Friday, March 28, 2014

Sarah Goes to Sochi

My name is Sarah Hughes. I am a fourth year student at the University of Georgia studying international affairs. I work as a student research assistant at the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies. Thanks to a series of fortunate events and a family connection, I was afforded the opportunity to work as an intern for NBC at the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. I spent six weeks there from early January to late February. During my time there and upon my return, I’ve been asked a lot about my feelings on the safety and security at the Games. So I’ve compiled some of my thoughts on the matter, and hopefully I’ve painted a clearer picture of Sochi for those who are reading this.

I’m not sure what I expected. When I got to Sochi, my bags were missing and there were very few people around who spoke enough English to help me. In those first couple of days, I thought my American stereotype of Russia had been right all along. The cab driver that took us to the grocery store disappeared, the hotel reception couldn’t understand me, and there was a police station right next to my hotel, reminding me that we were being watched all the time (a la USSR). But I couldn’t have been more wrong about my first impression of Russia and its people.  The longer I was there, the safer and more at home I felt. To be fair, working for NBC meant that I spent 95% of my time in the “media bubble,” so to speak. I left my media hotel in the morning, got on a media transport bus that took me to the International Broadcast Center, and then took a media bus back to my media hotel at night. We went through airport-style security to get into the broadcast center, and only official media personnel had access. It’s hard to feel unsafe when you’re receiving an intimate pat-down on a daily basis. We had to show our credentials to get into our hotel, so the only non-media people there were the hotel’s employees. The International Broadcast Center had a bank, laundry service, post office, gym, hair and nail salon, pharmacy, souvenir shop, snack store, and even a McDonald’s. So there really wasn’t much reason to venture into the outside world.

 On the off chance that I did need to run an errand outside of the bubble, an NBC driver took me where I needed to go, and a Russian intern (often my roommate) would accompany me to translate. And generally speaking, I found that the Russian people went out of their way to help me, despite the language barrier. More than once, local shop owners and vendors expressed huge excitement to my translating friend about having an American in their establishment. Although Sochi is a resort town, more Russians vacation there than foreigners, so it was a thrill for them to see new faces and nationalities around town.

While I’m on the subject of Sochi, I should mention that Olympic park and the media centers were about 40 minutes by car from the city of Sochi. We were actually located in a place called Adler, which is a smaller town in the larger area (like a county) known as Sochi. The small, secluded nature of Adler made everything feel a little safer, maybe because things moved at a slower pace and therefore it seemed like it would be hard for security to miss something. I only went to the city of Sochi once on a work errand. I only went outside the media bubble into Adler a handful of times. The only times I saw or read anything about the “danger” around me were when I was tuned into an American news source. American media was scarier than my Russian surroundings. I would say the same thing about accommodations: the worst things that I saw were either online or on the U.S. news. Other than a few minor things (things I’ve experienced in American hotels as well), my living situation was nothing but pleasant. They even built a couple of quaint bars and restaurants in our hotel complex.

To be honest, I have no idea what the spectator experience was like in Sochi. They stayed in different hotels, used different transportation, and had different credentials (all spectators did have to be accredited). So it’s possible that some of them felt less secure or saw more of a threat than I did. But when I got to go to events, the crowds were always engaged and lively – hardly scared for their lives.
Of course, there is always the feeling at a large event that something bad could happen. In the end, though, I think most working people were too busy during the Games to remember that. And then all of a sudden, the Closing Ceremony was over, and everything was intact. Now even the Paralympic Games are over with no major issues to speak of. Sochi 2014 exists only in our memories forevermore, and I for one will remember it fondly. The Russian people were gracious hosts, and they deserve all of the credit for such a successful Olympic Winter Games. Given the chance, I’d do it all again (even losing my luggage – telling that story is much more fun than clean clothes).

Monday, March 17, 2014

Bringing Our Oral Histories Into the Digital Age with OHMS

In the Oral History and Media Unit, we've been working this year to implement an exciting new digital tool for our oral histories--the Oral History Metadata Synchronizer, or OHMS. Developed at the University of Kentucky's Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History under the direction of Doug Boyd, OHMS is an open-sourced, web-based system that allows archives to present digital audiovisual recordings of oral histories alongside transcripts for a more integrated user experience.

OHMS also takes us beyond the world of the transcript by allowing us to offer indexes for our oral history interviews. Traditionally, a researcher could access an oral history either by listening to the recording and/or by reading through the transcript (if a transcript existed…), but with OHMS we can create index headings (sort of like chapter titles) so that a user can quickly skim the contents to get an overview of what's discussed in a particular interview. If you see something that piques your interest, you can click on that index heading to jump directly to that portion of the interview.

We're one of the first institutions to get the OHMS system up and running, and we're excited to announce that we've just finished creating OHMS indexes for our first collection--the Georgia Environmental Oral History Project. With the help of our talented student assistant Chelsea Harvey, we now have fully searchable indexes for all eight interviews in this collection.

Want to try out the new OHMS system? Links to the OHMS indexes have been added to the finding aid for the Georgia Environmental Oral History Project, or you can click through to OHMS directly via one of these suggestions:
  • Listen to James Holland discuss his career as a commercial crabber and Altamaha Riverkeeper
  • Hear Nancy Thomason talk about the fight against beach renourishment on St. Simons Beach
  • Listen to Jean Poleszak talk about her years of community activism as a concerned resident of Jekyll Island
Post by Callie Holmes, Oral History and Media Archivist, Russell Library 

Friday, March 14, 2014

Alert Today Exhibit Extended Through March 22nd!

The Russell Library is pleased to announce that the Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow exhibition has been extended! The exhibit will now remain on display through Saturday, March 22nd. If you haven't yet had a chance to come and see this great display, make plans to visit the Special Collections Building next week.   

More About the Exhibit...

On August 6, 1945, a specially-equipped American B-29 Superfortress dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. On August 9, another atomic bomb fell on Nagasaki. For most Americans, the immediate reaction to the atomic bomb was relief: it had ended the war. But as the United States celebrated, it also braced itself for the uncertain future of the Atomic Age. For the next two decades, the looming threat of Atomic war dominated American society.

Traveling exhibition Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow: Living with the Atomic Bomb, 1945-1965 explores the ways in which Americans experienced the Atomic threat as part of their daily lives—at school, in the home, and even at play. The show features more than 75 original objects from the era, as well as large-scale graphics, radio broadcasts, and film. Visitors will experience how Americans were flooded with messaging through images and media that depicted the dangers of atomic energy. Although the threat of Atomic annihilation eventually drifted to the background of American consciousness in the late 1960s, the Atomic Age left a legacy of governmental response and civic infrastructure that remains relevant today.

Visiting the Exhibit...

The Russell Library Gallery is located inside the Russell Building for Special Collections Libraries; the exhibit is free and open to the public. The gallery is open from 8:00am-5:00pm Monday through Friday and from 1:00-5:00pm on Saturdays. Guided tours of the gallery are available on Tuesday afternoons from 2:00-3:00pm; meet in the 2nd floor rotunda. For more information on the exhibit or program series email russlib@uga.edu or call (706) 542-5788. If you are interested in booking a private group tour for 10 or more people, contact Jean Cleveland at jclevela@uga.edu.  

 Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow is curated by Michael Scheibach, an independent collector in Independence, MO, and Leslie Przybylek, Curator of Humanities Exhibitions at Mid-America Arts Alliance. The exhibition is toured by ExhibitsUSA, a national program of Mid-America Arts Alliance. ExhibitsUSA sends more than 25 exhibitions on tour to more than 100 small- and mid-sized communities every year. Mid-America is the oldest nonprofit regional arts organization in the United States. More information is available at www.maaa.org and www.eusa.org.

Thank you to our sponsors...
The display of this exhibit at The Russell Library is supported in part by the President’s Venture Fund through the generous gifts of the University of Georgia Partners and other donors, and by the Georgia Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities and through appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly.

Thursday, March 06, 2014

Nuclear Threats Panel Discussion Tonight

The Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies will host an event showcasing selected scholars discussing nuclear threats tonight (Thursday, Mar. 6th) from 5:30-7 p.m. in the auditorium of the Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries.

Speakers at the event will carry on an open dialogue with the audience prompting attendees to think about the history of nuclear threats, beginning with the atomic bomb blasts in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Moderator Jeffrey Berejikian, associate professor in the department of international affairs, will guide panelists through a discussion of perceptions about nuclear threats today and how they compare with those experienced during the atomic age.

“We want to focus on how much the world has changed in such a short period of time,” said Berejikian. “As moderator, I would like to ask panelists about ‘lessons learned’ both correctly and incorrectly, and then also discuss contemporary nuclear issues.”

Other featured speakers include: Igor Khripunov, Center for International Trade and Security; Loch Johnson, School of Public and International Affairs; and General Pan Zhenqiang, visiting scholar, Center for International Trade and Security. Light refreshments will be served following the discussion and audience question-and-answer session.

Following the panel discussion and reception, the library will screen Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb in the auditorium, introduced by Dr. Christopher Sieving (Department of Theatre and Film Studies). 

These events are two in a series of ten to be hosted by the Russell Library this winter, all inspired by "Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow: Living with the Atomic Bomb, 1945-1965"on display in the Harrison Feature Gallery through March 14. For more information on this or other events in the "Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow" series, see http://www.libs.uga.edu/russell/programs/events or email russlib@uga.edu, or call 706-542-5788.

"Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow" was curated by Michael Scheibach, an independent collector in Independence, Mo, and Leslie Przybylek, curator of humanities exhibitions at Mid-America Arts Alliance. ExhibitsUSA, a national program of Mid-America Arts Alliance, tours the exhibition. ExhibitsUSA sends more than 25 exhibitions on tour to more than 100 small- and mid-sized communities every year. More information is available at www.maaa.org and www.eusa.org.

The display at the Russell Library is supported by the President's Venture Fund, the Georgia Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities and through appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly, the School for Public and International Affairs, the Center for International Trade and Security, and the departments of history, English and film studies.

Wednesday, March 05, 2014

Storytellers & Scholars Event Tonight at 7PM

"Life in the Atomic Age" will be the theme for a Storytellers and Scholars Event to be held tonight, March 5th, from 7-9 p.m. at the Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries on the University of Georgia campus.

The program will include live interviews paired with archival footage and oral history clips from the collections of the Russell Library for Political Research and Studies. The program will look at national and international events as well as feature personal stories about Atomic Age happenings.

Three faculty presenters from UGA will reflect on the impact of the Atomic Age on technology, art and architecture. Faculty presenters will include Shane Hamilton (history department), Janice Simon (Lamar Dodd School of Art) and Mark Reinberger (College of Environment and Design).

The program will feature "some great stories from the First Person Project, as well as some excellent archival footage from the time period," said Callie Holmes, an oral history and media archivist at UGA. "One of our favorites so far is a First Person Project interview with a woman who participated in bomb shelter experiments run by UGA's psychology department in the early 1960s."

Jan Levinson, outreach archivist at UGA, said she hopes the event encourages attendees to "consider the impact of events, micro and macro, and how these moments can shape things moving forward."

Attendees are encouraged to dress for an evening in the Atomic Age and wear their finest vintage attire from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Prizes will be awarded for the best outfit of the evening.

This event is one in a series of 10 hosted by the Russell Library this winter, all inspired by the exhibit "Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow: Living with the Atomic Bomb, 1945-1965" on display in the Russell Library Gallery through March 14. For more information on this or other events in the "Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow" series, see http://www.libs.uga.edu/russell/programs/events, email russlib@uga.edu, or call 706-542-5788.

The event is co-sponsored by the Georgia Museum of Art, which is displaying "Art Interrupted: Advancing Art and the Politics of Cultural Diplomacy" through April 20. The exhibition reunites all but 10 of the paintings originally purchased by the U.S. State Department for a traveling project meant to spread the word globally about the wonders of democracy. The original project ended in failure, as the public and press objected to the modernity of the art and to many of the artists' backgrounds. The paintings were sold for pennies on the dollar as war surplus.

"Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow" was curated by Michael Scheibach, an independent collector in Independence, Mo., and Leslie Przybylek, curator of humanities exhibitions at Mid-America Arts Alliance. ExhibitsUSA, a national program of Mid-America Arts Alliance, tours the exhibition. ExhibitsUSA sends more than 25 exhibitions on tour to more than 100 small- and mid-sized communities every year. More information is available at www.maaa.org and www.eusa.org.

This project is supported by the Georgia Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities and through appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly. This project is also supported by partners on the UGA campus, including: the President's Venture Fund, the School of Public and International Affairs, the Center for International Trade and Security, and the departments of film, history and English.

To learn more about the Richard B. Russell Library, visit http://www.libs.uga.edu/russell.
To learn more about the Georgia Museum of Art, visit http://georgiamuseum.org/.