1) Project: The "Lessons of the Century" is a project designed to provide the citizens of Northeast Nebraska a century's end retrospective on the treatment of minorities around the world. It will be organized around the American premiere of Bernard Kops' play Cafe Zeitgeist. With the participation of lecturers and panelists from five colleges and universities, the Neihardt Center, and theatre and civic groups from across the tri-state region this project will initially focus community and campus attention on the treatment of the Gypsies during the Holocaust. This theme will then serve as a springboard for broader discussions. Using panels, seminars, and lectures the initial focus on the Holocaust, will expand to include the current ethnic warfare in Eastern Europe, and then using that foundation, shift to look at the problems of racial and ethnic oppression and intolerance in this country. As the project concludes over the Columbus Day weekend, the focus of this project will again narrow as participants look specifically at what we in the "heartland" have learned as a result of dealing with indigenous peoples. At the close of this project, our hope is that the community will have had an opportunity to discuss and reflect on where we have been in this century, what failures and successes we have seen, and what needs to be done in the century ahead—locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.

2) Project Activities: Activities in addition to the play will include films, guest lecturers and panel discussions, seminars, workshops, recitals, readings, and art displays. Most activities will be in the evenings to allow maximum community participation. Full campus participation will be encouraged and we will organize parallel events in classes across the campus, as "Lessons of the Century" becomes the theme for the fall semester’s faculty development efforts. Local high schools and community colleges will be welcome at day or evening events and encouraged to become active participants in this project.

3) Humanities Content: Events will involve aspects of theatre, history, film, literature and language. They will be aimed at explicating the historical context of the play and linking it to contemporary events through a variety of modes--visual, aural, and textual. Bernard Kops, the author of Cafe Zeitgeist will capably represent the humanities. He is one of the best known English playwrights of his time and is renowned for his creative writing classes. Mr. Kops will come from England to comment on the play and its history and significance. Participants will find that his Jewish background and the existentialist struggle associated with it clearly penetrates his work, and the Holocaust plays a very special role in much of his reflection about humanity. Additionally, in the last few years Bernard Kops has become deeply involved with the Roma (Gypsies) of Eastern Europe, as is reflected in the play this project will feature--Café Zeitgeist. His involvement was sparked by a trip to Hungary in 1995, where he worked closely with children from the Gandhi Secondary School (the only secondary school for Roma in Europe) who have since performed in his plays Dreams of Anne Frank and Café Zeitgeist. Recently, two documentary films about these Hungarian Roma children and the Gandhi Secondary School were produced. The director of these films will also participate in this project. The director will not only show his films, he will lead discussions on the power of drama and how it assists the children in their growth and how drama provides an expression not normally allowed in many cultures.

Scholars from Wayne State College, Bowling Green University, the Neihardt Center, the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the University of Nebraska--Lincoln will present and lead discussions on oppression across Eastern Europe, and the lessons learned over the last century, with a specific focus on Romania and Yugoslavia. These discussions will lay the foundation for examining the representation of oppression in stage productions with Arijs Liepins of the Latvian Theatre Community Group in Lincoln leading discussions of the current political and ethnic situation in the Baltic states (the "Theatre of the Oppressed"), and finally, the activities and discussions will turn to our own region as we examine the effects of a clash of cultures, much like that experienced by the Gypsies, influenced the treatment of indigenous peoples in Nebraska.

4) Humanities Scholars and Other Specialists: Each of the below participants will develop a project, or lead a panel, seminar and/or discussion.

Andre Sedriks, professor of theatre at WSC, will direct "Cafe Zeitgeist."

Janet Roney, professor of theatre at WSC, will be the technical director and designer of the play.

Bernard Kops, an Emmy-nominated English playwright, will lecture in classrooms and to the public during a weeklong visit.

Jeff Johnston, director of instructional development at WSC, will direct the project and coordinate it with campus faculty development and diversity efforts.

Phil Lewis, filmmaker and multimedia specialist at Radford University in Virginia will present a Sunday Series showing of his documentary films Kops’ Kids and Zeitgeist and lead a discussion about the power of drama.

Leslie Bentley, a Ph.D. candidate in theatre at Bowling Green University, will hold workshops for the campus and community on the Theatre of the Oppressed and work with actors as well.

Beverly Soll, professor of music and director of the Center for Cultural Outreach at WSC, will coordinate the Sunday Series presentation by Phil Lewis, promote the project through the Center for Cultural Outreach Newsletter and develop a publicity plan for the project.

Catherine Rudin, professor of linguistics at WSC, will lead a lecture/discussion on the languages of the Gypsies and the linguistic situation of Eastern Europe.

Ali Eminov, professor of anthropology at WSC, will lead a lecture/discussion on Turkish minorities in Bulgaria.

Gretchen Ronnow, professor of english at WSC, will lead a lecture/lecture discussion on the literature and culture of Russian gypsies and of the indigenous peoples of central Russia.

Kenneth Hallgren, business professor at WSC, will lecture on the ethnic and political situation in Romania. (Hallgren, a Fulbright Scholar, is currently on leave in Romania.)

Robert Zahniser, professor of german at WSC, will comment on and arrange for the showing of a current Eastern European film(s) and lead a discussion.

Stacy McMillan, associate professor of political science at WSC, will lead a lecture/discussion of the global politics of Eastern Europe today.

Oliver Pollak, professor of history at the University of Nebraska Omaha will present his research on the impact of the Holocaust on captive children.

Alan Steinweis, professor of history at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, will give a lecture on the persecution of the gypsies in Nazi Germany.

Arijs Liepins of the Latvian Theatre Community Group in Lincoln will discuss the current political and ethnic situation in the Baltic States.

Charles Trimble, is a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the director of the John G. Neihardt Center in Bancroft, Nebraska. Based on his experience with efforts for the protection of indigenous rights, he will speak and take part on a panel discussion helping to focus participants on the lesson we have learned in Nebraska as a result of dealings with indigenous peoples.

5) Formats: The format of events will vary. The play will be shown in Ley Theatre (with a minimum of three performances) and the audience will be invited to stay on for a post-production discussion led by one of the scholar-participants.

Presentation/discussion will be in the evening during the week preceding the play and films will be shown during the week as separate events, with discussion following. Events will be scheduled both on campus and in the surrounding community (Wayne, Northfolk, and Little Priest Tribal College). Additional panels will also be scheduled (or repeated) during the days for student audiences.

The fall semester at Wayne State College will feature a focus on "Lesson of the Century" with all faculty and staff being encouraged to include activities in their courses/workplaces that support or build upon the theme of this project.

6) Target Audience: For a major project like this, our target audience will include all of our Northeastern Nebraska service area. We will however, specifically target the young adult and adult population of Wayne and surrounding communities. The campus community, students, faculty, and staff (both administrative and support) would be encouraged to attend, as would local community colleges and high schools.