56 -0500 (EST)] All documents are the responsibility of their originator.