The Postwar Boom: American Musicals of the 1950s

A Distinguished Scholar Seminar featuring Tim Carter

“You’ve never had it so good,” proclaimed the U.S. Democratic party in the 1952 presidential election.The fact that the Democrats lost, however, suggests that despite the postwar boom, not everything in the garden was rosy. As in previous decades, Broadway and Hollywood musicals captured the spirit of the times; they also came into increasing competition with each other as new technologies transformed the movie-going experience. Come for another installment of Tim Carter’s series on American Musicals, this time on what many consider to be the golden age of the genre, the 1950s. Good tunes abound in these musicals, but there is far more to them than meets the eye and ear. Professor Carter will introduce participants to their form and substance and show how these musicals engaged the issues of the day.

TOPICS

Broadway Goes to Hollywood: Rodgers and Hammerstein on the Silver Screen

Singin’ in the Rain (1952): Anachronism or Classic?

My Fair Lady (1956): A New Place for Women

West Side Story (1957): The Youth Rebellion

TIME AND TUITION

9:15am-4:30pm, Saturday, November 16. The tuition is $125 ($115 until September 5). Tuition for teachers is $62.50 ($57.50 until September 5). Teachers can also receive a $75 stipend after attending (click here for more information) and 10 contact hours for 1 unit of renewal credit. The optional lunch on Saturday is $15.00.

Discounts are available for UNC students, faculty, & staff. See our UNC Student, Staff, & Faculty Discounted Registration Policy here.

Co-Sponsored by the General Alumni Association.

For information about GAA discounts and other scholarships available to Humanities Program participants, click here.

Register here or call us at 919.962.1544. 

Registrants will receive a packet containing background readings, a map to the seminar location, and more about 2-3 weeks before the program date.