Americas and Oceania Collections blog

Exploring the Library’s collections from the Americas and Oceania

18 September 2024

From the Supreme Court to Cowboy Carter: “America Now!” events series launches at the Eccles Institute

Launching on Tuesday 24 September 2024, “America Now!” is a new series of live events exploring the current state of the USA and its place in the world. Book your free tickets and see the full programme on See Tickets 

Lead image for America Now Whole Season - Times Square, New York, showing American stars and stripes flag
Times Square, New York, showing US flag

 

In a world of hot takes these discussions will offer some much-needed deep dives, giving expert insight into some of the most pressing or peculiar aspects of modern American life - from the Supreme Court to Cowboy Carter. 
 
Organised by the British Association for American Studies and the Eccles Institute for the Americas and Oceania, “America Now!" takes place every other month in the British Library Knowledge Centre. 

Ahead of the first event, we took to the collections to share some suggestions of what can be found in the Americas holdings at the British Library which speak to the first topic we’ll be discussing: The Supreme Court.  

Courting controversy: What’s the Deal with the US Supreme Court? 

Tuesday 24 September 2024 | 18.30-19.30 

Book your tickets

From reversing the constitutional right to have an abortion to boosting the power of the President, the US Supreme Court has been making some headline-grabbing decisions over the past few years. With its judgments also potentially reshaping other major issues including gun control, environmental protections, and Indigenous tribal sovereignty, it seems we need to talk about the conservatism of the Supreme Court. How have we got here, and how will the court’s impact be felt on the ground for everyday Americans?   

Who sits on the Supreme Court? What are their backgrounds and specialisms that shape their interests and priorities in making decisions that impact a superpower like the USA? Consult this online resource, via US Federal Government Documents: The nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, to find out more about the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court. While Being Brown: Sonia Sotomayor and the Latino Question (YC.2021.a.45) tells the story of the country’s first Latina Supreme Court Associate Justice’s rise to the pinnacle of American public life at a moment of profound demographic and political transformation. 

Official photograph of Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson taken by Supreme Court Photographer Fred Schilling, 2022 and photo of Being Brown front cover
Official photograph of Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson taken by Supreme Court Photographer Fred Schilling, 2022 and Being Brown picture from: https://impactolatino.com/la-jueza-latina-de-la-corte-suprema-sonia-sotomayor-inspira-un-libro-puntual/

Primary source ephemera documenting historical movements in America relating to gun control, abortion laws and environmental protections are also available in the collections to unpack these very relevant and ongoing topics. For example:  

  • a broadsheet by the People to Abolish Abortion Laws demonstrating against New York State Abortion Laws (YD.2014.b.915). This campaign poster, including the name of Betty Friedan, called for the repeal of all laws restricting abortion in the 1970s 
  • an interesting and illustrated 70s women's guide on self-defense can be seen in The woman's gun pamphlet: a primer on handguns, 1975 (RF.2018.a.2015).
Demonstrate Against n.y. state Abortion Laws broadsheet and The Women’s Gun Pamphlet by and for women, photo courtesy of Ulysses Books/Michael L. Muilenberg, Bookseller
Demonstrate Against n.y. state Abortion Laws broadsheet and The Women’s Gun Pamphlet by and for women, photo courtesy of Ulysses Books/Michael L. Muilenberg, Bookseller

And here are the event speakers’ ‘must read’ books, articles, and resources for anyone who's appetite for further exploration of the topic is whetted by the talk.  

Dr. Ilaria Di Gioia, an academic with expertise in the American Constitution, American federalism and intergovernmental relations at Birmingham City University, recommends:  

  • Jeffrey Toobin, The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court (Doubleday, 1st Ed., c2007), BL shelfmark: m07/.33898 
  • Stephen Breyer, The Authority of the Court and the Peril of Politics (Harvard University Press, 2021)
  • Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong, The Brethren: Inside the Supreme Court (Simon and Schuster, c1979), BL shelfmark: 80/11640

Dr. Emma Long, Associate Professor in American History and Politics at UEA, recommends:  

  • SCOTUSBlog - arguably the single best online resource for studying the Court - largely written for those with some knowledge of the Court and its work, it's the best resource for keeping up with what the Court is doing and what people are saying about it 
  • National Constitution Center - not just about the Court, but about the broader role of the Constitution in American politics and society - runs an incredible programme of events, podcasts, and discussions (almost all available online) that are designed from all levels from primary school to professorial 
  • Linda Greenhouse, The US Supreme Court: A Very Short History (Oxford University Press, 2nd Ed., 2020) - a good, short introduction to how the Court works from the former New York Times' Court reporter 
  • David O'Brien, Storm Center: The Supreme Court in American Politics (W.W. Norton & Co., 2020) - available in multiple editions, one of the best academic introductions to the Court (previous editions in BL holdings available)

Dr. Mitch Robertson, Lecturer in US History at UCL, recommends:    

  • Geoffrey Stone and David Strauss, Democracy and Equality: The Enduring Constitutional Vision of the Warren Court (Oxford University Press, 2020), BL shelfmark: YC.2022.a.1168
  • Mary Ziegler, Roe: The History of a National Obsession (Yale University Press, 2023)
  • J. W. Peltason, Fifty-eight Lonely Men: Southern Federal Judges and School Desegregation (University of Illinois Press, 1971), BL shelfmarks: X6/2646, W55/6339
  • Anthony Lewis, Gideon's Trumpet (Random House, 1964), BL shelfmark: W28/9549

Some of these titles haven't hit the British Library's shelves yet but they should be available in other major libraries. Find items in libraries near you via WorldCat

Please note: we're continuing to experience a major technology outage as a result of a cyber-attack. Our Reading Rooms in London and Yorkshire are open, but access to our collection and online resources is limited. Visit our website for full details of what is currently accessible. 

Stay tuned for further blogs with reading lists related to “America Now!”, and book your tickets for Why Country Music Conquered the World in 2024 on Thursday 28 November and The Inauguration of a New President: Where Will American Politics Go From Here? on Tuesday 23 January 2025. Details of events for the rest of 2025 will be announced later this year. If you have any suggestions of topics that you’d like to see discussed, please email [email protected] with ‘America Now!’ in the subject line. 

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