Open house to feature free lectures, tours, performances

"Socrates and Freud: Talk and Truth," "Joan of Arc: Guilty or Not Guilty" and "How to Make $25,000 in Five Minutes" are among the more than 40 topics to be presented at the 14th annual Humanities Open House on Saturday, Oct. 30.

Humanities faculty and staff will present a wide variety of free lectures, tours and performances, many of which will explore new and sometimes surprising research in world cultures, art, language, literature, music, history, philosophy and more.

Admission to all events is free, but registration is required. Registration will begin at 9 a.m. at Reynolds Club. Open-house events will begin at 10 a.m. and will conclude with an informal reception for all participants at 4 p.m.

David Bevington, the Phyllis Fay Horton Professor in the Humanities, will present the keynote address at 11 a.m. in Mandel Hall. Bevington is a scholar of international reputation whose research and writing have advanced the understanding of Shakespeare and of medieval and Renaissance drama as a whole. His Bantam edition of Shakespeare's plays can be found in countless classrooms, libraries and homes.

Other Humanities Open House highlights include:

Film & Drama * A backstage look at two Court Theatre productions, "The Triumph of Love" and "Cloud Nine." * "What Is This Absurd Picture Doing Here," a lecture on avant-garde film and surrealist documentary, by James Lastra, Assistant Professor in English Language & Literature.

Language & Linguistics * An exploration of the language of gestures and the gestures of language by David McNeill, Professor and Chairman of Psychology. * "How to Make $25,000 in Five Minutes," one of three presentations based on the University's widely known writing course "The Little Red Schoolhouse."

Literature * Readings by novelist Richard Stern, the Helen A. Regenstein Professor in English Language & Literature, and poet Elizabeth Alexander, Assistant Professor in English Language & Literature.

Visual Arts * Special tours of the newly renovated Smart Museum of Art and its current exhibition, "The German Print Portfolio, 1890-1930: Serials for a Private Sphere." * A drawing class with Thomas Mapp, Associate Professor in the Committee on Art & Design and Director of Midway Studios.

For more information on the Humanities Open House, including a complete schedule of events, call 702-8469.