Temple University Libraries - Podcast

Jakobsen Lecture Available on iTunes U

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 09:19:35 -0500

Distinguished professor of women's studies, Janet Jakobsen of Barnard College, lectured at Paley on April 7.

Dr. Jakobsen is the Director of the Center for Research on Women at Barnard. Her research interests include: feminist and queer ethics; religion, gender, and sexuality in American public life; social movements and feminist alliance politics; and global issues of economics.

Jakobsen's research truly crosses disciplinary boundaries, and her engagement with a number of issues crosses the traditional lines established between the academy and activism.

This lecture was part of a series presented by the Libraries and the General Education Program, which aims to bring interdisciplinary scholars in a variety of fields to Temple. The departments of Religion and Jewish Studies also played a significant role in sponsoring Dr. Jakobsen's visit.

Dr. Jakobsen's lecture at Paley Library can be downloaded from iTunes U.
When you see the Temple University page, click Paley Library at the bottom, then Janet Jakobsen, then click "Get" and wait for the download to complete.

After the lecture, Dr. Jakobsen was interviewed by Professor of History, David Watt, and Professor of Religion, Women's Studies, and Jewish Studies, Laura Levitt.

2008 Library Prize Winners Interviewed

Wed, 14 May 2008 15:26:45 -0500

The 2008 Library Prize for Undergraduate Research winners and their faculty sponsors kindly agreed to be interviewed on their award winning research papers by librarian Fred Rowland. Each of the three students are as articulate and intelligent as the papers they've written. Listen to them talk about their research in their own words.

Peter Leibensperger (interviewed with faculty sponsor Edward Latham)
"Musical Ambiguity as Poetic Reflection: Mahler's Kindertotenlieder, No. 1, 'Nunn will die Sonn' so hell aufgeh'n!'" (Music Studies)
Interview (MP3, 13 minutes)
Natalia Smirnov (interviewed with faculty sponsor Paul Swann)
"Before and After Photography: The Makeover Method to Discipline and Punish" (Film and Media Arts)
Interview (MP3, 14 minutes)
Maureen Whitsett (interviewed with faculty sponsor Elizabeth Varon)
"Fenianism In Irish Catholic Philadelphia: The American Catholic Church's Battle for Acceptance" (History)
Interview (MP3, 13 minutes)

And, returning faculty and students, start thinking about the 2009 Library Prize for Undergraduate Research!

Philadelphia's Waterfront Wobblies

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:47:46 -0500

On April 17, after visiting the Temple Book Club to discuss his new book Wobblies on the Waterfront: Interracial Unionism in Progressive Era Philadelphia (University of Illinois Press, 2007), author Peter Cole was interviewed by librarian Fred Rowland. In the interview, he provides a fascinating look at Progressive Era Philadelphia, an industrial dynamo of American capitalism whose busy port along the Delaware River gave rise to a successful interracial multiethnic union (IWW Local 8) that was able to overcome employer resistance to control work on the docks from about 1913 to the early 1920's. While discussing Local 8 and its unique success in bringing together white Protestant, black, and immigrant Catholic and Jewish longshoremen, he talks about the radical Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and their relationship to the rest of American labor, the nature of work on the docks, local labor and race relations, the effects of World War I and Bolshevik Revolution on the port of Philadelphia and the IWW, as well as lessons to be learned from Local 8's rise and fall. If you're interested in Philadelphia history, you'll like this interview.

Listen to the Interview (MP3, 20 minutes)

For a brief overview of the Industrial Workers of the World, go here (Temple-only).

Daddy Grace and His House of Prayer

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 21:00:00 -0500

Daddy Grace was a flamboyant preacher of the 1930's, 40's, and 50's who created a religious organization with churches situated mainly up and down the east coast of the United States, including Philadelphia. His church was pentecostal in orientation and known for extravagant rituals, parades, and festivals. Until now, Daddy Grace and his United House of Prayer for All People has been relatively neglected in the scholarship of religious studies. Temple's Adjunct Associate Professor Marie Dallam has gone a long way in filling in the gaps in our understanding of this fascinating figure in American religious history with her new book, Daddy Grace: A Celebrity Preacher and His House of Prayer, published by New York University Press.

On March 10, Marie Dallam stopped by Paley Library to discuss her new book with librarian Fred Rowland. Below is a link to this audio interview.

Marie Dallam Audio Interview (mp3)

Don't forget that if Daddy Grace: A Celebrity Preacher and His House of Prayer is checked out from Paley Library, you can request it through E-ZBorrow.

---Fred Rowland

Interview with Legendary Performers "Kittye" DeChavis and Trudy Pitts

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 09:32:42 -0500

In celebration of Women’s History Month, legendary jazz performers Katherine “Kittye” DeChavis and Trudy Pitts spoke and performed at Paley Library on March 5th, 2008. After the performance, Ms. DeChavis and Ms. Pitts joined librarian Anne Harlow for questions and conversation recorded on this Library Podcast.

In the podcast, Katherine “Kittye” DeChavis describes her earliest musical experiences. She recalls the musical environment of Philadelphia that provided many opportunities to learn, to perform, and to listen to various kinds of music. Ms. DeChavis describes her move to Montreal, and then to New York, working at the Paradise and the Apollo Theaters. She tells the story of how she unexpectedly came to record the hits “Hucklebuck” and “Be Anything but Be Mine.” Ms. DeChavis expresses heartfelt concern for young people today, and offers advice for students who are studying to be performers.

Trudy Pitts, a native Philadelphian, performs and records extensively on jazz organ. She has degrees from the Philadelphia Music Academy, Temple University, and Juilliard, and is currently on the piano faculty of the University of the Arts. In the podcast, Trudy recalls her extensive training in classical music, and how growing up in a musical family in Philadelphia influenced her music. She talks about her transition from classical music to jazz, and how she incorporates classical elements into her performances. Trudy shares her philosophies of being a wife, mother, and professional musician, and gives warmhearted guidance for aspiring young musicians.

Special thanks to Sebastian Derry, Media Services Librarian, for serving as the sound engineer for the podcast and to Dr. Diane D. Turner, Curator of the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection, for planning today’s program and reaching out and inviting these two extraordinary women to come to the library today. And thank you to Kittye DeChavis and Trudy Pitts for sharing their experiences and insights with us.

Get the audio here

Ms. Kittye DeChavis performing at Temple University Paley Library on March 5th, 2008.

Ms. Trudy Pitts takes a bow after her performance at Temple University's Paley Library, March 5, 2008.

Curator of the Blockson Collection Dr. Diane Turner, WRTI radio announcers Harrison Ridley and Bob Perkins, and University Librarian Larry Alford with Tracy Pitts and Kittye DeChavis

Kittye DeChavis, Anne Harlow, and Trudy Pitts

--Anne Harlow

Religion Professor Laura Levitt Interviewed

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 10:33:40 -0500

On February 4, 2008 Associate Professor of Religion Laura Levitt stopped by Paley Library to talk about her new book American Jewish Loss After the Holocaust, published by New York University Press. Below is a link to the MP3 file of the interview. Her book deals with the normal everyday losses that American Jews experience and tries to situate these in the larger context of American Jewish community life and the "grand narrative" of the Holocaust which tends to overshadow so much. During the course of American Jewish Loss After the Holocaust Levitt analyzes and meditates on selected poems, photographs, and films, as well as tells personal family stories. The interview gives a nice sense of Levitt's new work and her interests. It runs about twenty-one minutes. Have a listen.

Laura Levitt on American Jewish Loss After the Holocaust (MP3)(February 4, 2008)

The Temple University Libraries would like to thank Professor Levitt for taking the time to speak with us. We hope to make this the first of many faculty interviews on topics of interest to the Temple University community.

---Fred Rowland

Juan Williams Audio Interview

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 12:38:21 -0500

On Monday, October 22, Temple University Libraries, the College of Liberal Arts, the General Education Program and the Office of the Provost welcomed distinguished journalist and NPR Senior Correspondent Juan Williams to a packed house.

Williams, one of America’s leading political writers and thinkers, gave his engaging lecture, “Eyes on the Prize: The Truths of American Race Relations” to a capacity crowd in Paley Library Lecture Hall. Williams is a Senior Correspondent for National Public Radio, a political analyst for Fox Television and a regular panelist on FoxNews Sunday. He has written prize-winning columns and editorials for The Washington Post. Williams has also worked extensively in the documentary medium, having won an Emmy Award for his television writing.

After his lecture, Williams sat down with reference librarian Fred Rowland to talk about his most recent book, Enough : the phony leaders, dead-end movements, and culture of failure that are undermining Black America-- and what we can do about it. The interview was recorded and is available as a downloadable mp3 file:

Listen to the audio (22:00, 5.2MB mp3 file)

You can also subscribe to our podcast feed for future audio content from the Temple University Libraries.

-Nicole Restaino, Library Communications Specialist

Library Prize Winners Interviews

Fri, 18 May 2007 12:51:33 -0500

On April 27th, 2007, the awards for the 2006-2007 Library Prize for Undergraduate Research were presented to the winners and honourable mentions. In the weeks following, Fred Rowland, one of Temple's reference librarians, spoke with the three winners and their faculty sponsors about the prize winning research. These discussions were recorded and are now presented as three audio files (10-12 minute long mp3 files, 2.5-3MB each):

Joseph Basile on his "Ending the 'Inhuman Traffic': The Role of Humanitarianism in the British Abolition Movement."
With Dr. Travis Glasson.
(Download the mp3)

Clay Boggs on his "The Jews and the Pharisees in Early Quaker Polemic."
With Professor David Watt.
(Download the mp3)

Matthew M. Rodrigue on his "Rethinking Academia: A Gramscian Analysis of Samuel Huntington."
With Professor Kathy Le Mons Walker.
(Download the mp3)

Whether you are a faculty member or student, keep the library prize in mind for next year!

(You can subscribe to our podcast feed for future audio content from the Temple University Libraries.)

Tommie Smith Audio Interview

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 17:00:00 -0500

Tommie Smith is best known for his protest on the victory stand at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, for which he and John Carlos were banned forever from the Olympics. He came to Temple on Friday, March 23 for a lecture and book signing and spoke to a standing room only crowd in the Paley Library Lecture Hall. His recently released autobiography Silent Gesture is written with Baltimore Sun sports columnist David Steele and published by the Temple University Press. Before the lecture, Tommie Smith and David Steele sat down with librarian Fred Rowland and discussed their new book.

Listen to the audio (26:00, 12MB mp3 file)

You can also subscribe to our podcast feed for future audio content from the Temple University Libraries.