Browse Exhibits (20 total)
Decision: the Constitution in action
7 episodes, 1959, Steven Sharff Productions, Inc.
From WNET:
"Each program in the series deals with a US Supreme Court decision of recent history involving a question of constitutional interpretation. The cases are reenacted by many of the real-life people involved and filmed on location in communities across the nation to underscore the proposition that these have been issues affecting everyday people in the course of their normal lives. The series focuses on the stresses which the Constitution has undergone and the conflicting issues involved in interpreting this document. The programs were produced by the Center for Mass Communication of Columbia University Press. Herbert Wechsler, Columbia University Professor of Law and formerly Assistant Attorney General of the US, was consultant. Erik Barnouw, national chairman of the Writers Guild of America, was writer and executive producer for the series. Stephen Sharff, documentarian, winner of awards at Edinburgh and Venice Film Festivals, was producer-director."
Dr. Posin's giants
13 episodes, 1961, WTTW (Chicago)
From WNET:
"'If I have seen further than others, it is only because I have stood on the shoulders of giants who have come before me.' This quote from Sir Isaac Newton illustrates Dr Dan Q. Posin’s view of science and its cumulative nature. With the aid of sketches, photographs, blackboard chalk-talks, and a cat named Minerva, Dr. Posin (POZE-in) discusses thirteen masters of science from Archimedes to James Clark Maxwell (who predicted the existence of electric magnetic waves). The informal lecture demonstrations are designed to create a greater awareness and appreciation of some of the great achievements in mathematics, astronomy, and physics. Although Dr. Posin’s approach is frequently humorous, his aim is serious: to contribute to a better understanding of the nature and worth of science with particular emphasis on the modern applications of ancient theories and discoveries."
History with Herb Hake
26 episodes, 1959, WOI-TV (Ames, Iowa)
From WNET:
"'History with Herb Hake' traces the historical development of the Great Plains and the Prairies. Each program is set in different locale with four programs taking place in Illinois, four in Ohio, four in Iowa, three each in Missouri and Indiana, two in Minnesota, and one each in North Dakota, Michigan, West Virginia, Nebraska, Kansas, and Wisconsin. In each program, Mr. Hake chooses a site of historic significance which he discusses in detail using photographs, books, songs, and his own cartoons for illustration. Dr. Daryl Pendergraft of Iowa State Teachers College served as historical consultant."
Heritage of the land
13 episodes, 1955, WOI-TV (Ames, Iowa)
From WNET:
"This series features Dr. Alfred R. Sumner, professor of geography at San Francisco State College, who talks informally about the many advantages, materially and politically which our country derives from the land under our feet. Produced by San Francisco State College in cooperation with station WOI-TV, the series is designed to show how the shape of out continent, its position on the world sphere and the nature of its soil, topography, and climate affect every phase of our daily lives."
World of art
13 episodes, 1957, WQED (Pittsburgh)
From WNET:
"These programs are designed to give a brief historical background of the various art expressions and their influences upon contemporary art. In addition, many media and techniques will be used and demonstrated creatively with the purpose of stimulating interest in art on the part of the TV audience to have it actively take tools and materials in hand to do an original piece of work. The series, produced by WQED, Pittsburgh, will cover a wide variety of art types: sculpture, various materials, paint, clay, and metal will serve as an orientation program for the adult. The producer and director is Sam Silberman."
Yesterday's worlds
26 episodes, 1956, New York University
From WNET:
"These 26 half-hour programs are designed to develop an understanding and appreciation of the social life of ancient peoples as reflected in the art and artifacts excavated by the archaeologist. Program host Dr. Casper J. Kraemer, professor of classics and archaeology at Washington Square College of Arts and Sciences, who made his highly successful educational TV debut on “Here is the Past.” Cultural collections from the Metropolitan Museum of Art are extensively used as visual materials throughout the series. Warren A. Kraetzer, director of the Office of Radio-Television at New York University, produced the series with WCBS-TV providing air-time and production facilities. Guest experts from New York University, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History join Dr. Kraemer in these fascinating discussions of man’s past."
The young USA
12 episodes, 1955, KETC (St. Louis)
From WNET:
"This series follows “Before there was a USA,” tracing the history of the American nation from the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence through the Civil War period. Reverend John Francis Bannon, SJ, director of the department of history at St. Louis University, is instructor for the series. Father Bannon, who holds a doctors degree from the University of California, is the author of several books in the field of American History, perhaps the best known of which is “Colonial North America,” published in 1946 and “History of the Americas,” published in 1952."
Religions of man
17 episodes, 1955, KETC (St. Louis)
From WNET:
"The first college accredited course given on TV in St. Louis, this series features Dr. Huston Smith, associate professor of philosophy at Washington University. A survey of the great living religions of the world and how they influenced human history, the course covers Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity (Protestant and Catholic) and Islam. Lectures trace the start of these religions, their founders and what each teaches as life’s meaning and the way to its fulfillment."
A prospect of literature
8 episodes, 1957, KETC (St. Louis)
From WNET:
"The eight programs of “A Prospect of Literature” compass a broad but selective survey of imaginative writing from the distant past to the present. Each of the dialogue accentuates the collaboration of writer and reader, which is literary experience. These oral essays by two distinguished professors of American literature are complemented by accompanying musical scores, paintings, statuary, line drawing, photographs, vocal and instrumental recordings and mechanical artifacts which dramatize and criticize the process of an author’s projection of his experience onto the printed page."
Twentieth century revolutions in world affairs
9 episodes, 1959, KRMA
From WNET:
"Vivid documentary film footage and dramatic re-enactments of historical events are the magic carpets transporting viewers from Germany to Japan and the Soviet Union and through ideological, philosophical and practical revolutions which have occurred in the past 59 years. Weapons, human expectations, colonialism, the United Nations, the United States and many geographic areas are examined in the light of what has transpired in the twentieth century. Leading this 9-week exploration is host C. Dale Fuller, vice president of the Foreign Policy Association."