Programs

The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (VFH) has developed the African American Heritage Program as an educational and economic resource for the Commonwealth of Virginia. The initiative is designed to encourage tourism to African American heritage sites and organizations in Virginia, while increasing knowledge of the African-American experience.

Directed by ethnomusicologist & Africanist Michelle Kisliuk This ensemble focuses on traditional music and dance forms from West Africa (Ghana, Togo) and Central Africa (BaAka pygmies). The group develops tight ensemble dynamics, aural musicianship, and a polymetric sensibility, and performs several times per year.

"Afro-American Sources in Virginia: A Guide to Manuscripts" is an electronic, searchable archive of primary source materials at Virginia repositories that relate to the Afro- American experience.

This annual lecture and award ceremony recognizes a nurse historian that has contributed significantly to the public's understanding of nursing history and the development of the health care system.

The Albemarle Ensemble, a woodwind quintet made up principals from the Charlottesville & University Symphony Orchestra, has been in residence at the University of Virginia since 1987. The group has performed throughout the eastern United States. They received a Virginia Arts Grant for educational programs and other grants for their recording and touring projects. The Ensemble appears on the CDs American Camerata Performs and Harlequinade, Wind Music by Walter Ross. High Performance Review magazine described their playing on their most recent recording as “splendid ... with spirit and understanding” and the Washington Post spoke of the Ensemble’s “ease, wit and spontaneity.”

All America Reads (AAR) is an ongoing nationwide project designed to encourage reading and discussion. The project selects a novel and provides numerous lesson plans and resources for educators and students.

"America in the 1930s" offers a substantial collection of film, print, audio media from the Depression-era U.S., as well as an archive of art objects, achitecture, and design from this historical period.

Each year, the University of Virginia Center for Politics presents the annual American Democracy Conference. Growing from the first National Post Election Conference in 1998, these gatherings not only examine the last election cycle but also attempt to discuss the state of American democracy and its future prospects. The event is free and open to the public with advance registration.

Through the annual American Sign Language and Deaf Culture Lecture Series, the general public has an opportunity to learn about sign language and deaf culture from prominent scholars. A list of past lecturers and discussion topics is posted on the UVa American Sign Language Program's Web site. Videotapes of past lectures are available in the Robertson Media Center at UVa's Clemons Library.

The American Studies Program at UVa maintains an online collection of more than 70 classic texts, maps, and other media important to the study of American society and culture. Resources on the Web site have been amplified, extended, or enriched through links to other materials.