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Season 3, Episode 1 – How the IL Humanities is helping to Bridge the Rural-Urban Divide – with Matt Meacham, Program Manager, Statewide Engagement IL Humanities

On this edition of the Forgottonia Project, we had the privilege of speaking with Mr. Matt Meacham, program manager and director of statewide engagement at the IL Humanities. We asked Matt what the humanities are and how they can help bridge our rural-urban divide. We hope you enjoy our conversation.

Special thanks to Cuba High School student, Miranda Viano for facilitating this discussion and sharing her thoughts. Hope you enjoy!

LINK – ILLINOIS HUMANITIES WEBPAGE 

LINK – Distributions, People, Places, and Power – Forgottonia Edition 

LINK – What is the Humanities? From the IL Humanities YouTube page, featuring special guest, Abraham Lincoln!

LINK – Bill of Rights Institute, “What is Civil Discourse?”

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S1 – Blog 06: Salvation Army Field Trip Experience

On Friday April 6, 2018 students from Cuba High School had the opportunity to visit Lt. Sarah Eddy at the Salvation Army.   This experience was part of our unit on poverty in Fulton County.  Students participated in the following activities

  • A tour of the facility and overview of the history and mission of the Salvation Army
  • A budget simulation: living on low-income wages facing various obstacles in life
  • Various service projects that included working in the food pantry and preparing food assistance sacks

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S1 – Blog 05: Resources to use for Conversations on Race and Rural America

Enjoyed sharing our previous conversation on race and rural America with Dr. Alphonso Simpson from WIU.  You can listen here by visiting this link or through our “Forgottonia Project” podcast.  Wanted to take a moment to share a few resources Dr. Simpson recommended during on discussion.  These are various books, articles, and media he finds very helpful in facilitating healthy conversations about race and also uses in them in various courses he teaches. We recommend you get your hands on the following:

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S1 – Blog 04: The Gender Gap: What are the Greatest Concerns for Young Women Growing Up in Rural America?

We are pleased to share this interview with Dr. Lori Baker-Sperry from Western Illinois University Department of Women Studies.  We asked Dr. Baker-Sperry several questions concerning the topic of gender, especially in regards to rural America.  This interview prompted us to interview key community leaders to also share their experience with things like gender stereotypes and advice to women growing up in rural America today.  Dr. Baker-Sperry provided us with several links to her responses as well that you will find helpful.  We hope you enjoy and please contact us with any questions you might have.

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S1 – Blog 03: Notable Rural Americans – What Lessons Can We Learn from the Passing of John Mahoney?

It might surprise you to learn that of the 20 presidents who have served since 1900, just 5 have come from a big city (Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, John F. Kennedy, Barack Obama, Donald Trump).  It wasn’t until the 1920s when the majority of Americans began to migrate from small towns to big cities. You might be surprised to learn what notable figures have come from your town, county or state.

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S1 – Blog 02: Burma Shave Ads and Materialism: What are the Consequences of Conspicuous Consumption?

Burma-Shave was a brand of shaving cream famous for its humorous advertisements during the 1920s (check out the link here to see some examples for yourself).  They had a reputation sort of like Geico does today; a company known for doing unconventional commercial advertisements with their own quirky sense of style.  Yet perhaps another reason for their success lies not in the content of their ads, but new trends in American life in the 1920s that emphasized more materialistic values of status and wealth.  Or as sociologist and economist Thorstein Veblen called conspicuous consumption; spending money on luxurious goods to flaunt the wealth and status of the buyer.

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S1 – Blog 01: The Big Five: What are the Biggest Problems Facing Rural America Today?

A recent podcast on NPR Ted Radio Hour asked the question ¨What are the 5 biggest problems in the world?¨ (you can listen to the podcast here or search ¨Ted Radio Hour¨ on iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts). Let’s take a closer look and then ask the question ¨What are the 5 biggest problems facing Rural America?¨

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