Upcoming Events

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Artifacts and Allegiances: How Museums Put the Nation and the World on Display
Spencer Museum of Art Auditorium, 7:00-8:30 PM
According to the World Bank, one out of every seven people in the world today is an international or internal migrant. Our cities are increasingly diverse—people from over 184 countries call London home. So how do we learn to get along? Museums have always played a leading role in creating national citizens. In today’s global world do they also create global citizens who engage actively with diversity next door and across the world? Chair and Professor of Sociology at Wellesley College and Senior Research Fellow at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Peggy Levitt explores how today's museums are making sense of immigration and globalization. Based on firsthand conversations with museum directors, curators, and policymakers; descriptions of current and future exhibitions; and the inside stories about the famous paintings and iconic objects that define collections, Dr. Levitt provides a close-up view of how different kinds of institutions balance nationalism and cosmopolitanism. Comparing museums in Europe, the United States, Asia, and the Middle East reveals a fascinating story about the sea change underway in the museum world at large. Dr. Levitt's talk launches the Spencer’s new Integrated Arts Research Initiative (IARI) supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Sponsored By: KU Center for Migration Research, Spencer Museum of Art

Thursday, Oct 27, 2016
Preaching For the Nation: Media and Religion in Modern Egypt
Alderson Auditorium, Kansas Union, 4:00 PM
Dr. Jackie Brinton (Religious Studies)
The Sunni scholar Muhammad Mitwalli Sha‘rawi was one of Egypt’s most beloved and successful Islamic preachers until his death in 1998. Through weekly television appearances viewed by up to 30 million people he popularized theological and ethical beliefs and became a national media sensation. Brinton’s new book Preaching Islamic Renewal examines Sha‘rawi’s life and work to demonstrate how traditional Muslim authorities have used various media to put forth a unique vision of how Islam can be renewed and revived in the contemporary world. A book signing of Dr. Brinton’s book, Preaching Islamic Renewal: Religious Authority and Media in Contemporary Egypt.will follow the talk. Co-sponsors: CGIS, Religious Studies, KASC, Middle East Studies.