EARLY AFRICAN AMERICAN PRINT CULTURE IN THEORY AND PRACTICE Keynote Lecture by Frances Smith Foster of Emory University March 18, 5:30 p.m., Reception to Follow Frances Smith Foster, author of over a dozen books, is the Charles Howard Candler Professor of English and Women’s Studies at Emory University. Her Lecture at Temple inaugurates Early African American Print Culture in Theory and Practice. This conference brings together scholars who demonstrate that the study of print culture has much to teach us about early African American literature and that early African American literature has the capacity to transform our understanding of print culture. This two-day event is co-sponsored by The Library Company of Philadelphia, the McNeil Center for Early American Studies, Temple University Libraries, and the University of Pennsylvania Center for Africana Studies. The event will be preceded by a tour of the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection at 4:00 p.m. The collection is located at 1330 W. Berks Street, just west of Paley Library on Temple’s Main Campus.

Samuel Delany Reads from his Recent Fiction March 16, 2:30 p.m. Samuel Delany is a prolific writer of fiction, non-fiction and criticism. Best known for his well-received and widely read works of science fiction, which he has been publishing since the 1960s, Delany’s scholarly interests range from the Oxford Aesthetic Movement, literary theory, literary modernism, literature of the Harlem Renaissance, and Willa Cather, to teaching creative writing. The recipient of two Hugo Awards and four Nebula Awards, the Kessler Award for Lesbian and Gay Scholarship, and the William Whitehead Memorial Award, Delany is also a member of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. Currently, Delany teaches creative writing and is the director of the Graduate Creative Writing Program here at Temple. On March 16th this accomplished scholar and artist speaks at Paley Library.

The Blockson Collection Presents: Book Signing and Conversation with Deborah Willis– Black Venus 2010: They Called Her Hottentot March 4, 5:30 p.m., Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection Reading Room, 1330 Polett Walk Edited by Deborah Willis, Black Venus 2010 explores the legacy, impact and memory of the “Hottentot Venus,” the young African woman Saartjie Baartman who in 1810 was paraded across Paris and London for ridicule, speculation and desire. Willis will sign copies and discuss this anthology, which explores, through essays, poetry and photography, the impact of Baartman and her ordeal. Willis is a University Professor and chair of the Photography and Imaging Department in the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University. She has been the recipient of Guggenheim and MacArthur fellowships. She is a photographer, scholar and curator. Contributors to the book include: Elizabeth Alexander, Holly Bass, Petrushka A Bazin, William Jelani Cobb, Lisa Gail Collins, Renée Cox, J. Yolande Daniels, Carole Boyce Davies, Leon de Wailly, Manthia Diawara, Diana Ferrus, Cheryl Finley, Nikky Finney, Kianga K. Ford, Terri Francis, Sander Gilman, Renée Green, Joy Gregory, Lyle Ashton Harris, Michael D. Harris, Linda Susan Jackson, Kellie Jones, Roshini Kempadoo, Simone Leigh, Zine Magubane, E. Ethelbert Miller, Robin Mitchell, Charmaine Nelson, Tracey Rose, Radcliffe Roye, Bernadette Searle, Lorna Simpson, Debra S. Singer, Penny Siopis, Hank Willis Thomas, Kara Walker, Michele Wallace, Carla Williams, Carrie Mae Weems, J. T. Zealy, and the editor.

Temple University Libraries, the Free Library of Philadelphia and the Center for the Study of Force and Diplomacy Present: Gender, the Middle East, and Western Reactions, A Conversation with Joan Scott, Todd Shepard and Kelly Shannon, moderated by Laura Levitt March 3, 2:30 p.m, Paley Library Lecture Hall (Ground Floor, 1210 Polett Walk). Joan Scott of the Institute for Advance Study, Todd Shepard of Johns Hopkins, and Kelly Shannon, doctoral candidate in history and a Center for the Humanities at Temple graduate fellow, in conversation with Temple’s Laura Levitt on issues of gender in the Middle East, and how Western nations have responded. Just as Persepolis has become a sensational hit with Western audiences, these scholars will demonstrate how Westerners have viewed Muslim gender relations and taken action to alleviate the perceived oppression of women in Muslim communities, from banning the headscarf in French schools to integrating concerns for women’s rights into U.S. foreign policy. Program presented as part of the 2010 ONE BOOK, ONE PHILADELPHIA program featuring Marjane Satrapi’s The Complete Persepolis. Please join us on March 3 for this exciting conversation.

Joan W. Scott is Harold F. Linder Professor of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study. Scott studies French history and the history of women and gender. Her most recent book is The Politics of the Veil, which critically analyzes the debates in France about the banning of Islamic headscarves in state schools.

Todd Shepard teaches in the History department at Johns Hopkins University. He explores 20th-century France and the French Empire, with a focus on how imperialism intersects with histories of national identity, state institutions, race, and sexuality; his studies and teaching have concentrated on modern European history (particularly France), modern colonialism, and the history of sexuality.

Kelly Shannon (A.B., Vassar; M.A., University of Connecticut) is a Ph.D. Candidate in History at Temple University. Her dissertation, “Veiled Intentions: Islam, Global Feminism, and U.S. Foreign Policy Since the Late 1970s” interrogates the U.S. discourse about the perceived oppression of Muslim women since the Iranian Revolution and examines how that discourse came to influence the formulation of U.S. foreign policy toward the Muslim world in recent decades. Kelly is currently the CHAT Graduate Teaching Fellow for the Center for the Humanities at Temple, and she has received various fellowships and awards from the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, the Center for the Study of Force and Diplomacy, and Temple University.

Friday, February 19 4:00 p.m. Conversation 6:00 p.m. Book Signing Paley Library Lecture Hall Jazz legend Jimmy Heath—composer of more than 100 songs, three-time Grammy nominee, and performer on more than 125 albums—tells his life story through I Walked With Giants, a compelling new autobiography published by Temple University Press. Over his long career, Heath played with John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Dizzy Gillespie. On February 19th, Heath shares his stories—from growing up in South Philadelphia to becoming one of the most-respected musicians in his genre—at Temple University Libraries. The conversation will be hosted by Bob Perkins of WRTI. Questions? Contact Library Communications Manager Phone: 215-204-2828 This event is part of the Libraries’ Beyond the Page series, and is cosponsored by Temple University Press with assistance from the Boyer College of Music and Dance

Don’t miss out on Special Collection’s latest exhibition: 125 Years of Temple! The current exhibition, which explores Temple’s history through materials from the Templana-Conwellana collection, is closing next Thursday, so don’t miss out. Find out: What classes did the first students at Temple University take? What did campus look like 125 years ago? Who IS Russell Conwell anyway? Find out as the Special Collections Department explores 125 years at Temple through materials from the Conwellana-Templana Collection. Paley Library, 1st Floor and Mezzanine

Secret Cinema, Films from the Urban Archives Secret’s From Philadelphia’s Past December 11, 8:00 pm Auditorium, Moore College of Art and Design 20th and Race Streets Don’t miss the greatest hits from the first Urban Archives/Secret Cinema program held last spring. We’ve unearthed great tidbits of Philadelphia history from the Archives’ film collections to be shown again by Jay Schwartz’s Secret Cinema. Th e first program was wildly popular and included short news outtakes of the last game at Connie Mack Stadium, the original Electric Factory, the Columbia Avenue Riots, the MOVE incident, the old Broad Street Station and more. Footage during this program will also include clips from two 1966 documentaries: Assignment: 1747 Randolph Street and The Spirit of Philadelphia: The Unending Renaissance. Don’t miss out on an original Philadelphia experience!