Aug. 27 at Noon: 50 Years of Dr. King's Dream and at 7 pm: Class 1 of A Cartoon History of the United States

Pittsburgh actor Gregory Gibson Kenney will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library in Wheeling on Tuesday, August 27 at noon to portray Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in honor of the 50th anniversary of the “I Have a Dream” speech delivered August 28, 1963. In this presentation, the narrator has a dream in which he meets Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lincoln Memorial. Dr. King shares four speeches and how he wishes to be remembered. Mr. Kenney portrays both Dr. King and the narrator. Mr. Kenney studied acting at the Pittsburg

h Playhouse in association with Point Park College. He has performed in various feature films, including THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, THE JACKSON'S: AN AMERICAN DREAM, and THE WONDER BOYS, as well as commercials, print ads and numerous theatrical productions.  Mr. Kenney created Educate Us Productions, whose mission is to present historical figures in a theatrical setting for school assemblies, organizations, and public gatherings. Each program portrays an individual's life: trials, goals, triumphs, and achievements. An audience of any age can share the same experience. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are served. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.

And at 7 PM: People’s University: A Cartoon History of the United States

Class 1: Introduction: A History of American Political Cartoons with instructor Warren Bernard, Aug. 27 

Political cartoons have been part of the American story since Benjamin Franklin published a woodcut of a snake divided into segments with the words “Join, or Die.” Today, in the digital age, political cartoons still powerfully shape debates on Facebook, Twitter, and other forms of social media.

The new People’s University at the Ohio County Public Library, A Cartoon History of the United States, will explore the power and artistry of political cartoons from the founding period through the present using interactive analysis. From early August through Constitution Day, September 17, 2013, the library will host a large exhibit called “Democracy” on loan from the Herblock Foundation (named for political cartoonist Herbert Block) on display near the library’s main entrance. The library’s new People’s University programming will be built around this display and concept.

The instructor for the introductory class scheduled for Tuesday August 27 at 7 PM will be cartoon scholar Warren Bernard. Mr. Bernard has cataloged over 800 cartoons in the Art Wood Collection at the Library of Congress. His most recent project consisted of compiling Herblock's works into a publication and DVD. He'll provide some background on Herblock and an introduction to political cartoons throughout American history from Thomas Nast to present. 

The September 3 class will feature cartoons from the Wheeling newspapers and an analysis of what they say about local history. Historian Hal Gorby, who has encountered many of these cartoons in his doctoral research on the Progressive Era, will be the instructor.

The September 10 class will include analysis of cartoons dealing with Constitutional issues surrounding such things as the Emancipation Proclamation, the secession crisis, woman suffrage and the equal rights amendment, the war powers debate, free speech cases and many others. Instructor Seán Duffy has a JD from the American University, has taught law and history, and was part of the team that developed the Constitutional history DVD-ROM, Foundations of Freedom.

The Constitution Day class on September 17 will focus on the privacy versus security issues related to social media and government access illuminated powerfully by current events such as the Snowden/NSA case.

The final class on September 24 will provide a look at graphic novels from classics like Art Speigelman’s Maus and Maus II, to modern classics like Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis. The class will examine graphic novels as works of art, as a literary genre, and as social and political commentary. As part of the library’s “Banned Books Week” observance, the class will also explore a few of the graphic novels that have been placed on such lists over the years, including Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home and Craig Thompson’s Blankets. Instructor Dr. Jeremy Larance is a professor of English at West Liberty University, where he has frequently taught courses on the graphic novel. He recently helped develop the first literature major in GraphicNarrative, a unique 4-year degree for students interested in the study and analysis of comics as literature, which will launch in fall 2013.

The full schedule (all classes meet on Tuesday evenings at 7 PM in the auditorium):

Aug 27 Class 1: A History of American Political Cartoons with Warren Bernard 
    

Sept. 3, Class 2: A Cartoon History of Wheeling, with Hal Gorby  

Sept. 10, Class 3: Cartoons & the Constitution, with Sean Duffy        
        

Sept. 17, Class 4: Privacy vs. Security in Cartoons, instructor TBA    
                    

Sept. 24, Class 5: The Graphic Novel, with Jeremy Larance             

Classes are free and open to the public. Please RSVP by calling the library at 304-232-0244 or by emailing lunchwithbooks@yahoo.com. Please visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.

Note: Cartoon below courtesy Herb Block Foundation.