Northwestern Events Calendar

Jul
11
2018

‘The Media and the 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention - Then and Now' Part 3-The Artistic Convention Panel Discussion

When: Wednesday, July 11, 2018
5:15 PM - 8:30 PM CT

Where: 303 E. Wacker 16th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601

Audience: Faculty/Staff - Student - Public - Post Docs/Docs - Graduate Students

Cost: Free and open to the public

Contact: Stacy Simpson   (847) 467-2961

Group: Medill Events - All

Category: Lectures & Meetings

Description:

What role did the artistic community play in shaping messages and stories that emerged from the convention and the streets of Chicago? Norman Mailer, Dick Gregory, Jean Genet, Allen Ginsberg and Joan Didion turned the Summer of Love, the Pentagon demonstration and 1968’s political conventions into literary events. Music provided a soundtrack for dissent and many Chicago artists took a political stand against police action in their work. What did these creative works say? How do they stand up today?

Moderator and presenter 

Abe Peck, professor emeritus in service, Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University; writer, Rolling Stone, Chicago Daily News, Chicago Sun-Times; author of “Uncovering the Sixties: The Life and Times of the Underground Press.” Peck, who edited the Chicago Seed underground newspaper in 1968, will examine how advocacy papers discussed the pros and cons of demonstrators coming to Chicago. He also is the curator for this discussion series.

Panelists

David Denby, staff writer and film critic, The New Yorker; former film critic, The Atlantic, Boston Phoenix, New York; author of several books, including “Great Books,” “American Sucker,” “Snark” and “Lit Up.” His comments will focus on how Mailer’s “Miami and the Siege of Chicago” captured both the year’s despair and hopes.

Patricia Kelly, Ph.D., associate professor of contemporary art history and associate dean, Carr University of Art & Design; author of numerous articles on minimal art and abstraction, art and politics in the 1960s, appearing in such publications as Art Journal, American Art and the Journal of Curatorial Studies. She will describe how Chicago’s arts community embraced cultural activism.

Anthony DeCurtis, Ph.D., contributing editor, Rolling Stone; distinguished lecturer, creative writing, University of Pennsylvania; Grammy Award winner, nominating committee, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and author of “Lou Reed: A Life,” “In Other Words,” “Rocking My Life Away” and co-writer of Clive Davis’s autobiography, “The Soundtrack of My Life,” a New York Times bestseller. DeCurtis will explore what meaningful role, if any, popular music can play in roiling political times.

Register Add to Calendar

Add Event To My Group:

Please sign-in