Author, Sudye Cauthen

Historians, Susan Fernandez and Robert Ingalls

Food expert, Andy Huse

Author/Photographer, Gary Monroe

Florida nature photographer, John Moran

Historian, Gary Mormino

Urban planner, Bruce Stephenson

Author, Lu Vickers

Singer/Songwriter, Chris Kahl

Chautauqua Performer, Bob Devin Jones

September 2007 - April 2008 Schedule

Southern Comforts: Rooted in a Florida Place
Sudye Cauthen, North Florida Center for Documentary Studies

What is “sense of place”? How does it shape who we are? Cauthen, a fifth-generation Floridian, explores the tensions between community and the environment. Sharing personal stories, she reflects on all that has changed as Florida’s landscapes and traditions are replaced by interstates, condos, shopping malls, and the new way of life they represent.

From Yellow Dog Democrats to Red State Republicans: Florida and Its Politics since 1940

David Colburn, University of Florida

Florida holds a particular fascination to Americans because of the romantic attraction of the sun, beaches, and sea breezes as well as the glamorous and bizarre characters that frequent the place. Also fascinating are the ways the state has changed in a lifetime—from 1940 to 2007—and the way Floridians have changed with it. Colburn shares the story of the political, demographic, and social transformation of the Sunshine State over the past 60 years.

Sunshine in the Dark: Florida in the Movies

Susan Fernandez and Robert Ingalls, University of South Florida

The images of Florida, Floridians, and tourists that have appeared in major studio and independent films have helped shape opinions of the state and its people. Fernandez and Ingalls highlight the central plots, environmental settings, and characters in movies with Florida themes using film clips, stills, and publicity posters. They show how depictions of Florida have changed in more than 300 films over the last century. 

Florida’s Delicious History: A Gastronomic Journey through Modern Florida

Andrew Huse, University of South Florida Library

Florida’s food and restaurants are as diverse as its people, and have changed throughout the 20th-Century. Huse offers a gustatory romp through modern Florida’s cuisine, with a look back at union soup houses, African American jook joints, shady speakeasies, drive-in burger stands, barbecue pits, fish fries, and palaces of luxurious leisure. From the rarefied cuisine of the super-rich to the humble home-style foods of city and hamlet, food habits queasy and quirky are explored.

Harold Newton: The Original Highwayman

Gary Monroe, Daytona Beach Community College

The Highwaymen were a group of self-taught African American artists from Fort Pierce who painted their way out of poverty in the 1950s. While they have burst into Floridians’ consciousness in recent years, Harold Newton—leader of the Highwaymen and major Florida landscape painter—will help bring them to national acclaim. Monroe tells the story of Newton and the Highwaymen by providing an overview of quintessential paintings, featuring some of Newton's finest creations.

Journal of Light: A Photographer’s Search for the Soul of Florida

John Moran, Florida nature photographer

For 20 years John Moran has traveled the Sunshine State with his cameras, capturing natural Florida as it must have appeared to Ponce de Leon and other early strangers in paradise. Narrating a slide show of his remarkable collection of landscape and wildlife photography, Moran reflects on his quest to capture the soul of one of the most photographed states in the country.

Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams: A Social History of Modern Florida

Gary Mormino, University of South Florida

Once the least populated and most isolated state in the South, Florida has emerged as one of the largest and most diverse states in the nation. Florida’s meteoric rise has encompassed revolutions in technology, demography and lifestyle. Mormino tells this story of compelling characters, bewitching places and the enduring but changing idea of a dream state.

Past Visions, Future Solutions: Solving the Conundrum of Suburban Sprawl

Bruce Stephenson, Rollins College

Suburban sprawl has become a pejorative in our everyday language as gridlocked traffic, threatened resources, and an increasingly gaudy landscape strip away Florida’s quality of life. Stephenson traces the origins of Florida’s growth problems and looks at historic remedies to solve the seeming conundrum of suburban sprawl.

Immigration’s Impact on Florida and the U.S.

Alex Stepick, Florida International University

The United States has more immigrants now than at any other point in its history. Their presence has provoked heated debate and policy discussion. What are the impacts of immigrants in Florida and the U.S.? Are they undermining U.S. culture and society? Are they contributing economically or do they drain resources? What is the future of immigration and its effect on society? Stepick shares the latest research to address these questions.

Weeki Wachee, City of Mermaids: A History of One of Florida’s Oldest Roadside Attractions
Lu Vickers, Independent Scholar

Weeki Wachee is the quintessential Florida spring—at once primordial pool and kitschy tourist attraction. Vickers offers a nostalgic trip through this enchanted spring for a unique snapshot of Florida’s tourism heritage, showing how a local novelty became a stellar international attraction. She discusses the history of the spring, sharing a glimpse of mastodons, conquistadors, William Bartram, Elvis, Paris Hilton, real estate developers, and an in-depth look at the mermaids and the men who founded Weeki Wachee.

The Civil Rights Movement in Florida: Origins and Legacy

Carolyn Williams, University of North Florida

Williams discusses the evolution of the Civil Rights Movement in Florida—from the groundbreaking work of the NAACP in the early 20th century to the rise of the movement in the 1950s and 60s—and how it has impacted Florida today.

Orange Blossom Memories: Songs of Florida

Chris Kahl, independent singer/songwriter

Take a musical journey through Florida. Singer/songwriter Chris Kahl weaves original folk songs and stories about the history, folklore, and characters of the Sunshine State.

America's First Civil Rights Martyr: Harry T. Moore

Bob Devin Jones, Scholar/Actor

Before civil rights marches and bus boycotts, Harry T. Moore worked in Jim Crow Florida to organize the NAACP and the Progressive Voters League. In 1951, in Mims, Florida, a bomb placed under his bed ended Moore's life. Meet this early pioneer of the Civil Rights Movement (as portrayed by Bob Devin Jones) on Christmas Eve 1951—the night before his tragic death.

Faith, Scholarship, Service: Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune

Ersula Knox Odom, independent scholar/Chautauqua performer

Travel back to 1954 to meet the founder of Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona, Florida—a visionary educator, civil rights activist and presidential advisor. Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune (portrayed by Ersula Knox Odom) shares stories about her life and accomplishments, and her thoughts about the Supreme Court's landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision.

Voice of the Everglades: Marjory Stoneman Douglas

Betty Jean Steinshouer, independent scholar/Chautauqua performer

Follow the matriarch of Miami (portrayed by Betty Jean Steinshouer) as she begins her crusade to restore the Everglades. Since the 1947 publication of her book, Everglades: River of Grass, she has realized that her focus must be on restoration, not conservation—"Conservation is now a dead word. You can't conserve what you haven't got."