11 Things We Read This Week: 10/25/2019

By Courtney Suciu

1. Listen to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s lecture on the importance of cultural forms – particularly jazz – in the Black freedom movement, and music’s power to comfort, inspire and bring chaos into order.
2. Records reveal information about the first African woman stolen away from Angola and enslaved in Virginia. Now, we’re finally learning Angela’s story. Read more…
3. Discover what insights personal letters reveal to us about such key historical events as “class antagonism” in Titanic disaster or the way “Jack-the-Ripper” taunted London police.
4. More and more libraries are making the move to eliminate late fines. In Philadelphia, the topic is up for debate. Read both sides of the argument.
5. This collection of videos from the U.S. Department of Education shares how teachers are preparing students for the future by incorporating STEM activities in the classroom.
6. Sometimes we bibliophiles are not just in love with what’s written on a book’s pages – we’re in love with the pages themselves. Especially the ragged irregularity of deckle edges. Here’s the history of how they’re made.
7. The exotic works of 19^th-century painter Paul Gaugin shaped Western views of Polynesian women and culture. Find out how modern artists are using his imagery to create an “empowered portrait of Polynesian femininity.”
8. The clean, modern influence of Bauhaus art and design is everywhere, but do you know about the politics and philosophy behind the 100-year-old movement? Here’s a crash course.
9. Learn about the efforts of astronaut and educator Bernard Harris to engage students – especially those from marginalized communities – in science and technology using Culturally Responsive Teaching.
10. Should the bones of the legendary exiled writer James Joyce – who died in Zurich in 1941 – be repatriated to his native Dublin? Read why some scholars say there is a “distasteful irony to this whole idea.”
11. The Digital Archive is expanding to include LP audio recordings, preserving everything from classical, jazz and rock tunes to such obscure recordings as “music for baton twirlers,” which until now have only existed on vinyl. Learn more…

* Image: Composition 8 by Bauhaus painter Vassily Kandinsky

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Courtney Suciu is ProQuest’s lead blog writer. Her loves include libraries, literacy and researching extraordinary stories related to the arts and humanities. She has a Master’s Degree in English literature and a background in teaching, journalism and marketing. Follow her @QuirkySuciu