Youth sports clinic at Community and Staff Day (photo: Denise Applewhite)
Nassau notes
Community and Staff Day 2007
Some 1,000 local youngsters participated in a youth sports clinic at Community and Staff Day on Oct. 6 prior to the Princeton vs. Hampton football game. The clinic, held on Finney Field next to Princeton Stadium, included demonstrations and activities led by members of Princeton’s varsity sports teams.
Novelist Fuentes to speak on Mexico’s history
Carlos Fuentes, one of the most eminent writers in the Spanish-speaking world, will present a lecture on Mexico’s history at 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18, in McCosh 10.
Fuentes’ lecture, “A Panoramic View of the History of Mexico,” will survey the country’s history from Indian civilizations to the present day, addressing formative cultural and political events.
Fuentes’ works include “Where the Air Is Clear,” “The Death of Artemio Cruz,” “A Change of Skin” and “Terra Nostra.” Noted for innovative narrative techniques, Fuentes’ novels situate his characters in historical moments, such as the Mexican Revolution, to explore universal themes including the formation of national character and personal identity. He has received many literary honors including the Cervantes Prize, considered the most prestigious award for Spanish-language literature.
In addition to his literary career, Fuentes has held posts in the Mexican government as director of international cultural relations and as ambassador to France. He also has taught at Princeton, Harvard and Brown universities and the University of Cambridge.
Fuentes’ talk, which is designated as a Spencer Trask Lecture, is part of the University Public Lectures Series.
Writer examines Duke lacrosse case
Until Proven Innocent: An Examination of the Duke Lacrosse Case,” a lecture by journalist and author Stuart Taylor Jr., will be held at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18, in McCosh 50.
Taylor is the co-author, with K.C. Johnson, of “Until Proven Innocent: Political Correctness and the Shameful Injustices of the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case.”
His lecture will explore the political, racial and cultural relevance of the controversial case, in which three Duke lacrosse players were falsely accused of rape last year.
Taylor, a 1970 Princeton graduate, covers legal, policy and political issues as a senior writer and columnist for National Journal and a contributing editor for Newsweek.
The talk is part of the Jake McCandless ’51 Speaker Series sponsored by the Princeton Varsity Club.
Taylor Eigsti (photo: Randee St. Nicholas)
Jazz pianist Taylor Eigsti to perform with trio
One of the brightest new stars on the jazz scene, 22-year-old pianist Taylor Eigsti, will perform with his trio and his frequent collaborator, 19-year-old guitarist Julian Lage, at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 19, at the McCarter Theatre Center. The Grammy-nominated Eigsti has recorded or performed with many top musicians, including Dave Brubeck, Christian McBride and Joshua Redman.
For ticket information, contact the McCarter box office at 258-2787 or visit www.mccarter.org.
Switzerland’s U.S. ambassador to discuss security
Urs Ziswiler, Switzerland’s ambassador to the United States, will present a lecture on “Human Security in 21st-Century World Politics” at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 15, in 16 Robertson Hall.
Prior to being appointed ambassador in March 2006, Ziswiler served as head of the Directorate of Political Affairs at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and as senior diplomatic adviser to the minister of foreign affairs. He has held multiple posts in Bern and abroad since joining the foreign service in 1979.
The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination and the Department of Geosciences are sponsoring the lecture.
The talk is being held in conjunction with the Arnold Guyot Bicentennial Exhibit in the Frist Campus Center, which runs through Friday, Oct. 26. The exhibit honors Guyot, a prominent Princeton geologist and a Swiss immigrant, and reflects Guyot’s contributions as an explorer, educator and scientist.
American political divide is subject
America’s Political Divide” is the subject of a lecture by Nolan McCarty, acting dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, set for 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18, in 16 Robertson Hall.
McCarty, the Susan Dod Brown Professor of Politics and Public Affairs, is a scholar of U.S. politics, democratic political institutions and political game theory. He recently completed two books: “Polarized America: The Dance of Ideology and Unequal Riches,” with Keith Poole and Howard Rosenthal; and “Political Game Theory,” with Adam Meirowitz.
This talk is sponsored by the Wilson School and is the first Conor Reilly Lecture in American Politics.
Talk focuses on French Enlightenment
Jonathan Israel, a scholar of European history at the Institute for Advanced Study, will discuss French Enlightenment philosophers and ideas at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18, in 101 McCormick.
“Voltaire, Radical Philosophes and Anti-Philosophes: The Struggle of Modernity’s Three World Outlooks (1750-89)” is the title of Israel’s lecture. The philosophes were a group of radical writers and philosophers, including Voltaire, who criticized French religious and political practices in the 18th century.
Israel’s recent work focuses on the impact of radical thought, and on the Enlightenment and the emergence of modern ideas of democracy, equality, toleration, freedom of the press and individual freedom. His talk, designated as a James Moffett ’29 Lecture in Ethics, is sponsored by the University Center for Human Values.
University Orchestra opens season with acclaimed pianist Moravec
The Princeton University Orchestra, under the direction of Michael Pratt, will open its 2007-08 season with the internationally acclaimed Czech pianist Ivan Moravec in concerts scheduled for 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 19-20, in Richardson Auditorium, Alexander Hall.
Moravec and the orchestra will perform the Beethoven Third Piano Concerto in C minor during the second half of the program. Moravec is a 2007 Belknap Visitor in the Humanities, and his visit is made possible in part by the Council of the Humanities.
Moravec has performed with virtually every major American symphony orchestra from Boston to Los Angeles and Chicago to Atlanta. He regularly appears as an orchestral soloist and recitalist in the most prestigious concert venues throughout the world. In 2000, Vaclav Havel, president of the Czech Republic, awarded Moravec the Medal of Merit for Outstanding Artistic Achievement. He has appeared regularly on the Princeton University Concert Series for nearly two decades as a solo recitalist, but this will mark his first performance with an orchestra in Princeton.
Pratt, now in his 30th season at the University, said, “We are deeply honored to be a part of Ivan Moravec’s first concerto appearance in Princeton. The many audience members who have heard his artistry at his Richardson recitals know what a treat is in store for them.”
For the first half of the program, Pratt has selected two excerpts from Richard Wagner’s cycle “The Ring of the Niebelung”: the lyrical “Forest Murmers” from Siegfried; and the monumental “Siegfried’s Death and Funeral Music” from “Twilight of the Gods.” Benjamin Britten’s perennial favorite, “A Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra,” will complete the concert’s first half.
Tickets for the concerts, priced at $18 for general admission, $15 for seniors and $5 for students, are available at the Richardson Auditorium box office at 258-5000 and the Frist Campus Center box office at 258-9220, or online through University Ticketing at www.princeton.edu/utickets.
Painting by Tomi Ise
Paintings by artist Tomi Ise on view
Works by artist Tomi Ise will be on view from 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 20-21 and Nov. 3-4, at the University League Art Gallery, 171 Broadmead.
Ise’s paintings are filled with floating figures, disembodied hands and richly patterned Japanese fabrics. The figures invariably have their backs turned and lack individuality, leaving viewers to imagine who they might be.
Contemporary Arab art is lecture topic
Similar and Different: Perspectives From the Contemporary Art of the Arab World” is the title of a lecture by Saleh Barakat, an expert in contemporary Arab art, scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16, in 219 Burr Hall.
Barakat is the founder and executive manager of the Agial Art Gallery in Beirut, Lebanon, where he has helped build major collections of Arab art. Barakat serves on the steering committee of the Arts Center at the American University of Beirut and is a founding member of the Kinda Foundation, which is dedicated to the promotion of contemporary Arab artistic expression.
The talk is sponsored by the Institute for the Transregional Study of the Contemporary Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia.
