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Category: Culture & Society

Image of Kluge Director Brent Yacobucci interviewing Tamika Y. Nunley

Navigating Liberty’s Promise: Black Women in Washington, DC and the End of Slavery

Posted by: Andrew Breiner

Nineteenth-century Washington, DC was home to thousands of enslaved people, as well as a hotbed of abolitionist activism. Black women were subject to incredible levels of legal and social restriction, but found ways to make their own lives within that world. Historian Tamika Nunley’s latest book, At the Threshold of Liberty: Women, Slavery, and Shifting …

Image of Steve Swayne

Steve Swayne Joins John W. Kluge Center as Chair in Modern Culture

Posted by: Andrew Breiner

The John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress is pleased to announce the appointment of Steve Swayne as Chair in Modern Culture. Swayne, who began his residency in March, is working with the Library’s David Diamond Collection to produce a book on the life and work of the influential 20th century American composer. …

Image of Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden interviewing Senator Shelly Moore

Honoring Women’s History: Members of the 117th Congress Share Insights on the Past, Present, and Future of Progress

Posted by: Andrew Breiner

On March 2, the John W. Kluge Center and the Library of Congress Congressional Relations Office hosted West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito and Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee for conversations with Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden on each of their history-making roles as women in US government. This event was part of the …

Image of Elizabeth Currid-Halkett

Kluge Center Welcomes Elizabeth Currid-Halkett into Residence

Posted by: Andrew Breiner

Kluge Center Welcomes Elizabeth Currid-Halkett into Residence USC Price School of Public Policy Professor Elizabeth Currid-Halkett has been appointed as the Kluge Chair in Modern Culture at the John W. Kluge Center. She will begin her term in June 2022. This appointment is awarded to a scholar of significant accomplishment in modern arts and media …

Image of the webinar on the Maritime Underground Railroad

Celebrating Black History Month at the John W. Kluge Center

Posted by: Andrew Breiner

The John W. Kluge Center has had the privilege of hosting many scholars of Black history, who have shared their expertise with the public in events, blog posts, and podcasts. As Black History Month 2022 comes to a close, we are taking the opportunity to highlight opportunities to learn about Black history from our recent …

Sweeping view from the floor of a great room, looking upwards past marble columns and arches to a grand golden-colored dome

Thérèse Bonney: Curator, Photographer, Syndicator, Spy

Posted by: Andrew Breiner

This is a guest post by Kluge Center Research Assistant Sophia Zahner, an interview with 2021 Kluge Fellow Caroline Riley. Riley is also a Research Associate at the University of California, Davis. Sophia Zahner: How did you become interested in the photography of Thérèse Bonney? How does it relate to your other research projects? Caroline …

Sweeping view from the floor of a great room, looking upwards past marble columns and arches to a grand golden-colored dome

Watch Now to Learn About the Movements Shaping American Democracy

Posted by: Andrew Breiner

The John W. Kluge Center and the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University are proud to release Social Movements and American Democracy in the 21st Century, a discussion moderated by Theda Skocpol and featuring panelists Hahrie Han, Dana Fisher, and Leah Wright Rigueur. Theda Skocpol, Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology at …