Nassau notes
Mormonism and politics is conference topic
A conference on “Mormonism and American Politics” — featuring perspectives from historians, political scientists, philosophers, legal scholars, journalists, filmmakers and public intellectuals — is set for Friday and Saturday, Nov. 9-10, in 222 Bowen Hall.
The conference comes as the presidential campaign of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Mormon, has raised renewed questions about the intersection of religion and American politics. The event will include four panels on the following topics: the earliest encounters of Mormonism and American politics; Mormonism as a case study for church/state issues; Romney, Mormonism and the media; and the role religious identity plays in the public square.
The conference is open to the public. No advance registration is necessary. Sessions will run from 8 to 10 p.m. Nov. 9 and from 9 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. Nov. 10. A schedule and list of speakers can be found at www.princeton.edu/~csrelig/mormonism&politics.
The event is sponsored by the Center for the Study of Religion, the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, the University Center for Human Values, the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies at Brigham Young University and the religious studies program at Utah Valley State College.
Self-portrait by Francisco Toledo
Mexican artist on view at the Art Museum
This self-portrait by Francisco Toledo is part of an exhibition of more than 40 works by the renowned Mexican artist on view at the Princeton University Art Museum. Toledo is widely considered to be Mexico’s most distinguished living artist, celebrated for his work on behalf of his native Oaxaca’s cultural heritage and natural environment in addition to his prolific artistic talent, which encompasses paintings, prints, photographs and ceramic sculptures. The exhibition, “El Maestro Francisco Toledo: Art From Oaxaca, 1959-2006,” runs through Jan. 6.
Novelists Weiner, Katzenbach to read from work
Bestselling novelists Jennifer Weiner and John Katzenbach will read from their work at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 7, in the Stewart Film Theater, 185 Nassau St.
Weiner, a 1991 Princeton graduate, is the author of the novel “In Her Shoes,” which was made into a major motion picture. She also has published the novels “Good in Bed,” “Little Earthquakes” and “Goodnight Nobody,” as well as the short story collection “The Guy Not Taken.” Weiner is a former reporter and columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer, and her work has appeared in many magazines.
Katzenbach’s numerous suspense novels include “In the Heat of the Summer,” “Just Cause” and “Hart’s War” — which were made into Hollywood films — as well as “The Madman’s Tale,” “The Traveler,” “Day of Reckoning” and “State of Mind.” Katzenbach has been a criminal court reporter for The Miami Herald and Miami News.
The event is part of the Althea Ward Clark Reading Series sponsored by the Program in Creative Writing.
FluFest offers free shots
University community members can obtain free flu shots at University Health Services’ annual FluFest event Nov. 6, 7 and 12, and enjoy the Cirque de Santé health and wellness fair.
Flu shots will be available from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 6-7, and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Nov. 12, in the Frist Campus Center Multipurpose Rooms. The flu vaccine is available free to all faculty, staff and students. Dependents can receive shots for $30. No appointments are necessary.
From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Nov. 6-7, FluFest will be accompanied by Cirque de Santé (“Circus of Health”), which will feature health and fitness screenings, healthy snacks, fitness demonstrations, entertainment and raffle drawings. Cirque de Santé will be held on the 100 level of Frist.
The events are co-sponsored by the Office of the Provost, Office of the Vice President for Campus Life, Frist Campus Center, Department of Facilities and Department of Dining Services, with additional participation from several campus and local organizations.
For more information, contact University Health Services at 258-5036.
Lectures trace history of eternity
Yale University historian Carlos Eire will present a three-lecture series on “A Brusque History of Eternity” at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, Nov. 6-8, in McCosh 10.
Eire is an authority on the social, intellectual, religious and cultural history of late medieval and early modern Europe, with a strong focus on the Protestant and Catholic reformations.
His lectures will trace the concept of eternity in the first 15 centuries of Christian history, specifically regarding ritual, monasticism, mysticism and church-state relations; analyze how the Protestant Reformation shifted attention to more worldly concerns; and examine the social, political and economic transformations this shift has brought about in the modern West.
Eire, who as a child fled his homeland of Cuba in 1962, is the author of “Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy,” which won the 2003 National Book Award for nonfiction.
The talks are designated as the Spencer Trask Lectures. They are part of the University Public Lectures Series and are cosponsored by the Princeton University Press, which will publish a book based on the talks.
Cannon to speak on 2008 race
Carl Cannon, White House correspondent for the National Journal, will discuss “Mixing Race, Religion, Gender, War and YouTube: The 2008 Presidential Trail” at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 5, in 16 Robertson Hall.
A recipient of the Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting of the Presidency, Cannon has covered every presidential campaign since 1984.
The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs is sponsoring this lecture.
The Brentano String Quartet (photo: Christian Steiner)
Brentano String Quartet to perform at Taplin
The Brentano String Quartet, the University’s award-winning ensemble-in-residence, will present works by Haydn, Bartók and Beethoven in a free performance at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 7, in Taplin Auditorium, Fine Hall. The quartet has been at Princeton since 1999 and has performed around the United States as well as in Europe, Canada, Japan and Australia.
Talks explore meaning in life
Philosopher Susan Wolf will discuss “Meaning in Life and Why It Matters” in the Tanner Lectures on Human Values, scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 7-8, in 101 McCormick Hall.
Wolf is the Edna J. Koury Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Her lectures will examine her current research on the relations among happiness, morality and meaningfulness in life.
Two scholars will serve as commentators for each of the lectures, which are sponsored by the University Center for Human Values.
Exhibition, symposium examine role of coins in Renaissance culture
The role that the study of ancient coins played in Renaissance culture will be examined in an exhibition opening in Firestone Library on Friday, Nov. 9, and a related symposium that day.
The exhibition of rare books, coins, medals and manuscripts from the University Library’s Department of Rare Books and Special Collections is titled “Numismatics in the Renaissance” and will be on view in the main gallery of Firestone. It will feature artifacts from the University Numismatic Collection, including coins and medals of the Renaissance and the ancient Greek and Roman coins that inspired them. Also on display will be 15th- and 16th-century books about ancient coins, drawings from the collections of the University Art Museum and works of Renaissance literature that are rich in coin imagery.
The opening will be marked with a symposium, “The Rebirth of Antiquity: Numismatics, Archaeology and Classical Studies in the Culture of the Renaissance,” beginning at 9 a.m. in 101 McCormick Hall. Symposium panels will feature art and history scholars from several institutions and will be led by Princeton scholars Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann, the Marquand Professor of Art and Archaeology, and Anthony Grafton, the Henry Putnam University Professor of History. A full schedule is available at www.princeton.edu/rbsc/department/numismatics/symposium.html.
A reception will follow the symposium at 4:30 p.m. in Firestone.
“Although ancient coins were found throughout the Mediterranean region in the millennium following the end of the Roman Empire, it was only in Renaissance Europe that they began to be studied systematically,” said Alan Stahl, curator of the University Numismatic Collection.
The show will run until Sunday, July 20. The library gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, from 9 a.m. to 7:45 p.m. Wednesday, and from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Exhibition tours will be offered to the public at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 18, March 16 and June 1.
Those interested in attending the symposium must pre-register by contacting Stahl at 258-9127 or astahl@princeton.edu. It is sponsored by the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections and several other University organizations.
