Norman Lear Center
Encyclopedia
Based at the USC
Annenberg School for Communication
, the Norman Lear Center is a multi-disciplinary research and public policy center exploring implications of the convergence of entertainment
, commerce
, and society
. Through scholarship and research, and its programs of visiting fellows, conferences, public events and publications, the Lear Center works to be at the forefront of discussion and practice in the field. The Center is named for benefactor Norman Lear
, the social activist and philanthropist, and television producer of such shows as "Maude,"
"All In The Family,"
"The Jeffersons,"
and "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman."
The Lear Center officially launched on January 24, 2000. Some of the programs it houses include Entertainment Goes Global, which explores the political, cultural, economic and technological implications of the globalization of entertainment; Celebrity, Politics & Public Life, wherein faculty and deans from over 20 USC departments convene to develop an inter-disciplinary analysis of American political life, as it is shaped by popular culture; and Hollywood, Health & Society, which provides entertainment industry professionals with accurate and timely information for health storylines. Hollywood, Health & Society is funded by, and works closely with such governmental agencies as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
, the National Institutes of Health
, and the National Cancer Institute
. That program hosts its annual Sentinel for Health Awards to recognize exemplary television storylines that best inform, educate and motivate viewers to make choices for healthier and safer lives.
Since 2005, the Lear Center’s Grand Avenue Intervention Project has been a driving force behind the civic outreach for the planning of a new 16 acres (64,749.8 m²) park in the heart of downtown Los Angeles
. In partnership with the Los Angeles Times, the Lear Center solicited design proposals from the public and published a selection of them in a special section of the Times.
The Lear Center's publishing imprint has published several works of scholarship such as Artists, Technology & The Ownership of Creative Content, Warners' War: Politics, Pop Culture & Propaganda in Wartime Hollywood, Frank Capra and the Image of the Journalist in American Film, and Ready to Share: Creativity & Fashion in Digital Culture. These and others can be obtained through the Norman Lear Center Publications Webpage, or through Google Books. The Lear Center also offers free, downloadable transcripts of many of its seminars and roundtable discussions through its Website.
The Norman Lear Center was founded and is directed by Marty Kaplan
, associate dean of the USC Annenberg School, who has been a political speechwriter, Hollywood studio executive, and screenwriter-producer.
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
Annenberg School for Communication
USC Annenberg School for Communication
The USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism comprises a School ofCommunication and a School of Journalism at the University of Southern California . It is led by Dean Ernest J. Wilson III, Ph.D....
, the Norman Lear Center is a multi-disciplinary research and public policy center exploring implications of the convergence of entertainment
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
, commerce
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
, and society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
. Through scholarship and research, and its programs of visiting fellows, conferences, public events and publications, the Lear Center works to be at the forefront of discussion and practice in the field. The Center is named for benefactor Norman Lear
Norman Lear
Norman Milton Lear is an American television writer and producer who produced such 1970s sitcoms as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times and Maude...
, the social activist and philanthropist, and television producer of such shows as "Maude,"
Maude (TV series)
Maude was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 12, 1972 until April 22, 1978.Maude starred Beatrice Arthur as Maude Findlay, an outspoken, middle-aged, politically liberal woman living in suburban Tuckahoe, Westchester County, New York with...
"All In The Family,"
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
"The Jeffersons,"
The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through June 25, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. The show was produced by the T.A.T. Communications Company from 1975–1982 and by Embassy Television from 1982-1985...
and "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman."
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman is an American soap opera parody that aired in daily syndication from January 1976 to May 1977. The series was produced by Norman Lear, directed by Joan Darling and starred Louise Lasser...
The Lear Center officially launched on January 24, 2000. Some of the programs it houses include Entertainment Goes Global, which explores the political, cultural, economic and technological implications of the globalization of entertainment; Celebrity, Politics & Public Life, wherein faculty and deans from over 20 USC departments convene to develop an inter-disciplinary analysis of American political life, as it is shaped by popular culture; and Hollywood, Health & Society, which provides entertainment industry professionals with accurate and timely information for health storylines. Hollywood, Health & Society is funded by, and works closely with such governmental agencies as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services headquartered in Druid Hills, unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, in Greater Atlanta...
, the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
, and the National Cancer Institute
National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute is part of the National Institutes of Health , which is one of 11 agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NCI coordinates the U.S...
. That program hosts its annual Sentinel for Health Awards to recognize exemplary television storylines that best inform, educate and motivate viewers to make choices for healthier and safer lives.
Since 2005, the Lear Center’s Grand Avenue Intervention Project has been a driving force behind the civic outreach for the planning of a new 16 acres (64,749.8 m²) park in the heart of downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area...
. In partnership with the Los Angeles Times, the Lear Center solicited design proposals from the public and published a selection of them in a special section of the Times.
The Lear Center's publishing imprint has published several works of scholarship such as Artists, Technology & The Ownership of Creative Content, Warners' War: Politics, Pop Culture & Propaganda in Wartime Hollywood, Frank Capra and the Image of the Journalist in American Film, and Ready to Share: Creativity & Fashion in Digital Culture. These and others can be obtained through the Norman Lear Center Publications Webpage, or through Google Books. The Lear Center also offers free, downloadable transcripts of many of its seminars and roundtable discussions through its Website.
The Norman Lear Center was founded and is directed by Marty Kaplan
Marty Kaplan
Marty Kaplan is the Norman Lear Professor of Entertainment, Media and Society at the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism and the founding director of the Norman Lear Center for the study of the impact of entertainment on society...
, associate dean of the USC Annenberg School, who has been a political speechwriter, Hollywood studio executive, and screenwriter-producer.