Fall 2021 Library Mini-Conference “Peace, Love & Happiness” -- suggested topics
Peace movements throughout history
Annual "Happiness" international survey
Rights movements (e.g. Civil Rights, Suffrage, Gay Rights Movement, Disability Rights -- the ADA, Native Hawaiian Renaissance of the 1970s ...)
From 50’s housewife to bra-burning feminist: the women’s liberation movement
The Stonewall riots
The Wounded Knee Occupation (1973)
Constitutions around the world
U.S. Constitution: the Preamble -- its meaning when written in 1787; its meaning today
The music of the 1960s
The art of the Flower Power movement
The Black Panthers
The Silver age of Comics (1956 to circa 1970)
Television shows of the 60s/70s
Blaxploitation movies
Star Trek (technology sci-fi to tech reality; social issues explored in the 1960s series)
Commercials/advertising of the 60s/70s
Religious movements of the 60s/70s
The current state of organized religion (such as church attendance) and what this says about society
The Environmental Movement - its origin, its influence
Earth Day
Rachel Carson and the publication of Silent Spring
The development of vaccines during the 1950s-70s and their impact on society
The development of The Pill
Influential authors/literary works of the 60s/70s
The development of the interstate highway system in America
The role of the automobile in the American lifestyle post World War II
The Green Book
Car designs of the 50s/60s/70s
Fashion of the 60s/70s
The rise of commercial airlines (e.g Pan Am)
The rise of the “burbs” (suburbs) … and the decline of inner-cities (e.g “white flight”)
The American economy following World War II -- the promise of the American Dream (who was left out?)
Finding peace in the middle of an internal war: Psychological tips for de-stressing and coping
The science of Happiness (ex. work of Sonja Lyubomirsky at UC Riverside)
PTSD in veterans from Vietnam and military families
Choosing love in the middle of hate: how to have conversations with people you disagree with
Flowers in gun barrels: a history of gun and flower imagery
The Purpose of nonviolence in the Civil Rights Movement
The Business of Happiness
The Pursuit of Happiness
An economic overview of the happiest vs richest people in the world
The re-emergence of “Van Life” and living without steady pay
Woodstock and the beginning of festivals
Protests & Peace
Protest literature in pursuit of peace
What does it mean to love one another?: Biblical interpretation of loving your neighbor
Fandom: The Beatles phenomena and what it means to “love” a band
I left my home to join the ARMY: perspectives on getting drafted or enlisting during Vietnam
Cultural appropriation in 60’s & 70’s hippie movement
How Title IX impacted school sports
The celebration of the U.S. Bicentennial and the inclusion/exclusion of marginalized segments of the population
Peace Studies programs (i.e. academic programs in higher education)
How children’s literature has evolved since the 60s/70s
The stigma of mental illness: Progress we have made since the mid-20th century (and challenges still faced)
The Space Race (e.g. Sputnik, Hidden Figures, medical advances due to space exploration)
The Cold War
