Programs to Feature Individuals Whose Idealism Helped Shape America

R.W. B. Lewis, whose biography of Edith Warton won him a Pulitzer Prize, will be one of the featured presenters when the DePaul University American Studies Program devotes an entire quarter to the exploration of idealism in America. Through exhibits, lectures, films and performances, the programs will examine various aspects of idealism and question such things as when idealism impacted American life, what forms it takes, whether it makes a difference and whether it matters. The series runs through May 28.

"We want to look at what is distinctive about America and its commonly held values when you compare them to reality," said Carol Cyganowski, an associate professor of English and director of the American Studies Program. "We will investigate historical and contemporary moments when individuals worked to build ideals into reality. The focus on current as well as historical events will illustrate how today's issues are rooted in the past."

Exhibits will be housed at the John T. Richardson Library, 2350 N. Kenmore Ave., and the DePaul University Art Gallery, McGaw Hall, 802 W. Belden Ave. The lecture and film offerings will be held at 7:30 p.m. in room 154 of the Schmitt Academic Center, 2320 N. Kenmore Ave. Performances are scheduled for 3:30 p.m. in room 154 of the Schmitt Academic Center.

The library exhibit, which runs through June 5, features books and other materials by and about historic idealists. From April 9 through May 16, the art gallery exhibit will feature posters that address, in words and pictures, some of the major issues of the 20th century.

Lectures will be provided by noted thinkers in the area of idealism. They will include:

*April 15--R.W. B. Lewis, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, who will lecture on utopian impulses in American culture.

*April 30--David W. Blight, a professor of history at Amherst College and an authority on Frederick Douglass, who will discuss Douglass, the problem of idealism and the meaning of the Civil War.

*May 7--Carolyn DeSwarte Gifford, a research associate in woman's studies at Northwestern University who is the editor of a book of journal selections by Francis E. Willard, who will discuss Willard and translating women from the passive to the active voice in writing.

*May 21--Elliott Gorn, an associate professor of history and American studies at Miami University of Ohio and a research fellow at the Newberry Library, who will discuss Mother Jones and the idealism of the American labor movement.

Films will include: "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," "Norma Rae," "Stand and Deliver," and "We Can Change the World." Each screening will be followed by a discussion.

Performances will include:

*May 11--"I Don't Want Your Millions: The Music and Songs of American Workers and Protest," headlines Bucky Halker who rescues worker "song-poems" from the dustbin of history from 1865 to the end of WWI in this program of music and commentary.

*May 18-- "Lucy Parsons: Rebel Woman for Labor," features Alma Washington in a fiery and impassioned portrayal of Lucy Parsons, wife of 1886 Chicago Haymarket martyr Albert Parsons.

There will also be panel discussions held at noon in the Dorothy Day room of the Richardson Library, 2350 N. Kenmore Ave. The discussions will be led by individuals whose idealism is reflected in their work. On April 29, the panel will include Kathleen Hogan, co-founder of the Heartland Cafe and the alternative newspaper, Heartland Journal, and Sheila Perkins, executive director of the Humboldt Park Family and Community Development Council.

On May 13, the panelists will be Timothy Jay King, president of Hales Franciscan High School in Chicago, and Lucyna Migala, musical director of the Lira Ensemble, Artist-in-residence at Loyola University and a radio commentator and co-owner of radio station WCEV.

All of the idealism series programs are free and open to the public.

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Note to Editors: A complete schedule of events is available to provide specific dates, times and locations for various events. For more information call Carol Cyganowski at 312/325-2488.