Some of those Ivy League schools are far out.
Day: March 25, 2015
The archaeologist nun “digs the past but lives in the church of today” — a Catholic New World story
“I grew up in a small town in New Jersey, and attended public school all the way through. I’m the middle of three sisters. My dad worked for the state of New Jersey and mom worked in our local libraries when I was in middle school.
As a child of the ’70s, I never thought of being a sister until my late 30s. Before then I had only known three nuns. “I dreamed of being an archeologist. I went on my first dig at 17. I did my B.A. at Boston University, my master’s at the University of Chicago and Ph.D. at Northwestern. I still work part-time as a research associate at U. of C.
I’ve also been cataloging books, photos, religious objects, as well as household items from the oldest Benedictine women’s monastery in the U.S., St. Joseph’s Monastery in St. Mary’s, Pennsylvania, which is in the process of closing. Since many monasteries descended from it, including our own, we want to preserve its history — our shared history.”
And standing ovation for the writer of the headline, “She digs,” etc.
Hard Earned, about people barely making it . . .
Interview with Maggie Bowman, producer of Hard Earned
Hard Earned is a six-part documentary series produced by Kartemquin Films and Al Jazeera America that explores the hopes, fears and realities of low-wage American workers, following five families across the country trying to achieve the American Dream. The series is slated to air on Sunday nights beginning May 3rd on Al Jazeera America Presents.
The Hard Earned series producer is Maggie Bowman, directors are Katy Chevigny, Maria Finitzo, Ruth Leitman, Brad Lichtenstein, and Joanna Rudnick, with series editors & co-directors Liz Kaar and David E. Simpson, and executive producers Steve James, Justine Nagan, and Gordon Quinn.
Maggie Bowman talks about it:
Before that world TV premiere, Maggie Bowman, series producer, took the time to tell us about her experiences working on this landmark new series.
Questions and transcription by Mihaela Popescu, Spring ’15 Intern.
Why did you want to make this documentary?
We were in the great position of being approached by Al Jazeera America who had the idea for the series and so they approached Kartemquin. They knew they wanted something on this topic and (executive producer) Justine Nagan put together a team and asked me to be a part of it to try to capture these stories.Personally, it’s been a topic close to my heart for a very long time, I used to be a Union organizer and spent 5 years working on campaigns to organize low-wage workers into unions so they can improve their wages and working conditions. So, through that work and the approach that Kartemquin takes to making films on social issues, I knew it was a project that I really wanted to be a part of. . . . .
Blithe Spirit 