Monday, September 24, 2018

Screenings and discussion: Monday, September 24 at 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Andrew Foster Auditorium and 7:30 p.m. in Chapel Hall.

Cover of PBS DVD of New York, A Documentary Film, The Power and the People, Episode Four 1898-1918, sepia image of the Statue of Liberty behind scaffolding during construction with large Ellis Island building behind her.     Cover of PBS DVD for The Jewish Americans: A Series by David Grubin, seven images of white people within the mosaic pattern: a mid-century family at a kitchen with woman in polka-dot dress, man in tie looking at her while teen-aged girl pours from a kettle, distinguished man looking directly at the camera, man at the piano, hands on keys, five women holding strike signs, painting in color, or a woman in elegant blue gown, man in bowler hat and beard, woman looking up with hands together under her chin.

New York

Episode 4 of this acclaimed series examines the great wave of immigration that began in the late 19th century, tripled New York's population and transformed the city and the nation. On camera, renowned historians like David McCullough and writers like Pete Hamill describe the new tide of humanity from southern and eastern Europe - Italians, Poles, Turks, Hungarians, Ukrainians, Greeks - their reasons for migrating, their passage through Ellis Island, their life in the Lower East Side, and their role in transforming America into an industrial nation.

The Jewish Americans

This segment - from the award-winning series written and directed by David Grubin - explores in depth the story of one of the groups that made up the great wave of immigration described in Program One. Fleeing poverty and oppression in Eastern Europe, over two million Jews flooded into America, drawn by the promise of religious freedom and economic opportunity. Many migrated across the U.S., but the majority created a new life in Manhattan's slums. Struggling to adapt their traditions to their new life, they were aided by new ethnic institutions such as The Forward, a newspaper which devoted columns to teaching newcomers American mores, in often unintentionally humorous ways.