Come on out on May 24 to learn about the historical documentary I'm working on

I'll be showing some very preliminary footage and sharing lots of archival materials from my historical documentary about Jane Addams and the U.S. government's propaganda and surveillance campaign against feminist peace activists in the wake of the First Red Scare.  The talk is on the De Anza College campus--the talk is free but daily parking at De Anza is $3.  Also my colleague David Howard-Pitney is bringing his guitar to play a piece of music from the time period, so it should be good times all around as we learn about a period in U.S. history marked by xenophobia, anti-feminism, and violations of civil liberties by the surveillance state. ;) This talk is sponsored by the California History Center.

I've just begun post-production on my next documentary short

This spring I wrapped up most of the research and development on my next documentary short, called The Spider Web, about the U.S. War Department's surveillance and propaganda campaign against feminist pacifists in the early 1920s.  I visited archives in Chicago IL, Swarthmore PA, Ramapo NJ, and Washington DC.  I also filmed interviews with Louise Knight, Jane Addams' biographer, and Dr. Kim Nielsen, who wrote an excellent book about anti-feminism during the First Red Scare.  In the process of working on what will be my first historical documentary, I have discovered that I am a secret historian and archive nerd.  Who knew?!

Talk and slide show on Thursday, March 2

I will be sharing archival materials I gathered for a historical documentary I am in development on about the feminist pacifist movement from 1915-1925 and the ways in which the federal government engaged in a direct campaign to splinter the women's movement in the wake of the first Red Scare in the U.S.  Visit the California History Center website for more information about the CHC and about the exhibit currently on display through March 23 about the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.