CONNECTIONS
" newsletter from the Ubrarkl' to The Claremont (:<. lIc~~ \~) Jumc l · i/ NulI1ber 2
DIRECTOR'S COLUMN
OurWASC Review- the results are in!
ath Journal Donated to the National Uni ersitv of Columbia
Libraries across the world fight a nev er ending hattie for space. The collection and storage of new knowledge is highly valued, hut limitations exist. The Libraries of The Claremont Colleges r xx- ntfy lost an entire floor in Sprague Libra ry , significantly reducing the space available for our science collections. Fourteen hu ndred shelves of materials had to he removed from the scie nce collection in order to fit the collection into the remaining spac ' . Part of the process involved de- duplicating the science lihraries collection, hoth monographs ami journals, in order to minimize
the amount ofspace required to shelve them. The duplicate ho oks were put on display at Sprague and Seeley C. Mudd for anyone to add to a personal collection. The journals were not as easy to place in new homes. Through the efforts of [-[ Y1C Math Professor Art Benjamin and Elizabeth Millan, library student assistant and
II : VIC student, and with the help of the American Mathematical Society ( A: vIS), the Lib rari es were able to d onate the majority of the duplicated math journals to the ' ationa! University of Columbia. After several months of planning, about a hundred shelves of math journals were shipped to Columbia through the AMS donation
\'\/ l'!) Site continued p. 2
- I:' oIsm r. TII I.~ Is.' ilJl-. 110
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Honnold/ Mudd
· 1
1':' 1 111 111 ';
Ct \ 1\ 1:' 1()', 1 hsnn
Dl, u n 11' 1' Seeley G. Mudd Sprague
On ctoher 1.1- 1' 5, 2()( I:\ many ol VI u parucip. ued in meelings with the T · ~ 1I 11 of Ii. tinguish . I librarians nnrn . I to carry our the \ X' ' C R . viev of the l. ihruries. Your invol vemem
ensured th. u the Visiting T ea rn gained a greater understand
ing or th • challenges the l. ibmrie... face ami ) f the COI1l pi
exities inherent in our operations. Thank you for your time and Ior your . andid co mmcrus to the Team!
In late December. Claremont University ~ onso rt ium recei ved the Final Repo rt of the Team. At the root of many of the Tea m's r - cornm . ndations and suggestion... is tlu- need for integrati on of the Libraries into the academic programs and lire of" the col !~ g · s. This integration involves engage ment,
govl.' rnance. conuuunication. leadership, and assessmcnt
issue » that will he hroadly discussed at the highest adrninistr. uivc levels within The Colleges. In addition, Library Council. comprised of Iaculiy from each of The Clare mont Colleges, will review the H port and work with the Libraries to furt her the - xccllent work of the Tea m and the Self Study Steering Committee.
Among the most urgent issues in the Report of the Visiting Team is the creation o f" a Claremont Colleges Digital Library ( C: CDU, Reporting that " The Claremont Colleges lag behind their peer institutions in this effort," th ~ Te. un continues.
" hut with the starr made. additional funding. and a commitment
on the part of all of The Colleges, they can catch up if they continue their hard work." As noted, imp ortant work on a digital lihr: try has already taken place. It includes " Devdoping ' 111e Clar - m JIlt Colk:,!-; cs DIgital Lil wry: _ hall - ngc. s lor the CCDI.,..( http:// libraries. claremont. edu/ selfsrudy/ cliglib6. htmll written a, s a reflective essay for the \ V. SC Self Study. Subsequent tu this work, a Task Force, comprised of staff from across The Coll eges and chaired by Kenneth Pflueger, Chief Information Officer for Pomona College, has prepared a detailed report outlining steps that need to he taken toward estahlishing a Claremont Colleges Digital Library. \' lYre ex pect that the working group recommended hy the Task Force will soon he established to continue this work.
During this semester, you will be hearing more about the Report of the Team and about progress toward establishing
a Claremont Colleges Digital Librar y , As always, we loo k forward to your involvement in and support of initiatives designed to enha nce Libraries services and reso urces provid ed
for teaching and research,
! JUIIIIie Ctcmcn «
I ) 1I'CC! UI' ,1Lihruric »
h()/ III/ e.,-!,' II/(' IIS@/ ilil" i/ I'ies, c/" I'C1 I11I1II , cdll
The Libraries ufThe c. larc ntont ( i'// e,!!, es
H()() :\' onh I J: l 111l10 Ulh Avenue Claremont, c: 917 11- 3<) 0 [
CAMPUS MAIL Donations contd.
1Ji8ita( Projects in Syecia( Coa
program. Through this program,
AlviS pays for all shipping
costs, allowing a school that would normally not hav e the mea ns to acqu ire such a nice collection of journal s the opportunity to expand their collection. The journals successfully arrived in Cartagena, Columbia, in mid- December and the people
at the National University of Columbia have expressed their gratitude for the generosity
that has been extend ed
to them. The AMS donation
program allows journal collections that would otherwise
be disca rded to continue
the cycle of knowledge, and we we re plea sed to be able to participate.
[ ezmynne Amergin Scien ce Libraries
j ezmynne. amerginis ltbrarics.
claremont. edu
Eltza betb Mil/ all
Harvey Mudd College
CONNECTIONS
is published by
The Libraries of
The Claremont Colleges
800 North Dartmouth Avenue
Claremont, CA 91711- 3991
( 909) 621- 8045
and distributed
during the Fall and Spring semesters
URL:
http:// Iibranes. claremont. edu/
abour/ libpubs
Editors:
Gale Burrow
gale . burrow@/ ibraries.
c/ aremont. edu
Julie Shen
julie. shen@/ ibraries.
cleremont. edu
© C/ aremont University Consortium, 2003- 2004. All Rights Reserved.
Claremont
univei
Consortium 51
@ CONN ECTIO NS The most frequently asked question in spec ial collections departments these days is, " Is it available on the web?" This question has led us to reexamine our work and our priorities at the Libraries in order to meet the growing expectation
from the scholarly community for electronic means to locate and access archival and special collections materials. The Libraries will playa key role in the devel opment of The Claremont Colleges Digital Library , and a major contribution
to this effort will be digitizing some of our special collections, thus providing users with primary resources, a basis for good research. That said, digital projects are a time consuming, expensive, and detail driven endeavor, but the positive fe edback we have received from Claremont students and faculty indicate they are we ll w orth the hundreds of hours of staff time and the server space. With the addition of our new Digital Projects Specialist in 2002, the Libraries' Special Collections have stepped up our efforts to provide online access to primary resources .
How do we choose which items to digitize from our vast special collections? Our primary goal is to support learning, teaching, and research at The Colleges, so we attempt to choose those collections that are used by faculty and students in classes. Several Claremont Colleges' classes have taken adva ntage of our two digital collections
currently on the web, the San Gabriel Mission Matrimonia l Invest igations and the WheelerScrapbooks / lttp:// lihr: lri. s. claremunt. edu/ sc/ digiral. asp which document the development
of early Claremont and Pomona College. These two collections have been among our most frequently requested materials, are unique and historically significant, and as a result of heavy use and age, are in fragile condition.
The preservation of fragile material is the second
most important criterion when choosing co llections to digitize. Providing a digitized copy of an 18th century document ora collection
of 100 year old photographs is one means of insuring that the originals will be handled only when necessary. Digitization also enables us to put copies on the web, a third criterion for our digital projects: delivering wider and easier access to our special collections by electronic
means. Making digital copies of collections
available on the web has resulted in inquiries about these collections from researchers, many outside of Claremont, a great example or the power of the web as an access too!'
In practical terms, we are cognizant of copyright and endeavor to choose collections for digitization
that are in public domain in order to provide
unrestricted electronic access. We also seek to preserve the historical context for digitized
items by taking a collections- based approach to choosing projects to insure that scholars. especially students who may be new to using primary resources for research, understand
the relationship be tween items in the collection.
This is one reason we digitized whole pages of the Wheeler Scrapbooks rather than only individual items.
We are currently planning for two digital projects in the coming year, chosen using the criteria described above: selected items from the Carruthers Aviation Collection on the history of ! light and the William Woods Averell Civil War documents collection. As we move forward with our digitization initiatives, faculty input is essential,
and we welcome your comments and ideas for future digitrzation projects from our special collections that would benefit students and scholars.
Please contact Special Collections at ( 909) 607- 3977 or spcoll@ libraries. claremonl. edu.
Carrie Marsh Honnold/ Mudd Library ca rrie./ II(/ 1'' Sb@/ i braries. c1a rel'/ l()/ lI . edu
What Do You Think About the Libraries' New Web Site? Last fall the Libraries launched a new version of our web site. The new design was sha ped by input from members or the campus community
via pre- design focus groups and in- design usability testing. l\ ow that the new site has been up and running for a semester - and now that you've had a period to interact with it we'd
like to know your opinion of the new de sign:
•
How often do you use it?
•
Is it easier to find content than in the old site?
•
Do you like the new aesthetics'
•
What suggestions for improvement do you
have?
Please send any comments or suggestions to James Otto. the Libraries' Web Administrator. at james. 0tto@ libraries. clan: m(> nt. edll. ~ ctt~ On5 Honnold/ Mudd library He- rooling Project
3/
The Eighteenth Century Is Now Online
The Libraries have expanded our already impressive ac cess to early mod ern resources with Eighteenth Century Collections Online. Scholars of early modern literature, history, philosophy, religion, art, music, government, and law have been singing the praises of two of
our most popular full- text resources, Early English Books Online ( known affectionately as EEBO) and Evans Digital Edition, the digital version of Early American Imprints. Ana logous to microform sets that the Libraries have owned for many years, these two resources have made it ea sier than ever to access a great portion of the printed output for the early modern Englishspeaking
world- materials listed in Po llard &: Redgrave ' s Short- Title Catalogue 1475- 1640, Wing's Short- Title Catalog ue 1641- 1700, the Th omason Tracts 1640- 1661 and Early American Imprints ([ 639- 1800). However, there has always been a gap in our access to materials indexed in the English Short Title Catalogue: the massive and enormously
expensive microform set known as The Eighteenth Century. The good news is that great reward s sometimes come to those who are patient: materials in The Eighteenth Century collection are now being digitized and the Libraries have purchased the digital collection. In its first phase, the resou rce has " every page from 150,000 books" printed in English from 1700 to 1800. As with Early English Books Online and Evans Digital Edition, each and every title in Eighteenth Century Collections Online \ X1e are pleased to announce that the project to provide a new roof for Honnold/ Mudd Library is nearing completion! The re- roofing began on October 16, 2003 and is now seventy- five percent co mplete. Most of the remaining work will not involve the noise disturbances of heavy demolition; furthermore, the heatinu ventilation and air conditioning svstern ( HVAC) \ vill no lonuer need to
b' .. 1, 0
be turned off. ensuring a more comfortable climate within the library. The remaining work will in large part be focused on the portion of the roofwhich covers the Search Center ( Mudd side of the library) and will be the most CCJ! 1lplex
portion of the project due to the close proximity of telephone antennas and vertical cement columns found on this area of the roof.
We would like to thank all patrons of H onnold/ M udd Library for your co ntinued support and understanding during this re- roofing project. We will continue to Ido I all that we can to alleviate any inconveniences caused by the project.
I
Additional Construction Updates: ı The sidewalk on the south side of the library which extends from Columbia toı Dartmou th Avenue is now reopened. It was closed due to the digging of twoı new manholes. which are now co mplete. ı
The bookdrop on the east side of Honnold / Mudd , which had been temporarilyı moved during construction, has now been moved back to its original location onı the corner of Columbia and 8th Street. ı
Nl/ y , ltl/ rlil/ ez
l kmnold/ Mucld
ra)'./ lw rlilwZ@/ ib mries. cll/ re/ lHJIt/. edll
I Welcome Our New Stanl
JASON S. PRICE, the Libraries' new science librarian, earned a B. i\. in biology and anthropology from UC Santa Barbara. and a Ph. D. in evolutionary
ecology and an M. L. S. from Indiana University. Graduate student
teaching and research experiF
,\ D I. F. xx X I X.
ences convinced him of the vital role of library education and servic-
III'" i pCJlI' lIl f", j. ltt"' I . .,: I1ro ' I . r ! f , · . r.. _~'. lII' 1" O , a. ar
," 111r '\ 114 I... , i · :. ti " ", no Itl r.; rll! """"' 1(: t " I ' cu:.... f. es in academia. ı r'tf" .) . .. II ' I II; '.." ; 1' liP. l! d 1 ".' u. :,; ı
Jason sees scit.•••
oc•• o •• • , · " t ,..
ence librarianship
as an
op portunity to
i~ •.
use his passion for teachi ng critical thinking and background
in the life sciences to
will be listed in and accessible through further developı Blais, the online catalog. If you preferı
the role of theı to search the entire collection, you canı
library in learning, teaching, and
also connect directly to Eighteenth research. In addition to developingı Century Collections Online from the list and teaching t\ VO literature- basedı of databases by title on the Libraries'ı
courses in biology, he has extensive web site. As with other c- reso urces, offexperience
with Endnote, and hası campus users will be prompted to logı
spent much of the past year develıin
before they can access the database. ı
o ping li brary electronic resource
instruction programs for undergraduFor
more information, please contact ates and researchers in the life sciAdam
Rosenkranz or Gale Burrow ences. For more on his teachingı ( ga le. buITO\ v@ libra ries. c! aremont. edu). ı
and research, please see http:// sunllowcr. hin. indian: l. edu/- ir rice.
Ada m Rosenhra nz
I!()/ II/ old/ III/( Id
ada 111. 1'( Isel l/"' rtl ll .?:@ li! n ¥ lries. clare/ lUJ III. etlll
CONNECTIONS~ Founders Room Reopens dS C entrdl Gdthering Pldce Persyect- ive
Although o ne had to imagin e the fa nfares and drumro lls. vocal classics cc lch ruting the first airp lanes . md flying
Founders Room during ope n hours an d may bring stu dents as their guests, Inq u iries about
MIKE EMERY I grew lip rcaclinj; : 111 ( treasuring hooks , su it b not ~ lII' rr isi ng tha t I
reso unded in the Libraries Fo unders Room at its Grand
re se rvat io ns lo r interco llegia te l1leet ings a nd
ha ve 1' 0 md my sel f pu r. uing a
Reopening rece ptio n on \ X! ednesd ay.
ovc mbc r 5, 200:\,
events may be di rected to Kathy Kyle. A sist: mt
:' l aS ler' ~ degree In Library and
The day also mark ed lhe opening of
an exhibitio n,
to the Director of Libraries, in l. ibrar,
Ad m in islnlorrn.
uion ~ l'i ' IKe, But , \\ hi lc ho() k ~
" Celebra ting the Wright Brothers First Flight: Trea su res from the Ca rru thers Aviatio n Co llectio n," w hich rema ined o n
tnuio n. () 2 1- HO · j'j , You m ight ask , w ho are these " Founders'?
\\' er e one of my initial p ulls, 1I1<: 1' r.:; I" ingly
techno logy is where I spend Illy tim e , lIy ing 10 mak e informa ti: 1Il
view th rou gh j an ua ry,
William Lincoln l lonnokl and his w ife Caro line
. I\,: til: lhl ' o nl ine . The incrt'; lsingl)
perRev
italized
as an
intercollegiate meeting space an d readwere
affiliated w ith Pomona. Scripps. and
vas iv « ro le o f k'd 1I 1l >! og\', spe " ificall )
ing roo m lo r faculty and sta ll' o f all TIle Co lleges and Cl IC,
Cla remont Co llege ( now CCe) after their return
the in ternet.
has led : 1 fL · \\
lricnd x t(>
the Founders Room is locat ed o n the seco nd flo or o f Honn okl/ Mucld Library and is open ~' I u nday through Friday
to Californ ia in the ea rly 1920' s follow ing : 1 m ining
and ph ilanthrop ic ca ree r in South l\ friGI a nd
ask w hy I'd w ' t a degree in xoui ething
th at d oesn ' t mailer anymo re , hu t I think till ' ro ll' 01' libruriuns is
fro m l) am-( jpm,
Accord ing to Bo nnie Cle me ns, Director of"
Europe, Attracted to the ideal of a larue , ce ntra l
m ore import an t than ever, Wil ik.: tile
Libraries , " All Iacult y and staff membe- rs arc
invited to cnjoy
library th at w o u ld un ify the yo ung
consort ium ,
po w e r ami scope or the inte rn et is
the Fo unders Room, w hether attending an Interco llegiate
the Honno lds pledged $ 1, OOO.( X lO, Their vision
imm cdi. uc lv o bvio us to a nyo ne
w ho
lecture o r event. o r just bringi ng a lun ch and peaceful midda y break."
a book lor a
became a rea lity w ith the co nstructio n of Ho nn old Library in 19' 12, A half ce ntury late r,
has ever used Gooule. so tou arc the lack or organization and th e cha lle
ng es in finding actually rele va nt
Th e Fou nders Room o pene d orig ina lly in 1952 with th e
this gI: md an d gw cio us Fo unde rs ! V JOI1l
dedicatinlorm.
uion. As m or e a nd
more cond
edi cation of Honnold Library an d
was the sce ne o f man y
ed to advan cing intercolleg iality a nd friendship
tent ix pu : online . it hecol11es increa slectures,
rece ptions, tea s. ami o the r gathe rings unt il the
across the co lleges would please the l lonno kls,
ingly im po rta nt to dev el op mc ch ama
jor re novation of the Honnold bu ild ing that began in 200(). A lack o f funds postponed the desired concurre nt
w ho hoped that their library would he a " syrnhoi
of the unity a nd pUlp ose of the Claremont
nis ms [ o r searchi ng lo r inlo rm. uio n tha t is actu al ly re leva nt . and thus lib mrian s, w ho spec ialize in thi s,
upgrading o f the Founders Room. Wh en the Facult y House
group ."
becomes
increasin gl y im por tan t.
closed , me mbers of the Faculty House Board o f Directors, including I I:-''! C founding president Joseph Platt , sug" t; ested
jllt\ r Hanev Sabali 1l.~'; sIW I I Director ofLibraries a m/ /) e ll [, WiI/ Librarian
Mi ~' e Emcr » IlulI l/ uld / M udd Library
that its assets be transferred to eTC to ena ble the Libraries
jU( / r l }{/ I',:):\{/ l lI, NNihm,' i"\', clal'<' IIf( JI/ I. ed,,
IlliRe, el/ wl. 1 w / iiJmr" ':< , clo l(' ll/()/ II, ed"
to refurnish the Founders Room, Fun ds and some
familiar
furniture from the Facult y H OUSL: tran sformed the Fou nders
Room into the
new, ce ntral gathe ring pla ce for facult y and
staff from all Th e Co lleges a nd CUC, a ro le previously
undert ak en by the Faculty House .
Respl endent w ith il-; st:. ltely co ffe red ceiling , elegant marhie
fi replace , burnished hardwood floors , warm O rienta l
rugs , comfort ab le chairs an d sofas arra nged in convenient
groupings, the
room also provides a se tting I( Jr a collection
o f Chinese
and Japanese
clo isonne. Do rothy Ad ler Routh
and her family donated o ne
o f the largest private collections
o f clo isonne in the country to Scrip ps Co llege
bet ween
197 3 and 2002, Displ ayed in wa ll cases around the
Founde rs Room, pieces
from the collection are both secular
and re ligious and ran ge from vases and altar se ts to ch arming
an im als, tiny and huge .
Fac ulty and staff are w elcome to d rop in and e njoy the
THE LIBRARIES OF THE CLAREMONT COLLEGES
THE COpy CENTER at Honno ld/ Mudd Library offe rs a I11III11.... variety of servicesto meet your copying and printing
: : :::~ needs, Saddlestitching, velobinding, folding, laminatingandcolorcopyingarejustafew ofthespecialprocesses weuseto addtheprofessionalfinishyouexpectfor
Exhibits at Honnold/ Mudd Libraryı yourannouncements, meeting handouts, flyers, posters,
brochures, and reports. Wealsohavetransparenciesfor I11III11.... both black and white and color presentations.
lfIestem Buoks 2003
February 10- Marcb 5, 2004
Honnold Libra ry, 21/ d Hoor •~..~.... I You have a choice of bringing in your originals
in hard copy or on diskette or you may
In this () 2nd Annual Exhibition by the Rouncc and Collin Club are
send usyour copythrough email. Inaddishowcased
twenty- five of the most beautifully designed hooks in tion, our staff is ready to assist you in send-
states west of the Rockies, incl uding two recent works by the Scrippsı ing and receivingdomesticand overseas faxes,
College typo graphy students,
For further information visit our web site; • • • • http:// voxlibris, daremont, edulgeninfol servo
77.1(' " Father " ot ourNational Parks: [ obn Muir
iceslcclindex. html ( from the Libraries' home N! lJ 10 -,\ lay 1 7, 2004, 2004 • page, go t o Generat Information and click
•~.." Iı ..
Honnold Library, 21/ d Floc » : ı on Serv ices), or call us at ( 909) 607- 3969 ( on campu s _ dial ext. 73969). <
JohnMuir( 11) 31>-! 91/ j) was oneofourfirst and mostcelebrated natug
ralists, explorers, and conservationists, Through his writings, Muir ••••••" osTER'" • 11lto rHtQ<[ • (. Ot. OIt \. OI'lf' • IIAS[) I JUf! ll • ' O" TrK ~ ~ successfully cr usaded for the establish ment of national parks and the preservation of wilderness places, On view arc copies of his most influentialworks, infirst andspecialeditions, from Special working with day, Thisexhibitfeatu resphotographs, exhibitioncataCollections,
Honnold Library, logs. articles and ephemeral materials from the Scripps Co llege
Arc hives that illustrate the hist ory of this internationally recognized Formore information. contactSpecialCollections, Iiounotd/ Mudd exhibition. Also on di splay arc artists' works from past cxhihitions. on Library , ( C) OC) J 607- 3977. loan hy the Ruth Chandler \ X1illiamson Gallery permanent collection,
Exh ibits at Denison Lib raryı This exhibit comple ments the Ceramic Annual 2004: 60th Ceramic
Celi. 4milil1!- 1 60 }'!? al'S: 77)(.' History (!( tb e Scripps Ceramic Annual Annual, which will he on display at the Ruth Chand ler Willia mson ˇ December 22, 2003 - February 29. 2004 Gallery J anuary 2- ith to April - ith. ˇ Denison Lilm: IIJ' ˇ
The Scrip ps Ceramic Annual has become the longest running cxhibiFormore
information, contact Denison Library. ( 909J 60 7- 394!, ı tion or its kind in the United States, featuring top contem porary artists ˇ Claremont
DISCOURSE
SPRInG200£
A18ctureSerie Spons re bvthelibraries ITheClaremontCollees
Islam and Gender: Hot Button Issues
Zayn Kassam, Associate ProfessorofReligious Studies, Pomona College Wednesday, February 18th, 4: 15pm Understanding any religion or culture. although it may not he apparent, requires a lo ok without and within: without, at the passionsand ideasdriving theculture observed, andwithin, atthe passionsand ideasdrivingthe observing culture,
This axiom is especially true with matters Islamic, so difficult to discntwinc from the narratives and images feci to us daily inthelastfewyears. Combinethe " hot- button" issueofIslam with the" hot - button" issue ofgenderandyou havesomething
doubly complex, inextricably linked with the rapid cultural change..: s of the modern world and encumbered by the ultra- sensitive politics of recent events. At the same time, the understanding of both issues holds, perhaps, keys to one another. Zayn Kassam, a multi- disciplinary scholar whose Wide- ranging scholarship runs the gamut from the social, to the literary, to the philosophical, will ex1' 10 n..' how the non- Muslim \ Vest looks on social oppression through the veil. female genital mutilation, and honor killings, as well as how Muslim societies have justified such practices and what's being done about them. Her talk is based on a hook she is writing about Islam and gL'nder.
neuroeconomics: How Brain Research Is Providing new Insights intoEconomics and Finance
Paul Zak, Associate ProfessorofEconomicsandChair, CGU Wednesday, March 10th, 4: 15pm Except for issues or funding, there may he fL'wdisciplines that seem further apart than economics and neuroscience, One
deals with the traffic in capital and the other deals with the traffic of neu rons. More importantly, both belong to understanding
the human, since both deal ultimately with human behavior. As " human scicnce..: s," therefore, they can only teach each other. Ilow do recent findings in the research into the bruin help explain seemingly irrational behavior by participants
in a variety of markets and social imcractions? \ Vhat can ne urobiological studies of other animals tell us about ourselves?
Paul Zak, an associate profe ssor of economics . u CG '. who also holds a position as adjunct professor of neurology at Lorna Linda University, is the perfect person to guide us through this exciting new field. Help us celebrate " National Brain Awareness \,\ lcek" ( one week early be cause this holiday falls. ironically. on the same week as Spring Break) and. as a bonus. receive a packet of informative, fun brain- related freebies.
Reflections on the Dangerous Past: Translating G. W. Leibniz's" Protogaea"
AndreWakefield, Assistant ProfessorofHistory, PitzerCollege Wednesday, March 24th, 4: 15pm In an age before academic disciplines, Gottfried Leihniz was the paradigmatic universalgenius. Lcibniz- au . uhematician, linguist,
librarian, diplomat, historian, philosopher- satdownathisdesktowriteahistoryoftheearthsometimearound l6H1. He would call it " Protogaea." Originally written in Latin, the w ork remained unpublished for over five decades, and even then it proved controversial. Using all the tools at his disposal, Lcibniz audaciously hypothesized about everything from chemistry to biblical history. He combined metaphysics with mining and scripture with fossils to develop a jarring account
of the earth's past. \ V'e live in : 1 ruin, he argued, and fossils on the tops of mountains arc the remnants of actual, long- sincedeparted
animals. In the late seventeenth century, these were dangerous suggestions. and they conjured the outlines of a world few contemporaries dared imagine. Professor Andre Wakefield, Assistant Professor of History at Pitzer College, who is currently preparing the first English edition of Protogaca with Professor Claudine Cohen ( Paris), will introduce the work, suggesting what it means and why we should care. He will also address broad er challenges of sc holarly translation and inte rpretatio n.
' TeahouseoftheAugustmoon'andAmericanViewsofRsiaARer WorldWar II
SeungHye Suh, Assistant ProfessorofEnglish, Scripps Colleges Wednesday, Aprll 14th, 4: 15pm Both a Broadway hit and a popular Hollywood film in till' 19)() s, John Patrick's " The Tea house or The August Mo on" can
he seen as a filter through which to sample U. S. attitudes towards Asia in the period after \ Vorld \ X'ar I!. Set in Tohiki. a fictional Okinawan village in . S.- occupied Japan. " Teahouse" is a light- hearted story about Jack Fishy, a hapless associate professor of humanities turned . S, Army captain charged with the task of implemenring an eco nomic recovery program. One comic misadventure follows the other as Fisby aucmptx to install himself in Tohiki with his interpreter Sakini ( Marlon Brande in yellowface). Bedlam breaks loose when ~ l villager gives Fishy an unexpected giti: the geisha Lotus Blossom, whose activities threaten the future of the recovery program. Seung Hye Suh, Assist. mt Professor of English, Scripps Jollege and scholar of ethnic studies. will discuss ways in which the figure of the geisha mediates American cultural understanding of EaSl Asia. Her talk will place the film in the context of postwar America, U. S. foreign policy during the Cold War, and shitiing constructions of race and gender. analyzing the roll' or popular culture in reflecting and shaping American society.
If you have any questions, plea se contact Adam Rosenkranz, ext. 73986, ( adam. rosenkranz@ libraries. c1aremont. edu).
Rlliectures UIiII be held inHonnold/ mudd Librarv.
Refreshments UIill be prOVided,
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