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Applicants should clearly state their central theme and explain what makes this a humanities project.  They should note which humanities disciplines are invoked, and describe what discussion, analysis, and/or interpretation will take place.

(1)

“What’s Going On?”  explores the civil unrest of the 1960s in an historical, political, social and cultural context, looking at it as more than a series of isolated events.  Mainstream newspaper accounts give the impression that specific incidents caused the violence.  In reality the events reflected societal forces and structural changes in American society in the postwar years, the result of long-held feelings of injustice in inner cities across the country.  Further, the causes, meanings, and after-effects of events as complex as these are naturally the subject of debate – an aspect of this project that is affirmed by oral histories collected to date.  “What’s Going On?” will include accounts from people who lived through these times: African Americans, whites, Jews, Italians, residents, shopkeepers, city and state policemen, firefighters, National Guard troops, suburbanites, news reporters, and others.  To counteract the impression that individuals held views identical to others in their group, the exhibition will reflect the diversity within each community.  The lack of a single narrative is a main focus of the exhibition, which asks why accounts of the unrest and its causes differ so widely.  By acknowledging and exploring this diversity, the exhibition will challenge visitors’ preconceptions and encourage them to think critically about history and memory.  The exhibition is organized into four major sections, preceded by an orientation segment:

• Orientation: Dynamic Timeline – This interactive media presentation will establish the context and tone of the exhibition.  Sound bites, media clips, and images will introduce visitors to the events that led up to the riots, as well as the riots themselves.

• Section I: The Great Migration – In this portion of the exhibition, visitors learn about Newark as it was in the 20th century, and gain a sense of the root of the rebellion that took place in 1967.  Large images, newsreels, and prominent artifacts reflect the “Great Migration,” or wave of people who came from the South to the North in search of a better life beginning in the 1920s

• Section II: The Changing Face of the City – Visitors to this section will be surrounded by the urban architectural elements that echo the look and feel of Newark from the 1940s to the late 1960s.  This portion of the exhibition will examine urban de-industrialization, the development of ghettos, and the changing demographics of the city.

• Section III: The Riots Unfold – This small but powerful section explores the events that unfolded in July 1967, a brief but intense period of violence that had great impact on an entire city and state.  The six days of rioting will be recounted though photographs, media footage, artifacts, and oral histories. 

• Section IV: Legacies – As visitors emerge from the previous section of the exhibit, they learn about the decades that followed 1967 and are invited to envision the future.  A “step inside” visitor response booth will allow visitors to film and record their thoughts, and journals will encourage written reflections.  These personal accounts will be excerpted and incorporated into the exhibit so that it captures the continually changing nature of perception and memory. 

(2)

Camden Country College proposes to sponsor a lecture series in which specialists in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam discuss the origins, practices, and historical interrelationships between the Abrahamic religions from ancient times to the present.  The series will begin on September 10, when Paola Tartakoff, Assistant Professor of History and Jewish Studies at Rutgers, will present a lecture entitled Re-Thinking the Jewish Middle Ages.  She will explain that the Middle Ages are often assumed to be a particularly bleak period in Jewish history but the evidence reveals that from 711 to 1492 there were extended periods of peaceful coexistence between Jews, Christians, and Muslims.  Amy Oden, Professor of History of Christianity, Wesley Theological Seminary, will present Strangers in the Empire: The Landscape of Early Christianity.  Her talk on October 1 will explore the formation of Christian identity in relation to the Jewish community and Roman culture.  James Deming, Associate Professor of Modern European Church History at Princeton Theological Seminary, will present Christian Enthusiasm and the Decline of Christendom on October 8.  He will provide an overview of the history of church in society in Europe and America, and describe the contradictions that existed between Christian ideals and practices and how they contributed to the intolerance of others.  On October 22, Jawid Majaddedi, Assistant Professor in the Department of Religion at Rutgers University, will explain, in the lecture Origins and Basic Beliefs of Islam, how Islam is a religion apart from Judaism and Christianity.  On October 29, Hibba Abugideiri, Assistant Professor of History at Villanova University, will present a talk Redressing Muslim Women, in which she will discuss the many misconceptions about Muslim women by focusing on how the Qur’an understands women and gender.