Brian Myatt takes on
presidential politics
in free library seminar
ONEIDA - Brian Myatt, a teacher of economics and U.S. history at Oneida High School, will be conducting a free adult-enrichment seminar on “Changing Times and Presidential Politics” in four weekly sessions starting Thursday, October 2, at 6:30 p.m. at the Oneida Public Library.
Myatt, a long-time student of American presidential history, will examine the changing issues and trends of presidential politics over 200 years and discuss both the presidents and the political minefields that they maneuvered around with an eye on today’s divisive presidential politics.
He will cover the Federalists and the Jeffersonians, the vicious election of Andrew Jackson, Lincoln and Civil War party politics, the Progressive Era and the rise of Theodore Roosevelt as well as the New Deal and the ascendency of the modern presidency in a media-dominant political culture. The seminar ends Thursday, October 23, with a close look at the contested election of 2000 and today’s current campaign for the presidency.
Myatt received his bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh and his M.A. in curriculum and instruction from S.U.N.Y. at Oswego. Since 1998, he has been a teacher of economics and United States history at the Oneida High School and a district technology leader.
"Changing Times and Presidential Politics,” the last of the Muses Seminars 2008 at the Oneida Library, is free and open to the public. The Muses Seminars 2008 series is made possible by the support of the New York Council for the Humanities, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
THE MUSES SEMINARS 2008
Sign up now for "Roots of American Music: Blues, Jazz, Swing and Rock," a free adult-enrichment seminar conducted by radio jazz show host and blues musician Tom Townsley, starting Saturday, September 20, at 10 a.m. and continuing for five consecutive Saturdays at the same time.
Townsley will combine lectures, film, sound tracks and discussion to explore the rich veins of African and European musical expression that created the wealth of popular American music.
He will highlight the greats of 20th-century American music such as Son House (see picture above), Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis.
A resident of Verona, Townsley earned a masters in English/Creative Writing from Syracuse University and currently is an English and Fine Arts instructor at Syracuse University, Utica College and Mohawk Valley Community College. He also contributes articles to several music publications and has been the host of WAER’s “Sunday Night Blues” program out of Syracuse for over 20 years. In addition, Townsley has been declared by many experts as the best blues harmonica player in the state.
"Roots of American Music," which is free and open to the public, is made possible by the support of the New York Council for the Humanities, a state affiiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Check out over 300 audio-books from Mid-York Library System’s online service, MYaudio2go, simply with your tried-and-true Mid-York library card at midyork.lib.overdrive.com.
