Date: 1/14/00
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Jerry Soneson, UNI associate professor of philosophy and religion, (319) 273-2990
Aaron Podolefsky, UNI Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, (319) 273-2517
Vicki Grimes, UNI Office of Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa—Jerry Soneson, University of Northern Iowa associate professor of philosophy and religion, will delve into the ancient beliefs of the apocalypse and Armageddon at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 19 at Maucker Union Expansion.
“Thinking About the End Times: From Ancient Israel to the New Millenium” examines the traditions surrounding thoughts of the end of the world that began in ancient Israel.
During the millennial year, selected members of the UNI faculty will present 10 different Millennium Lectures. There will be five lectures offered during each of the spring and fall semesters of the year 2000. All lectures will include the presentation of a scholarly paper, and some will include artistic performances and exhibits.
“We want to think of the Millennium Lecture Series as a yearlong conversation among those of us who are fortunate enough to experience this historical moment, which comes just once in 20 lifetimes,” said Aaron Podolefsky, UNI Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. “It is an opportunity to consider our histories, our lives today and our futures as individuals, as members of Iowa families and communities, and as members of the larger human family.”
For more information, contact the UNI Office of Public Relations at (319) 273-2761, or check UNI's website at www.uni.edu.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Charline Barnes, associate professor of Reading Education, (319) 273-6396
Gwenne Culpepper, Office of Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Whenever Floyd Bumpers travels outside of Iowa, he hears the same thing from natives of other states: “Do Black people really live in Iowa?” Weary of the queries, Bumpers, a '92 graduate of the University of Northern Iowa, suggested to Charline Barnes that they collaborate on a book about the African American families who do live in Iowa.
Barnes, an assistant professor of reading education at UNI, was more than happy to work on the project. “My students have asked about the African American history of this state,” says the New York native. “They often have to teach Iowa history on the fourth- and fifth-grade levels, but because African Americans make up only about 2 percent of the state's population, students have trouble finding a lot of information about this particular aspect of history.”
The two began in late 1997. They first determined the 10 Iowa cities with the greatest African American populations. Then, working from references of various people in the Cedar Valley, they contacted specific families in those towns, and visited them to conduct oral histories and collect photographs. Of those 10 cities, nine were visited at least three separate times. “We pretty much spent the summer of 1998 on the road,” says Barnes.
The result of their work is “Iowa's Black Legacy,” a 128-page book laden with pictures and histories of African Americans in Ames, Burlington, Cedar Rapids, Clinton, Davenport, Des Moines, Fort Dodge, Iowa City, Sioux City and Waterloo. The book has been published by Arcadia Publishing as part of its Black America Series and is available locally at Waldenbooks, B Dalton Bookseller and University Book and Supply. Barnes and Noble of Cedar Rapids also carries the book.
Barnes is now working on a curriculum guide for teachers who'd like to use the book to teach reading and writing strategies. For more information on either book or the guide, contact her at charline.barnes@uni.edu, or (319) 273-6396.
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