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Archive: 2019 (53 Posts)

Christmas with the Presidents

Posted by: Heather Thomas

Holidays at the White House have evolved over the years from intimate family gatherings to national celebrations, ranging from an indoor snowball fight between grandchildren, to a first lady ride on a cherry picker!  Discover how U.S. Presidents of the past celebrated Christmas.  “Old Hickory,” President Andrew Jackson, threw an elaborate party for his grandchildren …

A child carrying a bundle of newspapers in one hand, the other arm held high with a copy of the Anchorage Daily Times, the headline reading

Let’s Talk Comics: Folklore, Comics, and Santa Claus

Posted by: Megan Halsband

Dr. Daniel Peretti, Assistant Professor of Folklore at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, is the author of “Superman in Myth and Folklore” (University Press of Mississippi, 2017), as well as other essays on folklore, myth, and popular culture. His current research focuses on Santa Claus, ritual, and the traditions of Christmas. Here Dr. Peretti answers …

A child carrying a bundle of newspapers in one hand, the other arm held high with a copy of the Anchorage Daily Times, the headline reading

The Mayflower: Tales of Jumping Ship

Posted by: Valerie Haeder

  For a seemingly interminable 65 days the Mayflower was the floating home of pilgrims, officers and crew as they made their famous journey to America.  For some it was a graveyard, and for others, a symbol of life renewed. Those who sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 are commonly known as pilgrims, but the sailors who …

Maria Tallchief: Osage Prima Ballerina

Posted by: Heather Thomas

“Onstage, she looks as regal and exotic as a Russian princess; offstage, she is as American as wampum and apple pie,” cheered TIME magazine about prima ballerina Maria Tallchief in 1951. One of the most celebrated Native American women of the 20th century, Tallchief was the first American dancer in the history of ballet to earn …

A child carrying a bundle of newspapers in one hand, the other arm held high with a copy of the Anchorage Daily Times, the headline reading

Alexander McCall Smith and the World of Mma Precious Ramotswe

Posted by: Amber Paranick

The following guest post was also written by Marissa Ball, Head of the Humanities & Social Sciences Section in the Researcher and Reference Services Division; Peter Armenti, a reference specialist in the Researcher and Reference Services Division; and Ashley Cuffia, a science reference specialist in the Science, Technology, and Business Division. On October 24, 2019, …

A child carrying a bundle of newspapers in one hand, the other arm held high with a copy of the Anchorage Daily Times, the headline reading

Let’s Talk Comics: War and Military

Posted by: Megan Halsband

  From the beginning comic books have published war stories and adventures, profiling every branch of the military and visually portraying every aspect of modern warfare. Even before the United States entered World War II, Captain America fought Adolph Hitler  on the cover of Captain America no. 1 (1940). Contemporary comics on war and the …