September 19, 1996

Canter Brown, Jr.
Historian in Residence
Tampa Bay History Center

"Root Hog or Die: Frontier Florida in the 19th Century"

Canter Brown received his Ph.D in history from Florida State University in 1994. He is an award-winning author, public speaker, and leading authority on the history of nineteenth century Florida. The author of several works including: Florida's Peace River Frontier (Orlando, 1991); Fort Meade, 1849-1900 (Tuscaloosa, 1995): and Ossian Bingley Hart: Florida's Loyalist Reconstruction Governor (Baton Rouge, forthcoming). Dr. Brown has also published articles in such journals as the Florida Historical Quarterly; Louisiana History; Tequesta; and Tampa Bay History. The Florida Historical Society has awarded him its Rembert W. Patrick Memorial Book Award and Governor LeRoy Collins Prize. He also has received the Southern Jewish Historical Society's Benjamin H. Levy Prize.

October 10, 1996

Ann and Frank Thomas
Singers and Songwriters
Lake Wales, Florida

"History in Song: Florida Stories"

Frank and Ann Thomas have been writing songs and performing them together since 1979. Their songs reflect the history and natural diversity of their native state. The Thomases have performed their Florida music before enthusiastic audiences at the Florida Folk Festival, other special events, and their music has been featured on a number of NPR broadcasts. In 1994, the Thomases won the Florida Folk Heritage Award. Committed to "informing" as well as "entertaining," the Thomases performances have an intimate and personal quality. Their goal, as they like to say, is, to "slip up on a folk's blind side and educate them a little - about Florida."

November 14, 1996

Gordon M. Patterson
Associate Professor of History
Florida Institute of Tech.

"Zora Neale Hurston: 'Jumpin' at the Sun"

Professor Patterson received his Ph.D in intellectual history from UCLA in 1973. His articles on intellectual, European, and Florida history have appeared in such journals as the Florida Historical Quarterly, Florida Scientist, Journal of Mind and Behavior, and the German Studies Review. He was a Fullbright fellow in 1974-1975, and has attended NEH Summer Seminars at the University of Wisconsin, the University of Illinois, and Yale University. Since his arrival at FIT, Professor Patterson has written and lectured on numerous aspects of Florida history.

February 13, 1997

Maxine D. Jones
Associate Professor of History
Florida State University

"African-American Women in Florida: An Historical Portrait"

Professor Jones is the author of numerous books and articles on African-American, Southern, and Florida history, including African-Americans in Florida: An Illustrated History (Sarasota, 1993), co-authored with Karen McCarthy, winner of the Charlton W. Tebeau Book Prize. She was a contributor to a number of publications, including The African-American Heritage in Florida, (Gainesville, 1996), and The New History of Florida (Gainesville, 1996) Her scholarly articles and book reviews have appeared in such journals as the Journal of American History; Florida Historical Quarterly; Journal of Southern History; Journal of Negro History; Journal of Mississippi History, and the Alabama Review. Recently, Dr. Jones headed the academic team commissioned by the Florida Legislature to investigate the 1923 Rosewood Incident.

March 13, 1997

Gary R. Mormino
Professor of History
University of South Florida

"War Clouds Over the Sunshine State: World War II and Florida"

Gary Mormino received his Ph.D. in history from the University of North Carolina in 1977. He is the author of numerous books and articles on Ethnic, Labor, Southern, and Florida history. His The Immigrant World of Ybor City: Italians and their Latin Neighbors, 1886-1986 (Urbana, 1987), co-authored with George Pozzetta, won the Theodore Saloutos Prize for the outstanding book on immigration. Dr. Mormino has contributed thematic chapters to a number of publications, the latest being The New Florida History (Gainesville, 1996). His scholarly articles and reviews have appeared in The Florida Historical Quarterly, The Journal of Ethnic Studies, Labor History, Southern Atlantic Urban Studies, and the Gulf Coast Historical Review.