Join University Libraries to discuss its December virtual book club selection, The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish.
Set in London of the 1660s and of the early 21st century, The Weight of Ink is the interwoven tale of two women of remarkable intellect: Ester Velasquez, an emigrant from Amsterdam who is permitted to scribe for a blind rabbi; and Helen Watt, an ailing historian with a love of Jewish history.
Book Club will begin with a virtual showcase of rare books from the Shimeon Brisman Collection in Jewish Studies, followed by a discussion of the book.
Stretching from the Baltic to the Adriatic coast, Winston Churchill’s infamous Iron Curtain is often portrayed as a line on the map, dividing Europe and the World into the Democratic, Developed West and Autocratic Developing East. Zooming into the cartographic tissue of the Cold War, this talk by Katja Perat, doctoral candidate in comparative literature (Arts & Sciences) at Washington University, will take a look at the Iron Curtain not as a dividing non-entity, but as a territory in its own right, marked by a history of an external as well as internalized division stretching from the Enlightenment and into the future. From Milan Kundera’s “The Tragedy of Central Europe” in the eighties, to the Central European nationalist tragedy of today, this talk will examine how inhabiting the Iron Curtain has shaped the processes of subject- and nation-building in this invisible borderland.
Myths of the Orient: Deconstructing the European Vision of the Middle East
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Myths of the Orient: Deconstructing the European Vision of the Middle East
Eve Rosekind, PhD student in the Department of Art history & Archaeology, Washington University - New Perspectives Talk
Virtual - RSVP |
Join Eve Rosekind, PhD student in the Department of Art history & Archaeology in Arts & Sciences, for a talk about Orientalism, the artistic representation of the Middle East by European artists. The most common subjects of orientalist artwork that emerged in the nineteenth century were the desert landscape, hunters and warriors, market scenes, and odalisques in harems. These orientalist themes continued throughout the twentieth century, demonstrating the longevity of Orientalism within the history of art.
Initially these orientalist artworks appear as beautiful and straightforward representations of their subject matter, but the ideas that underlie these artistic depictions stem from European histories of colonialism and empire. This talk will scrutinize the common artistic themes of Orientalism and how they constructed a specific European vision and fantasy of the Orient. The Museum’s collection of paintings, photographs, and works on paper will take participants on a journey through the complex themes of European Orientalism.
This program is free, but registration is required.
‘Jewish American Writing and World Literature: Maybe to Millions, Maybe to Nobody’
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‘Jewish American Writing and World Literature: Maybe to Millions, Maybe to Nobody’
HUMANITIES BROADCAST - Saul Zaritt, former WUSTL Friedman Fellow, will discuss his book with Erin McGlothlin (Washington University) and Nancy Berg (Washington University)
