Director’s College Event: Baseball and the College Classroom
On Wednesday, September 26, Dr. Steven Wisensale, Professor of Family Studies at the University of Connecticut, will speak at the Farmington Libraries on how he uses the game of baseball as the primary teaching tool in his new and popular course, “Baseball and Society, Politics, Economics, Race, and Gender.”
Baseball serves as a mirror of American culture over time, reflecting the nation’s strengths and weaknesses, its accomplishments and failures. Or, in the words of Hall of Fame broadcaster Ernie Harwell, “Baseball is just a game, as simple as a ball and a bat, yet as complex as the American spirit it symbolizes. It is a sport, a business and sometimes a religion.” In this lecture, Professor Wisensale will share how he uses the game of baseball to teach his students wide-ranging and challenging lessons on the sport’s history, cultural implications, and influence in areas ranging from race relations to public finance.
“Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball.” This quote from Jacques Barzun hits at the heart of this fall season, where America’s attention will be fixed on the annual baseball play-offs as well as the emotionally-charged national Presidential election. This timely discussion is free and open to the public.
More information on Steven Wisensale can be obtained at his website: http://www.familystudies.uconn.edu/contact/faculty/storrs_faculty_wisensale.html.
Advance registration is required for this program. Please call 860-673-6791 for details or register through the library’s web site at http://www.farmingtonlibraries.org. The event will take place at 7:00 p.m. in the Community Room of the main library at 6 Monteith Drive.
The Farmington Library is part of the Farmington Village Green and Library Association. If you have special needs to attend library programs, contact the library in advance.
