Dear Diary: Thoughts of the Famous & Not so Famous

History is a conglomeration of life experienced by the person next door. Discover the everyday lives of Civil War Soldiers British and North American Women in the 18th and 19th centuries, American Indians, or American immigrants fleeing famine and persecution, with six new original source databases from Alexander Street Press. Expand and inform your research with references to diaries, letters, oral histories, and eye-witness accounts of history in the making.

British and Irish Women’s Letters and Diaries spans more than 400 years of personal writings, bringing together the voices of women from England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. This database lets researchers view history in the context of women’s thoughts – their struggles, achievements, passions, pursuits, and desires.

Both the famous and the unknown populate the collection. The lives and thoughts of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, George Eliot, Mary Shelley, Queen Victoria, Frances Kemble, Queen Elizabeth, Mary Wollstonecraft, Christina Rossetti, Florence Nightingale, and Maude Gonne can be compared with the experiences and ideas of ordinary women from all walks of life.
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In the News: Racism in America?

See “In the News” posts from 2007 to present at:
http://www.library.fau.edu/depts/cd/newsprev.htm

Week of July 27, 2009

News Item: The recent arrest of African American scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and comments from President Barack Obama regarding the incident have prompted discussions about the current state of race in America. Have racial tensions eased since the U.S. elected its first Black president? Does racism exist in 2009? Here are some titles that discuss racial inequality, institutional racism, reverse discrimination, and more.

 

African Americans and the Culture of Pain
By Debra Walker King. University of Virginia Press, 2008
Call Number: E185.625 .K56 2008

America Beyond the Color Line (DVD)
Directed by Daniel Percival and Mary Crisp. PBS Home Video, 2005
Call Number: E185.86 .A414 2005 (Boca Raton Media Center)

The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama
By Gwen Ifill. Doubleday, 2009
Call Number: E185.615 .I34 2009

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In the News: Apollo 11, NASA, and a Walk on the Moon – 1969

See “In the News” posts from 2007 to present at:
http://www.library.fau.edu/depts/cd/newsprev.htm

Week of July 20, 2009

News Item: Humans took their first steps on the moon forty years ago when U.S. astronauts Edwin E. Aldrin, Neil A. Armstrong, and Michael Collins blasted off into space during the Apollo 11 mission.

Pick up one of these titles to learn more about the Apollo Program, the ” space race,” and the history behind the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

*** See the end of this post for In the News items related to Frank McCourt and Walter Cronkite. ***

Apollo
By Charles Murray and Catherine Bly Cox. South Mountain Books, 2004
Call Number: TL789.8 .U6 A558 2004

Apollo in Perspective: Spaceflight Then and Now
By Jonathan Allday. Institute of Physics Pub., 2000
Call Number: Available online via NetLibrary

“Before This Decade is Out–“: Personal Reflections on the Apollo Program
Edited by Glen E. Swanson. University Press of Florida, 2002
Call Number: TL789.8 .U6 A5187 2002

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In the News: Michael Jackson and Celebrity Culture

Week of July 13, 2009

News Item: The recent death of music entertainer and humanitarian Michael Jackson has received extensive media coverage these past few weeks. Tabloid magazines and cable news channels are speculating how he died while also searching for new ways to profit from his passing. Nielsen ratings revealed that over 31 million viewers tuned in to Jackson’s $1.4 million memorial service last week. Why is so much attention being paid to his passing, and why are celebrities, in general, considered major news stories?

Afterlife as Afterimage: Understanding Posthumous Fame
Edited by Steve Jones and Joli Jensen. Peter Lang, 2005
Call Number: ML3470 .A36 2005

Celebrity
By Chris Rojek. Reaktion Books, 2001
Call Number: BJ1470.5 .R65 2001 (At Jupiter)

Celebrity and Power: Fame in Contemporary Culture
By P. David Marshall. University of Minnesota Press, 1997
Call Number: E169.04 .M366 1997

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A Nation of Immigrants: American Democracy and Civics Education

Digital Library celebrates the Spirit of Independence by highlighting the Jack Miller Forum, A Nation of Immigrants: American Democracy and Civics Education Conference.

This conference centered on civics education in United States, the role of colleges and universities, and the growing needs of an immigrant population. The Jack Miller Forum at Florida Atlantic University and the National Endowment for the Humanities sponsored the conference. To access the collection, click here.

In the News – Coup d’etat in Honduras

Week of July 6, 2009

News Item: Honduran president Manual Zelaya was forcibly removed from office on June 28 in what is seen as the first Central American coup d’etat in a quarter of a century. Armed soldiers entered Zelaya’s home in the early morning hours and flew him to Costa Rica. There have been reports that Zelaya’s removal was a result of his attempt to carry out a non-binding referendum and extend his term as president. At a press conference, Zelaya described his ordeal as a kidnapping and vowed to return to Honduras, but Roberto Micheletti, a former Parliamentary speaker who was sworn in as his replacement, insists that the entire process was legal. On Sunday, July 5, riot police and soldiers blocked the airport runway in Tegucigalpa, Honduras as Zelaya’s plane circled above in search for a place to land. The plane turned away and eventually headed to El Salvador.

Afro Central Americans in New York City: Garifuna Tales of Transnational Movements in Racialized Space
By Sarah England. University Press of Florida, 2006
Call Number: F1505.2 .C3 E54 2006

Banana Cultures: Agriculture, Consumption, and Environmental Change in Honduras and the United States
By John Soluri. University of Texas Press, 2005
Call Number: HD9259 .B3 H678 2005 (At Jupiter)

Changing Forests: Collective Action, Common Property, and Coffee in Honduras
By Catherine M. Tucker. Springer, 2008
Call Number: HD9199. H6 T93 2008

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