Multimedia Resources

Sub-Section Title

CONFERENCE GROUP ON POLITICS AND FILM
Affiliated with the American Political Science Association
NEWSLETTER No. 2-1997

Greetings to all. Our chair, Ernest Giglio (giglio@lycoming.edu) has just returned to the United States from a semester in Europe. He claims to have enjoyed Cannes, but was really in Britain. Davis Whiteman (whiteman@sc.edu), our Secretary/Treasurer, should have returned from Ireland, though he might have gone to Cannes. Richard Strada (strada@pilot.njin.net), our net-guru, (a title just bestowed upon him) has just found the power switch for his Acer (do you remember those days?) and is getting the conference group up on H-Net. Just because this is the second newsletter from the Conference Group on Politics and Film in two months, please do not assume that there is anything akin to regularity in this. I'm still wondering how directors produce sequels without having "prequels."

A lot of great people are helping us, including you all (pronounced "ya'll" here in southern Illinois). Bill Ball (ball@tcnj.edu), one of the wizards behind the curtains of H-Teachpol, has established a direct link to our first (and I hope, subsequent) newsletter on the H-Teachpol Web page (http://h-net2.msu.edu/~teachpol/). As some historian has surely declared, "if you're not archived, you never existed!" Ball, with the College of New Jersey, is very instrumental in the H-Teachpol process. If you are not familiar with the H-Net process, take a look at the various electronic discussion lists they manage at http://h-net2.msu.edu/lists/.

The preliminary APSA program is out! Our special documentary film showing, "Taking on the Kennedys," and speaker will be Thursday, August 28, at 5:30PM. Ernest Giglio is inviting all to join the group, Dutch-treat, for an informal dinner with our guest after the show. The Business Meeting of the Conference Group will be Friday, August 29, at 12:30PM. The Conference Group's own "Washington on Film" panel is Friday, August 29, at 3:330PM. Our joint roundtable with Undergraduate Education is Sunday, August 31, at 10:45AM. More details about the APSA annual meeting can be found at www.apsanet.org.

Our activities are spread out over the weekend, but they justify staying Saturday night and getting the cheaper airfares. Southwest has some cheap flights into BWI--it was featured in "Broadcast News". Washington National is close to downtown via metro and cab. Dulles, the international airport in Virginia, was the victim od "Die Hard Two". However, in one of those great bloopers, remember hero Bruce Willis dashes to the airport telephone, marked "Pacific Bell"? Washington, of course, is one of the most filmed cities in America. Among the hidden spots--the garage of "Deep Throat" in "All the President's Men", the hidden garden of Peter Seller's "Being There", the escape vent for "Dave", or the spooky stairs from "The Exorcist".

There is a growing agenda for our business meeting, including the issue of "revenue". Also, we need to consider our next step with regard to APSA. One member has suggested infiltrating Politics and Literature. Another member has suggested affiliating with Political Communication. A third has hinted at considering New Political Science.

There are also exciting opportunities on the horizon. For example, shall we develop a useful bibliography on politics and film? Speaking of writing on the subject of filming, Ron Briley (snbrile@arriba.nm.org) is teaching editor of Film & History (aha, another idea !!!). Ron extends an invitation to share teaching materials, syllabi or short articles on a film you teach. One caveat, you need to be a subscriber to the journal. Look it up on the web for more information.

Let's put this newsletter in the mail....

John W. Williams, JD Political Science Principia College Elsah, Il 62028 Tel: 618-374-5230 Fax: 618-374-5122 E-Mail: jww@prin.edu

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