Faces of America

Webinar: PBS & Classroom 2.0 – Exploring the Faces of America with Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

rezvanib — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:44:30 +0000

PBS Teachers and Classroom 2.0 hosted a free interactive webinar for educators on Tuesday, February 23rd. Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. discusses “Faces of America,” and a representative of the Educational and Community Outreach department at THIRTEEN provides an overview of the rich educational resources that have been created to help you use the film with elementary, middle and high school students.

To watch the webinar, visit http://www.classroom20.com/events/pbs-cr-20exploring-the-faces.

Episode 4: Know Thyself

Webmaster — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:00:02 +0000

Know Thyself takes up the search for the guests’ ancestries where the historical record leaves off and links their distinctive family histories to the broader history of “the family of man.” Combining the documented stories of some of the guests’ last known ancestors with DNA evidence, the series travel backward through time to reveal both distant relatives and surprising shared ancestral connections. Elizabeth Alexander learns that she is a direct descendent of Charlemagne, and that her paternal roots are not only European, but Jewish. Meryl Streep and Mike Nichols discover that they are distant cousins, as do Yo-Yo Ma and Eva Longoria. Interwoven with these stories and others is the journey of the host, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. as he and his father and brother undertake an historic project to have their entire genomes mapped, and thereby to learn everything they possibly can about their own family. This episode offers a compelling and thought-provoking meditation on the importance of ancestry, the meaning of family and the role of both in creating identity.

Episode 3: Making America

Webmaster — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:00:19 +0000

Making America tells the story of the peopling of the New World, of how land came to define the settling and identity of America, and of how the guests’ ancestors were part of this history. We discover descriptions of Meryl Streep’s eighth great-grandfather who fought in Metacom’s War; records of a land dispute in Spain that pushed Eva Longoria’s ancestors to leave for the New World; a treaty that Louise Erdrich’s Native American ancestor was forced to sign; and Yo-Yo Ma’s family genealogy in China, which gives insights into his identity he has longed for his whole life.

Episode 2: Becoming American

Webmaster — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:00:26 +0000

Becoming American explores the many journeys to becoming American that defined the “Century of Immigration” (1820s – 1924) and transformed the United States from a sleepy agrarian country into a booming industrial power. Stephen Colbert’s Irish great-great-grandfather escaped poverty and religious oppression in Limerick and never looked back, whereas Mario Batali’s great-grandfather, who left the place where his family had lived for centuries, struggled to survive in the quartz mines of Montana. Her Majesty Queen Noor’s Syrian great-grandfather quickly found his footing in New York’s first Arab American community, while Kristi Yamaguchi’s grandfather faced exclusionary laws and racially-defined barriers to citizenship for decades. The obstacles, short-cuts, tragedies and successes encountered or created by the guests’ ancestors from around the world reveal the complexity of our shared history and identity as Americans.

Episode 1: Our American Stories

Webmaster — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:00:52 +0000

Our American Stories explores the dynamic and shifting relationship America had with her new immigrants in the 20th century. World war tore apart families and sundered the fabric of many lives, but America beckoned and millions came. Yet, America was an ambivalent host. At its best, a place of refuge and salvation, as for film director Mike Nichols whose entire family escaped Nazi Germany. At its worst, a country that would imprison two generations of Japanese Americans, like the ancestors of Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi. Along the way, we’ll discover the buoyant American optimism that shaped chance – as in a single encounter that changed cellist Yo-Yo Ma’s life forever – to pave the road to success.

View episode credits

Video: Using genetics to explore family history

Webmaster — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:04:15 +0000

Faces of America with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. executive producer William R. Grant and producer Stephen Ives discuss the series with Dr. David Altshuler, a clinical endocrinologist and human geneticist from the Broad Institute. In the Harvard professor’s latest production, Gates uses genealogy and genetics to explore family histories of 12 renowned Americans and their immigrant pasts.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. appears on “The Colbert Report”

Webmaster — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:37:33 +0000

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. informs Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert that he’s the whitest man he’s ever tested using genetic analysis.

Video: Preview “Faces of America”

Webmaster — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:39:26 +0000

What made America? What makes us? These two questions are at the heart of the new PBS series Faces of America with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. The Harvard scholar turns to the latest tools of genealogy and genetics to explore the family histories of 12 renowned Americans — professor and poet Elizabeth Alexander, chef Mario Batali, comedian Stephen Colbert, novelist Louise Erdrich, journalist Malcolm Gladwell, actress Eva Longoria, musician Yo-Yo Ma, director Mike Nichols, Her Majesty Queen Noor, television host/heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz, actress Meryl Streep, and figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi.

(View full post to see video)

A Cold Reception: Anti-Immigrant Sentiment in the United States: Video Segments

Webmaster — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:03:05 +0000

Stream the video segments from the playlist below, or scroll to the bottom of the page to find downloadable QuickTime versions of the videos. These videos are also used in the lesson plan “A Cold Reception: Anti-Immigrant Sentiment in the United States” (grades 7-9).

(View full post to see video)

Downloadable QuickTime versions of the video segments:
(Note: To download a video, right-click on the video title and click “Save Link As…” or “Save Target As…” On a Mac, press the CTRL key and simultaneously click the mouse, then save the link.)

Clip 1: A Colony of Aliens
This segment reveals Ben Franklin’s objection to German immigrants in colonial Pennsylvania.

Clip 2: Who’s White?”
In this segment Queen Noor learns of her Syrian ancestors’ legal claim that for naturalization purposes they should be considered white rather than Asian.

Lesson plans for FACES OF AMERICA were created by the LAB@Thirteen, Thirteen’s Community and Educational Outreach Department.

I Dream of Genome: Video Segments

Webmaster — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 19:32:01 +0000

(View full post to see video)

Clip 1: Frenetic Genetics
This segment includes examples of the types of genetic information contained in the human genome – physical traits, behaviors, and propensity for diseases.

Clip 2: All in the Family
This segment details the process of documenting family history and tracing lineage back through maternal and paternal lines.

Clip 3: Migration Sensations
This segment details the process of human migration through haplogroups, and shows the haplogroups of some of the series’ guests.

Clip 4: A Piece of the Pie
This segment covers what DNA can tell us about our ethnic identities that regular genealogy might not.

Lesson plans for FACES OF AMERICA were created by the LAB@Thirteen, Thirteen’s Community and Educational Outreach Department.