Every day between 1950 and 2000, as many as half of Americans started their day with Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus, and the whole gang. Millions more incorporated the Peanuts television specials into their family's annual holiday traditions. This was a time of tremendous change in the United States, from civil rights reform to the Vietnam War to the women's rights movement to growing concern about the state of the environment. Throughout it all, Charles Schulz's characters became unlikely social heroes to help Americans navigate, process, and discuss their fears, hopes, and concerns about the changing world. Join Dr. Blake Scott Ball as he covers the life of Charles Schulz and how his quirky comic strip became a staple institution in American culture.

Dr. Blake Scott Ball joined the Huntingdon College faculty in the fall of 2017 after completing his doctoral degree. He has previously taught as an assistant professor at Miles College, as an adjunct professor at the University of North Alabama, and as an adjunct professor at the University of Alabama. He served as assistant director for the New Summersell Center Public History Initiative at the University of Alabama, and as a graduate assistant for the Alabama Historical Association. An avid writer, he served as editor for the Southern Historian graduate history journal and as a contributor and assistant editor for The Historian Behind the History, a collection of oral stories documenting historians’ graduate training and insights into the historical profession, published by the University of Alabama Press in 2014.

Registration is required to attend this event. Once registered, you will receive the Zoom link in your email. Contact caryprograms@minlib.net for any issues.

This program is made possible by the generous donors to the Cary Library Foundation.