Session 3

This lecture explores some important intersections between the history of photography and the production of knowledge in classical art and archaeology. In particular, it shows how the vaunted objectivity of the photographic medium was brought to bear on the study of Roman portraits, traditionally—but not coincidentally—esteemed for their own claims to an objectively truthful likeness.

The Tempest is officially Shakespeare’s last play. In it he fantasizes what it would be like to live on an isolated island as a father with a daughter as one’s constant companion, who then, under the father’s guidance, meets the young man she will marry, while the father contemplates old age, retirement, an end to his creative work as artist, and eventually death. A deformed native islander and an aerial spirit are also part of this Utopian world, far away from European civilization and wars.

Language learners reaching advanced proficiency aren’t just majors in literature and cultures—they study everything from psychology to political science. At the University of Chicago Language Center we continually redesign our methods and modes of instruction to meet the needs of these learners while keeping up with current trends in language pedagogy. Stop by our center and learn about what it can mean to learn languages in the new millennium—the why and the how. Then see our staff in action as they develop new multimedia to support these learners.

The late 19th century was a critical time for the development of cultural forms in the Arabic world. This presentation will discuss some of the literature of the late 19th century and its impact on the larger Arabic cultural world.