Program Book Front Matter

This year's program introduces a wholly new feature for the annual meeting of the American Studies Association--a set of pre-convention workshops we are calling "Collaboratives," on Wednesday afternoon and evening and Thursday morning, before the formal convention program opens in the hotel.

These workshops are a core dimension of a constellation of activities described in the President's Overview, above. The collaboratives offer opportunities for hands-on engagement with community groups and institutions in Detroit and the wider GLASA region, on a range of specific issues that speak to our meeting's overall theme.

These collaboratives are outside the regular convention program, because the explicit intention is not to offer a presentation for an ASA audience but rather to create an opportunity for a small number of visitors to work closely with a local host group or institution. Accordingly, there is a small ($5) registration fee for this feature, and a separate registration form sent directly to ASA. The fee will help cover transportation, equipment, and refreshment expenses, but its broader purpose is to confirm participation in advance, permitting us to put host and visitors in contact before the event to build a foundation for a productive working session.

Those interested in participating should return the accompanying special registration form, indicating prioritized preferences. It is hoped that almost all registrants will be able to have their first choice, but we stress that there is a limited number of places in each collaborative. Registrants will be contacted directly and provided in advance with relevant background materials for the workshop, as well as information on transportation arrangements from the hotel to the site, and back.

Local Arrangements/Pre-Convention Collaboratives Committee

Co-Chairs: Linda Borish, Western Michigan University
Nora Faires, University of Michigan, Flint
Sheila Lloyd, Wayne State University

1. Historic Preservation in the Urban Neighborhoods of Detroit

Historic preservation specialists, community and preservation activists, and public historians working in and with Detroit neighborhoods explore successes and failures in evaluating and preserving urban historic sites, and strategies for more effective mobilization.

2. Model Minority Myths & the Dilemma of Building Ethnic Alliances in Detroit

Community activists and members of the Arab-American community discuss the space, experiences, and future of Arab Americans in Detroit, Michigan. The discussion will engage cross-community issues raised by recent immigration and responses to immigrant groups.

3. The Arts of Citizenship

The University of Michigan Arts of Citizenship Program pursues university/community collaborative projects in the arts, humanities, and design focused especially in the southeast Michigan region. Among the initiatives that Ars of Citizenship sponsors or supports are art and theater workshops in prisons; an oral history partnership on the history of the Underground Railroad in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area. Director David Scobey, participating faculty, and community partners from several projects will explore the challenges to making such partnerships work, and the value of such cultural collaborations for both democratic community life and the university's mission.

4. The Detroit 300th Anniversary Celebration: Public History, Whose History?

Public historians, local historians, activists, community members and organization leaders involved in planning Detroit's 300th anniversary celebration in 2001 examine the political, institutional, cultural, and geographical issues posed by such large official civic celebrations.

5. Performance in Everyday Life and Everyday Life in Performance

As part of her ASA Artist-in-Residency, Jawole Willa Joe Zollar, founder and artistic director of the Urban Bush Women Dance Company, will lead a workshop in movement-based work for classroom application or community outreach. Participants need not have a dance background. Those registering for this collaborative must also agree to participate in the linked session on the hotel program at which the work of the collaborative will be presented and explored with the ASA audience.

6. The Cultural History and Politics of Detroit Music

Community members and museum professionals from the Graystone International Jazz Museum and the Motown Historical Museum explore the challenge of adequately representing a music scene and heritage ranging from jazz to R&B, and from soul to techno, and how thematic museums ground any or all of these in the larger political and cultural context of Detroit.

7. Troubleshooting the Alternative Press

Journalists from MetroTimes, which covers arts, entertainment, and investigative reporting,; Between the Lines, which focuses on gay and lesbian issues and activities; and The Michigan Citizen, a progressive weekly, join the editors and publishers of independent Past Tents Press and Broadside Press, and the cultural quarterlies Dispatch: Detroit and Trait: A Journal of Regional Art and Culture, to assess the constituencies, survivability and evolving mission of alternative publications in a rapidly changing city.

8. Culture, Activism, and Detroit

A discussion joining civil rights activists, labor activists, and cultural/artistic workers assessing their intertwined history in Detroit, explore the role of cultural activism in the life and future of the city.

9. The Empty Bowls Project - Arts and Community in the Fight to End Hunger

Local activists and artists will discuss issues of hunger and food security, as engaged through a grassroots arts project begun in Detroit as part of a school food drive in 1990 and now has spread across the country. The Collaborative will be held in conjunction with The Empty Bowls 10th Anniversary National Exhibition, featuring bowls made and donated by potters, students and others; bowls decorated by "Heroes" active in social justice issues including Rosa Parks, Helen Caldicott, and Joan Baez; and social justice posters from The Center for the Study of Political Graphics in Los Angeles

10. Using Material Culture: Henry Ford Museum/Greenfield Village Artifact

Educational and Curatorial staff at Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village, as well as Great Lakes ASA scholars and teachers, who deal with material culture, examine issues and trends in how and to what end the museum is using artifacts in public history presentations, and incorporating these approaches in teaching.

11. The Reuther Library, Labor History Archives, and Workers Lives

Archivists and historians at the Walter P. Reuther Library, Labor History and Workers Lives, are joined by labor historians, community activists in labor, and ASA colleagues to explore what gets collected and preserved and why, and how collections are being used. A particular case for exploration will be the United Farm Workers Collection and its uses in scholarship and in community engagement through the Detroit Latino Humanities Project.

12. The Underground Railroad and Michigan-Canada Border Connections

A discussion among local communities, interdisciplinary researchers, and public historians working on diverse projects, from historical archaeology to genealogy to community, urban, and border history examines the Underground Railroad on the Detroit-Canadian border.

13. Detroit Resources for Understanding African American History and Culture

Community members, activists, cultural workers, and scholars involved in music, literature, politics, religion, and social activism discuss resources and approaches for engaging themes weaving all of these together in the fabric of the African American life and in Detroit.

14. Maritime Communities in the Great Lakes Region

Public historians , curators, maritime and community members involved in gathering artifacts, oral histories, and photos for an exhibit called "Fish for All" explore the challenge of representing the diversity and complexity of maritime communities-including Native Americans, fishers, environmentalists, commercial fisheries, and recreationists.

15. Local and Community History and Working in the World

Participants in a project on Jewish life in Flint, Michigan meet with those documenting industrial life and work in Youngstown, Ohio to discuss the complexity of conveying community and industrial history in the context of dramatic contemporary.

16. Re-Imagining Industrial and Post-industrial Working Detroit

The 1999 designation of a Southeast Michigan Automotive National Heritage Area, together with the establishment of a Center for the Study of Automotive Heritage at University of Michigan-Dearborn have been major developments in the ongoing reimagining of Fordist production and consumption. Meeting at the Henry Ford Estate on the University of Michigan-Dearborn campus, a range of regional participants in automotive heritage policy will explore current practice in the representation of history and the re-shaping of working-class life and landscape.

17. In-plant Worker Education in Post-Industrial Detroit

In a Ford/United Auto Workers distance education program and a worker education program at the University of Michigan, Dearborn, Ford and UAW participants encounter new technologies directly by taking distance learning critical-thinking skills courses at computer labs located in Ford auto plants. This collaborative includes auto worker students, program faculty, and members of the ASA working-class studies caucus, assessing the program and its implications.

18. American Studies in Catholic Higher Education

Catholic educators and American Studies colleagues in the Great Lakes ASA region explore substantive issues and opportunities for teaching American Studies raised by Ex Corde Ecclesia, the new apostolic constitution of Catholic universities.

19. Community Colleges and the Realities of Interdisciplinary Teaching

Community college teachers and administrators in the Great Lakes ASA region , including Wayne County Community College, Henry Ford Community College, Jackson Community College, and others, examine the opportunities for and obstacles to American Studies on a community college's borderland joining the academy and the "real world."

20. Secondary Education, American Studies, and Assessment

Secondary education teachers in the Great Lakes ASA and ASA Secondary Education Committee members explore recent policy trends in assessment, testing, and standards, and evaluate the implications for the place of American Studies in secondary education curriculum and classroom practices.

21. Undergraduate Internships in the Real World

Bernath Conference Room, Undergraduate Library, Wayne State University Students, mentors, and community sponsors examine the constraints and accomplishments of specific internship programs in the region and devise strategies for designing, implementing, and assessing such programs in an broad range of settings.

PROGRAM SUPPLEMENT

Changes or additions to the program will be listed in the program supplement that will be available only on site at the convention registration desk and online at http://www.georgetown.edu/crossroads/asa2000/Convention2000Update.html

ONLINE PROGRAM

The program will be available online after August 1. The URL: http://asa.press.jhu.edu/program00/.

SELF-GUIDED TOURS, RESTAURANTS, AND EVENTS

The Local Arrangements Committee has assembled guides to walking tours, restaurants, exhibits, and other events of interest. These guides will be available at the registration desk to registrants. They are not available for distribution prior to the conference. Members of the Local Arrangements Committee will also be available at the registration desk to assist you.

HEADQUARTERS HOTEL

The 2000 Convention Headquarters Hotel is the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center Hotel, Renaissance Center, Detroit, MI 48243; phone: (313) 568-8000 or fax (313) 568-8666.

Please send the hotel reservation form, found in the pages of this book, and your first night's room deposit, directly to the hotel:

ATTN: RESERVATIONS MANAGER
DETROIT MARRIOTT RENAISSANCE CENTER
RENAISSANCE CENTER
DETROIT, MI 48243
TOLL FREE RESERVATIONS 1-800-228-9290 OR 1-800-352-0831

MEETINGS

Meetings, sessions, and events take place almost exclusively at the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center.

ALTERNATIVE ACCOMMODATIONS

Graduate students and part-time faculty interested in alternative accommodations or the roommate connection service should consult the Student's Committee web site at http://www.georgetown.edu/crossroads/interests/student.

DISABLED PERSONS

The Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, its regulations, and guidelines. So that the Detroit Marriott can better assist persons with special needs, individuals should indicate their specific needs on the hotel reservation form or in an attached letter and include a telephone number where they can be reached. In addition, they should make their reservations as early as possible, and no later than 8 September. If they need additional assistance, they should contact the American Studies Association.

ACCESS GUIDELINES FOR ASA CONVENTION SESSION ORGANIZERS & PANELISTS

The ASA is committed to making arrangements that allow all association members to participate in the conference. Therefore, we request that all session organizers and presenters review the information below and take the necessary steps to make their sessions accessible to attendees with permanent or temporary disabilities. These guidelines are designed to provide access to attendees with disabilities, but will benefit all convention participants.

Room Set-up

• There is space for two wheelchairs in each meeting room. Please keep this area, the door, and the aisles clear for persons using wheelchairs, canes, crutches, or motorized vehicles.
• People who are deaf or hard of hearing and who use sign language interpreters or read lips should sit where they can see both the speakers and the interpreter. The interpreter may stand close to the speaker or within a direct line of sight that allows the audience to view both the speaker and the interpreter. Speakers should be aware of the location of interpreters and attempt to keep this line of vision clear.

Papers, Handouts, and Audiovisuals

• Speakers should bring five copies of their papers, even in draft form, for the use of members who wish, or need, to follow a written text. Speakers who use handouts should prepare some copies in large-print format (14- or 16-point font size) and briefly describe all handouts to the audience. Avoid colored papers. Speakers should indicate where to return their papers and handouts.
• Allow ample time when referring to a visual aid or handout or when pointing out the location of materials.
• When not using an overhead projector, turn it off. This reduces background noise and helps focus audience attention on the speaker.

Communication/Presentation Style

• Speak clearly and distinctly, but do not shout. Use regular speed unless asked to slow down
• Because microphones often fail to pick up voices in the audience, speakers should always repeat questions or statements made by members of the audience. In dialogues or discussions, only one person should speak at a time, and speakers should identify themselves so that members of the audience may know who is speaking.
• Avoid speaking from a darkened area of the room. Some people read lips, so the audience should have a direct and clear view of the speaker's mouth and face.

If you have questions, concerns, or comments, please write or call:

Convention Staff
1120 19th Street, NW, Suite 301
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 467-4783; Fax: (202) 467-4786
Email: asastaff@theasa.net

CHILD-CARE INFORMATION

For assistance with child care arrangements, please contact the American Studies Association, 1120 19th St., NW, Suite 301, Washington, DC 20036; phone: (202) 467-4783; fax: (202) 467-4786; email: asastaff@theasa.net.

EMPLOYER INTERVIEW SPACE RESERVATIONS

Positions listed with the American Studies Association are now posted on our website: http://www.georgetown.edu/crossroads/asanews/newsemploy/index.html. Members can access these listings and contact employers directly to see who will be conducting interviews at our 2000 meeting in Detroit, MI. (Please note that not all institutions listed on this site will be conducting interviews at the convention.) The employer representative name, mailing address, phone and fax numbers, and email address are included whenever possible.

JOB LISTINGS ARE NOT POSTED AT THE ANNUAL MEETING*

Out of courtesy to the interviewing employers and candidates, ASA will not provide on-site listings of employers conducting interviews at the meeting

Employers who are conducting interviews and reserve interview space will be notified prior to the convention of their room location. Should you wish to schedule an interview you must contact those employers directly. There will not be an ASA staff person managing a job registry room during the annual meeting.

All questions regarding appropriate procedures for using our online system to place a position listing or reserve interview space at the meeting should be directed to Convention Manager, (202) 467-4783; or asastaff@theasa.net attn: Convention Manager.

ASA Guidelines for Interviewing: The ASA discourages interview activities in hotel bedrooms. If an interviewer feels it is necessary to use a facility outside a pre-arranged interview room, the ASA strongly advises that a parlor rather than a sleeping room be used and that a third person always be present in the room with the candidate. Interviewers using such facilities bear sole responsibility for establishing an appropriate, professional atmosphere and should take special care to ensure that all interviews are conducted courteously and in a proper manner.

Address correspondence regarding interview space, as well as vitae, to Convention Manager, American Studies Association, 1120 19th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036; asastaff@theasa.net, Attn.: Convention Manager.

*Employers wishing to reserve interview space at the Detroit meeting, please make your request in writing or electronically by September 15, 2000.

WELCOME TO DETROIT

AIRLINES SERVING DETROIT METROPOLITAN WAYNE COUNTY AND DETROIT CITY AIRPORTS

We have partnered with Association Travel Concepts (A.T.C.) this year. A.T.C. will help you with your airline reservations to and from Detroit, as well as ground transportation while in Detroit. They will be able to offer 15% off airline fares and 25% off car rental rates between 10/9/00 and 10/18/00. You may also call Northwest Airlines or Avis directly if you wish and still receive this discount if you mention our I.D. codes. For Northwest, you may call 1-800-328-1111 and refer them to code NY787. For Avis, you may call 1-800-331-1600 and refer them to code J952813. A.T.C. can do this for you, if you call 1-800-458-9383, fax 1-858-581-3988, email reservations@assntravel.com, or visit www.assntravel.com.

TRANSPORTATION

HOW TO GET TO THE DETROIT MARRIOTT RENAISSANCE CENTER FROM THE DETROIT METROPOLITAN WAYNE COUNTY OR DETROIT CITY AIRPORTS:

• Detroit/Detroit City - DET (8 miles South) Conner Street South to I-94 West to I-75 South to I-375 (here the freeway turns into Jefferson Ave). Hotel is 2 blocks on right.
• Detroit/Wayne County - DTW (21 miles East) I-94 East to Exit #215 (Route 10 South - Lodge Freeway). Take 10 South to Jefferson Avenue. Hotel is 1/2 mile on right.

Maps Copyright Etak, Inc. 1984-1998. All Rights Reserved. Use Subject to License.

HOW TO GET AROUND DETROIT

Detroit's Downtown Trolleys

For a nostalgic trip back in time, take a ride on Detroit's Downtown Trolleys. The turn-of-the-century trolleys, complete with uniformed conductor and whistle stop, operate downtown along Washington Boulevard and Jefferson Avenue between Grand Circus Park and Mariners' Church, across the street from the Renaissance Center. The vintage trolleys made their Detroit debut in 1976 following several years of planning and searching for vehicles. The electric-powered cars were built in England, Germany, Portugal and the United States between 1895 and the 1920's. The fleet of nine trolleys features seven closed vehicles and two open-air vehicles. One of the open air trolleys is a double-decker, the only one of its kind operating in the world. Fare is 50 cents.

Detroit's People Mover System Map

This Map shows the entire system. All trains circulate counter-clockwise. Trains arrive at a station every 3-4 Minutes. Fare is 50 cents.

http://members.aol.com/wingsrgr8/DPM/system.html

BOOK EXHIBIT

The Convention Book Exhibit will be in Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center's Ontario Exhibit Hall. Admission will be by registration badge only. Hours of the book exhibit are:

INVITATIONS

STRAIT TALK : SIX DETROIT POETS
8:00 PM, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2000
ONTARIO - EAST

On the occasion of ASA 2000 convening in Detroit, six of the city's finest poets will present a special reading of their work. Each of these poets has a long and distinguished history of publication, performance, and cultural activism; each is well-known to poetry audiences in the city and the region, and several enjoy national reputations. Collectively, they are part of a long and strong Detroit tradition of cultural collaboration and poetic innovation, both within and beyond the literary mainstream.

As befits the city's complex social history and its strategic location on the narrows (hence its name) of the Detroit River--which is both an international boundary and a vital shipping link to the Great Lakes--poetry in Detroit might best be described as a confluence of poetic styles and cultural traditions. To suggest that there is a singularly Detroit style would be to simplify the literary landscape. On the other hand, there is a recognized Detroit attitude that is variously reflected, refracted, resisted, and redefined in the work of these six poets, be they native Detroiters, long-time residents, or relative newcomers to the city.

This attitude--perhaps familiar to residents of other once-formidable industrial cities--is a potent mix of historical trauma and guarded optimism, progressive aspirations and political factionalism, cultural diversity and racial tension, community spirit and class conflict, wary civic pride and down-home hospitality. It is the attitude of a city that has witnessed epochal changes in its fortunes and of a populace that takes justifiable pride in its survival and resilience on the eve of its 300th anniversary. Each will read approximately 15 minutes.

Glen Mannisto is a free-lance writer, poet, and art critic. He was a co-publisher of Detroit River Press and is currently editor-in-chief of Trait: A Detroit Journal of Regional Art and Culture. His published works include We Knew It, Head, and 5x5 (forthcoming).

Chris Tysh is a widely published poet, essayist, journalist, and critic. She teaches creative writing and women's studies at Wayne State University. Her published works include Coat of Arms, In the Name, and Continuity Girl .

Dennis Teichman is a poet who was a co-publisher of Detroit River Press and is currently the publisher of Past Tents Press, one of Detroit's premier literary presses. He works as a refrigeration operator at Difco Labs and is the author of Edge to Edge and V-8 .

George Tysh is a poet, critic, and reviewer who has written extensively on literature, art, music, film, and Zen. He is the arts editor of the Metro Times, Michigan's largest weekly newspaper. His latest books include Echolalia, and Dream Sites: A Visual Essay .

Carla Harryman is a renowned fiction writer, playwright, and poet. She teaches at Wayne State University, and her recent books include The Words: After Carl Sandburg's Rootabaga Stories and Jean-Paul Sartre, and There Never Was a Rose without a Thorn .

Bill Harris is a nationally recognized playwright, poet, and novelist. He is the former director of NYC's famous Jazzmobile and currently teaches creative writing at Wayne State Unversity. His latest books include Yardbird Suite and The Ringmaster's Array .

Founded in 1984 by choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Urban Bush Women (U.B.W.) is a performance ensemble dedicated to exploring the use of cultural expression as a catalyst for social change. Committed to encouraging cultural activity as an inherent part of community life, U.B.W. engages in extensive community-based programming and in the training of young artists in the U.B.W. technique, which gives equal weight to an artist's creative and cultural concerns. U.B.W.'s community engagement work enhances audience understanding of U.B.W.'s performances, generates greater recognition of the historical roots of cultural expression, and encourages self-expression as a means to personal and community transformation.The company has performed nationwide and internationally, touring extensively throughout the U.S.A. and in Asia, Europe, Australia, and South America. Zollar and U.B.W. received a 1992 New York Dance and Performance Award (a "Bessie") and a 1994 Capezio Award for outstanding achievement in dance. In 1998 they received one of the first Doris Duke Awards for New Work. In 1997 the company began a five-year international exchange with the Companhia Nacional e Canto e Danca from Maputo, Mozambique.

We invite all members and convention visitors to a special evening highlighting the connections between American Studies and the local community, through cultural practice, social activism, and public scholarship in the arts and humanities. The evening, bringing together convention visitors and local practitioners from Detroit and the broader region, has two distinct parts:The first will be a gala reception in one of Detroit's great treasures, the Diego Rivera Court at the Detroit Institute of Arts, from 6:30 to 8:15 PM. Here, ASA will be joined by many of the groups and projects hosting the earlier community-based Pre-Convention Collaboratives, as well as those from the community presenting work on Detroit-related panels on our program, and other cultural and community projects in the city and region. Many of these will have information and descriptions on display in a kind of community commons, on which ASA and community can meet informally. At the close of the reception, all are invited to go together to the beautiful new Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, only a few yards and a very short walk from the DIA. Here, starting at 8:45PM, we will feature a poetry reading by two of Detroit's leading poets, Leslie Reese and Ted Pearson. The evening will culminate in a special solo dance performance by our Artist in Residence, Jawole Willa Joe Zollar, founder and director of Urban Bush Women. The formal program will conclude by 10:00 PM. There will be a fleet of buses to transport ASA from the convention hotel to the DIA, between 5:45 and 7:00 PM, and back to the hotel from the Charles Wright Museum at 10:00 PM. A continuous free shuttle will also operate throughout the evening. JAWOLE WILLA JO ZOLLAR is introduced in the Artist-in-Residence profile, above.

LESLIE REESE is a native Detroiter and is one of the city's most gifted and dynamic poets. She is the author of Upside Down Tapestry Mosaic History (Broadside Press) and her work has been anthologized in The Spirit in the Words, The Black Woman's Gumbo Ya- Ya, Adam of Ife, More Light, and Nostalgia for the Present . She works in Visitor Services at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

TED PEARSON is widely recognized as one of the most lyrical of the "Language School" poets. He is the author of fourteen books of poetry, most recently Acoustic Masks (1994), The Devil's Aria (1999), and Hard Science (2000). Originally from the San Francisco area, he moved to Detroit in 1997. He currently works as a free-lance writer and editor and teaches part-time at Wayne State University.

As an author, folklorist, filmmaker and academic administrator, William R. Ferris has compiled a distinguished record of achievement and leadership in the humanities during a career spanning nearly three decades. Before becoming chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities in November 1997, Dr. Ferris served for 18 years as founding director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. Under his leadership, the University of Mississippi developed the most comprehensive southern studies curriculum in the nation, and the center, with an interdisciplinary approach incorporating popular, folk, historical and literary subjects, attained national recognition as a model for regional studies centers. In 1993 the center was named a non-governmental organization affiliated with the United Nations. A professor of anthropology and a prolific author, Dr. Ferris spearheaded the creation of the best-selling Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, published in 1989. Containing entries on every aspect of southern culture and widely recognized as a major reference work linking popular, folk and academic cultures, the volume was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. In Russia, eastern Europe and Australia it has been used as a tool for understanding cultural and social diversity. Dr. Ferris's scholarship covers the fields of folklore, American literature, music and photography. Among his books are Ray Lum's Tales of Horses, Mules, and Men (1992), Local Color (1982), Images of the South: Visits with Eudora Welty and Walker Evans (1978) and Blues from the Delta (1970). His films include Mississippi Blues (1983), which was featured at the Cannes Film Festival. Among his sound recordings are Highway 61 Blues: James 'Son' Thomas (1983), Bothered All the Time (1983), Genesis: The Beginnings of Rock (1974) and Blues from the Delta (1970). He was a consultant to the 1985 movies The Color Purple and Crossroads, the latter about blues music, and for nearly a decade until 1994 he hosted Highway 61, a weekly blues music program that airs on Mississippi Public Radio. Among the cultural programs Dr. Ferris has established at the Center for the Study of Southern Culture are the Oxford Conference for the Book, the annual Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference, and conferences on Elvis Presley, civil rights and the law, and civil rights and the media. The center also sponsors seminars for teachers, educational tours of the South, traveling exhibitions and musical performances. Drawing on the world's largest blues archives at the University of Mississippi, the center reaches wide audiences with its magazine Living Blues. Research conducted at the center has resulted in a wide range of audio recordings, films, scholarly papers and books. Dr. Ferris's honors include the presidentially bestowed Charles Frankel Prize in the Humanities, the American Library Association's Dartmouth Medal, the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Award, and France's Chevalier and Officer in the Order of Arts and Letters. He has also been inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. Before coming to the Center for the Study of Southern Culture in 1979, Dr. Ferris taught at Yale University (1972-79) and at Jackson State University in Mississippi (1970-72). He has M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in folklore from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.A. in English literature from Northwestern University and a B.A. from Davidson College. Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, in 1942, Dr. Ferris is married to Marcie Cohen Ferris. Dr. Ferris will be chairing a Saturday afternoon (12:00 - 1:45 PM) session entitled Interdisciplinary Perspectives on African American Culture and Life as Represented in Three Projects Supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities and presenting at the Plenary Event: American Studies in the World/The World in American Studies from 4:00-5:45 PM also on Saturday with ASA President, Michael Frisch. We invite all of you to attend both sessions, welcoming Dr. Ferris to our annual meeting as a special guest.