Questions and Answers about
Who is Doug Watson?
Dr. Doug Watson is professor of English at Oklahoma Baptist University, where he has taught American literature and Western civilization for more than twenty-five years. Since 1991, he has also been involved with historical characterization—first with the Great Plains Chautauqua and National Chautauqua Tour, more recently with state humanities council programs across the U.S. His “Conversations with Will Rogers” program has been praised by scholars and theatre fans alike.
What is the aim of the program?
The Will Rogers Memorial in Claremore is uniquely suited to provide dependable information about Oklahoma’s favorite native son, and it is the wish of the museum to provide a “centennial tribute” that will help revive interest in and awareness of Rogers’ important role in the history of our state and nation. The Memorial staff wishes that every Oklahoman could visit the museum during the centennial year, but they realize that is not possible. So they have asked Dr. Watson to use his program to provide some information in the classroom and on campuses around the state.
Doug Watson’s program is intended to communicate Rogers’ importance to a generation of public school students who may never have seriously considered Will’s wide-ranging activities and contacts or the profound nature of many of his social commentaries.
Why in Oklahoma History classes?
Will Rogers was born in Indian Territory in 1879. He didn’t live much of his adult life in Oklahoma (he was twenty-eight in 1907), but he was always “Oklahoma proud,” visited family here often, and spoke frequently about the great potential of the new state. By 1920, he was a fixture in show business, and he continued to movie stardom in the early 1930s. In the early 1920s he emerged as a popular newspaper commentator and radio entertainer and public figure. Before the decade ended, he was being mentioned as a possible political candidate and had penned two volumes of Letters of a Self-Appointed Diplomat to His President, as well as thousands of daily and weekly newspaper columns on society, the economy, politics, and life in general. In all of this and in his travels, Will spoke indirectly for Oklahoma. For many Americans, he was Oklahoma personified.
Strategically, since Oklahoma History classes are required of virtually all public school students in the state, it seems an appropriate and universal venue for setting this presentation. If it is possible for you to combine classes up to a total of approximately one hundred students per session, that is acceptable to Doug. If you wish to include classes other than Oklahoma History classes (e.g. American history), he has no objection, so long as all who are involved have been urged to read the preview essay in preparation for the program.
Perhaps you have another, creative suggestion for using the presentation? Doug is not interested in doing school “assemblies,” but he’d be happy to listen to other ideas to share the person and personality of Will Rogers with today’s students, tomorrow’s leaders.
Is the cost really “free”?
That’s right. Participating schools/teachers will be expected to help “set the stage” for the presentation by arranging for space and equipment and by assigning a brief “preview” essay that will be provided ahead of time. But the program—usually a $500+ fee event—costs the school nothing.
What days are available, and how much time is required?
The program is designed to fill a 50-60 minute class period; slight adjustments are plausible.
Because of teaching responsibilities of his own, Dr. Watson will be available only on Wednesdays and Fridays during the fall term, only Tuesdays and Thursdays during most of the spring term, but most days (Monday-Friday) during January. He will try to build a schedule that will permit a morning and an afternoon presentation at different sites on each available day, so you can see why it is important to identify more than one possible date. Scheduling time and travel may prove a test of that other semester-long Oklahoma curriculum requirement—geography.
How do I book the program?
Consider your school schedule—not an easy thing to do—and see if you can identify three or four possible dates (either a morning or afternoon time for each date). Then use the contact information below to propose these days and times, and permit a bit of time for schedule and travel planning on this end. Dr. Watson or his assistant will contact you to confirm schedule details ASAP.
Telephone: 405-275-0235 (you may talk to Doug or Kay or leave a message)
Email: WRnschools@sbcglobal.net
Website: www.watsonswill.com
A note from Doug Watson:
I do hope that you will take advantage of this opportunity. As a teacher myself, I know that special programs can sometimes be disrupting and disappointing. Some of them can seem to have no connection to what you want your class to accomplish. Though I can’t guarantee you that “Will Rogers was not just a cowboy. . .” is a magic solution to learning about Rogers or the era in which he lived, I do believe that it invites students to think seriously about some important issues, and hopefully to have some fun doing that.
