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Richard White “The Spatial Turn in History”
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Richard White, credit Jesse White PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] – On Thursday, December 1, Richard White will give a talk entitled “The Spatial Turn in History” at 5:30pm in the Lownes Room, John Hay Library, followed by a reception in the lobby. This will be the second talk of the Digital Arts & Humanities 2011-2012 Lecture Series, co-sponsored by the John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage and the Brown University Library.
Richard White is the Margaret Byrne Professor of American History at Stanford University, and is a leading scholar in the history of the American West, Native American history, and environmental history. He received his B.A. from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and his M.A. and PhD from the University of Washington. He has received numerous awards and fellowships, including the Governor’s Award (1999), a MacArthur Fellowship (1997), and a Guggenheim Fellowship (1983-84); and has served on the board for several scholarly associations, acting as the President of both the Organization of American History and the Western Historical Association. He has written five books including Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America recently published by Norton, and is currently the principal investigator for the Shaping the West project, which explores the construction of space by transcontinental railroads in North America during the late nineteenth-century.
The Digital Arts & Humanities Lecture Series is free and open to the public. More information about the series is available here.
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Brown University Library Acquires Exceptionally Rare Book On Chinese Medicine
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PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] – The Brown University Library has acquired an exceptionally rare book, the first Western book on Chinese medicine, Les Secrets de la Medecine des Chinois (Grenoble, 1671). The volume is composed of anonymous translations of early Chinese texts attributed to Jesuit authors, including the first accounts in the West of the Chinese theory of pulses, and the theory and practice of acupuncture. The person who compiled the text is unknown, but locates himself in Canton in 1668, having been forced from Peking (current day Beijing) along with other Christians.
Brown University is now one of only seven institutions worldwide, and the first institution in the Northeastern US, to hold a copy of this text. Les Secrets de la Medecine des Chinois will be stored along with Brown’s other treasures in the John Hay Library. Information about the book, as well as other objects of interest to those teaching, learning, and researching about China, will be made available this spring in a brochure celebrating the Library’s collection on the occasion of the Year of China.
The Year of China explores the rich culture, economy, and politics of Greater China, investigating its past, examining its present, and contemplating its future. Throughout the 2011-2012 academic year, Brown will host public lectures, cultural events, academic conferences, and exhibits in an integrated exploration of China. For more information about the program and upcoming events, please visit: www.brown.edu/yearofchina
The Brown University Library is home to more than 6.8 million print items, plus a multitude of electronic resources and expanding digital archives serving the teaching, research, and learning needs of Brown students and faculty, as well as scholars from around the country and the world.
Contact: Jennifer Braga | 401-863-6913
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8th Annual Don Wilmeth Endowed Lectureship in American Theatre
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PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] – On Monday, December 12, Brown University Library will host The 8th Annual Don Wilmeth Endowed Lectureship in American Theatre. For “Two Great Plays–a Clown’s View,” actor Bill Irwin will explore his experiences performing Samuel Beckett’s Endgame and Waiting for Godot, interlaced with performance examples–both Beckett and non-Beckett. The event will be held from 7 to 9pm in the Leeds Theater in Lyman Hall followed by a reception.Bill Irwin is a director and choreographer, playwright, distinguished actor, dancer, and extraordinary clown. A graduate of Oberlin College and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s Clown College, he has been rewarded for his artistry and contributions to the performing arts with numerous recognitions, including Tonys for both his acting and his clowning, NEA Fellowships (in choreography), and Guggenheim and Fulbright Fellowships. A major player in the revitalization of the circus arts in the 1970s, he was the first performance artist to be awarded a MacArthur Fellowship (1984). In his various clown shows, he has established the stage persona of the beleaguered but resilient all-American, versions of which appear in much of his work. In 2010 New York’s New Victory Theater presented Irwin with the first ever New Victory Arts Award for “bringing the arts to kids and kids to the arts.”
The Don Wilmeth Endowed Lectureship was established in honor of Professor Don Wilmeth and his monumental contribution to the study of theatre at Brown. The lectureship supports an annual lecture series on American theatre. Past visiting lecturers have included Laurence Maslon (2005), Jim Steinmeyer (2007), Christopher Bigsby (2008), Laura Linney (2008), and Lynn Nottage (2010).
This event is supported by Brown University Library and Friends.
Contact: Jennifer Braga | 401-863-6913