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LECTURE
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Sharon Farmer |
| Wednesday, May 7, 2008 |
| 5-6 p.m. |
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| On the Mediterranean influence in Medieval French culture. |
LECTURE
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Dr. James Robinson |
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| Tuesday, May 13, 2008 |
| 6 p.m. |
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| Marketing the Cult of St Thomas at Canterbury |
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| Canterbury proved extremely innovative in the way that it propagated the fame of its celebrated saint, Thomas Becket. Becket was martyred in the nave of Canterbury cathedral on the evening of 29th December 1170. The sensational nature of this attack on the archbishop sent shock waves throughout Christendom, however, the monks of Canterbury were quick to capitalize on the tragedy, mopping up the Becket's blood and dispensing it to pilgrims mixed with water in lead phials. Within three years, Becket was canonized and Canterbury was England's only truly international pilgrim attraction. More souvenirs of a greater variety were manufactured there than at any other shrine in Europe and with an awareness of product placement that appears startlingly sophisticated to modern observers. This talk examines the archaeological evidence from souvenirs found in dateable contexts in London, which suggests that they were produced to commemorate key events in the Becket calendar. |
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FILM SERIES
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Immigration and Film |
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| Tuesday, April 22, 6 p.m. |
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| The Immigrant (1917) Charlie Chaplin’s beloved Tramp character
is an immigrant coming to the United States who is accused of theft on the
voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, and befriends a young woman along the
way. The shipboard scenes are a grim yet comic glimpse of steerage, and the
imimigrant’s eye-view of New York is a revelation. The boffo scene in which
he kicks an immigration official was cited as evidence of Chaplin’s anti-
Americanism when his US visa was revoked in the 1950s. (runtime 20 min.) |
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| My Girl Tisa (1948) Overlooked because of the political climate
when it was released, this film portrays the New York lower East Side world of
boarding houses, jobhunting, and the constant fear of deportation. German-born
actress Lilli Palmer stars as Tisa and Sam Wanamaker (nominated for an
Emmy for his 1978 role in Holocaust) is the attorney who helps her. Directed
by Elliott Nugent. (runtime 95 min.)
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| Tuesday, May 6, 6 p.m. |
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| La Ciudad (The City) (1999) This award-winning documentary
by writer / filmmaker David Riker played to sold-out crowds in the New
York art houses when it opened. It is a series of four shorts Riker began
making in 1992 about Mexican workers who come to Manhattan filled with
the American dream but also afraid of the City. Filmed in black and white, the
photography has been compared to works of Dorothea Lange and Walker
Evans. The film style itself has been compared to that of Vittoria De Sica's
Bicycle Thief. (runtime 88 min.) |
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| Tuesday, May 27, 6 p.m. |
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| In America (2003) Jim Sheridan (In the Name of the Father, My Left
Foot) drew inspration from his own life as a young immigrant in the U.S. to tell
the story of a family from Ireland who leaves their native country to live in
America. Told through the eyes of the family's two young daughters, the film
perfectly captures the uncertainty, magic, sadness and hope that they experience
in their new life in the slums of New York City's Hell's Kitchen. Samantha
Morton and Djimon Hounsou deliver Oscar-nominated performances as
the young mother and the artist neighbor afflicted with AIDS. (runtime 105
min.) |
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| Tuesday, June 3, 6 p.m. |
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| God Grew Tired of Us (2006) Winner of the jury prize and
audience award for U.S. documentaries at Sundance 2006, the film follows
three Sudanese boys, refugees from Sudan's bloody civil war, as they try to
adjust to life in the U.S. Coming from unspeakable conditions, young
witnesses of unspeakable horrors, their honesty and goodness is unquestionable.
And so the question raised is, "What conditions create a civilized society?"
Directed by Christopher Quinn. (runtime 89 min.) |
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| Flyer for series |
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