An Eight Part Series: First Wednesdays
This once-a-month humanities forum is sponsored by the Vermont Humanities Council, brings nationally renowned speakers to local libraries for public lectures on the first Wednesday of each month, October through May. A success in Montpelier since 2002, Brattleboro is one of five communities where First Wednesdays will take place in the 2005-2006 season.
First Wednesday of each month from October to May at 7:00 PM at Brooks Memorial Library's meeting room.
October 5, 2005Intelligence Collection in Support of Foreign Policy
Haviland Smith, retired chief of counter-terrorism for the CIA, considers the United States’ recent shift from multilateralism and containment to an experiment with unilateralism and preemption. Sponsored by The Windham World Affairs Council of Vermont.
November 2, 2005Forward From Here
As author Reeve Lindbergh turns sixty, her thoughts turn to the present and to the future, with a nod to her childhood with aviator father, Charles Lindbergh.
December 7, 2005On Dictionaries: Words and What They Say About Themselves
Ilan Stavans, Amherst College professor, examines the role dictionaries play in our lives, spotting strange meanings, uncovering unusual origins, and sharing hilarious anecdotes.
January 4, 2006Looking Back at Vermont: Farm Security Administration Photographs in Vermont, 1936-1942
Over seven years, nine photographers working for the Farm Security Administration’s Historical Section documented Vermont’s rural culture. Historian Nancy Price Graff examines the impact of this project on Vermont.
February 1, 2006Some First Loves
As a boy, Peter Fox Smith heard the incomparable voices of Galli-Curci, Flagstad, Bjorling, Pinza, and others. Fox Smith introduces, through historical recordings, eight singers and explores the different vocal types and ranges. Fox Smith is host of Vermont Public Radio’s Saturday Afternoon at the Opera.
March 1, 2006Henry V: War in Shakespeare, Olivier, and Branagh
Peter Saccio, Shakespearean scholar and Dartmouth professor, examines the presentation of politics and war in Shakespeare’s play and in the film adaptations of Laurence Olivier (1944) and Kenneth Branagh (1989). Film clips will be shown. Some reference will be made to recent wars.
April 5, 2006Cracking the Da Vinci Code
Professor Nancy Nahra explores Dan Brown’s bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code. She uncovers secret tunnels, codes within and beyond the obvious ones, and paths you may not have noticed the first time through.
May 3, 2006Why Benedict Arnold Did It--and He really Did it.
Benedict Arnold was the hero of the Green Mountain Boys’ attack on Fort Ticonderoga and the battle for Lake Champlain. Willard Sterne Randall, six-time Pulitzer Prize nominee, explores how Arnold became our worst traitor.
