“An Evening with Aristophanes”: Talk and Performances in the John Miller Burnam Classics Library

Posted on April 4, 2019 by Melissa Cox Norris

On March 28, 2019, faculty and students from CCM and Classics as well as from UCL gathered for an evening of fun, celebrating the life and work of the great Greek comedy playwright Aristophanes (ca. 446-386 BCE), especially his play Lysistrata about a strong and intelligent Athenian woman who hatches an ingenious plan to end the Peloponnesian War. The evening included an engaging expert talk by Susan Prince, Associate Professor of Classics, a recital, masterfully directed by Brant Russell, Assistant Professor of Acting at CCM, and brilliantly acted by graduate students from CCM and Classics, accompanied by superbly played “ancient Greek Dionysian” music, arranged by Yo Shionoya, graduate student at CCM and interim Student, Circulation, and Stack Supervisor in the Classics Library. The evening celebrating not only Aristophanes but also Dionysus, (Modern) Greek Independence Day, the Annunciation of the Theotokos, and the recent accomplishments of American female politicians(!) concluded with a delectable feast of Greek food and “wine”. To enjoy a video recording of the evening, see the link at the bottom of the page.

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Tweet by Neville G. Pinto, President of the University of Cincinnati:

https://twitter.com/Prez_Pinto/status/1110219524249477123

Theater in Ancient Athens was performed during festivals to honor Dionysus, the god of wine, fertility, theater, ecstatic dance and music. His attributes included grapes, pine cones, wine cups, vines, ivy, leopard skin. Continue reading →

And the Winners are…Results of the 2019 UC Libraries International Edible Books Festival

Posted on April 2, 2019 by Melissa Cox Norris

Best Overall – A Series of Unfortunate Cupcakes by the Warren Family

The University of Cincinnati Libraries celebrated the International Edible Books Festival on April 1, 2019.

Twenty edible books were created by students, faculty, staff, librarians, friends and family. The entries ranged from children’s books to literary classics to popular fiction and self-help books. The edible books were made of cakes, cookies, candy, deviled eggs and even carrots. Each entry was judged by our esteemed judges Debbie Tenofsky and Mary Anne McMillan and awarded a bookmark.

Created by librarian Judith A. Hoffberg and artist Béatrice Coron, the International Edible Books Festival is held worldwide annually on or around April 1^st to mark the birthday of Jean Brillat-Savarin, author of The Physiology of Taste. The global event has been celebrated since 2000 in various parts of the world, including in Australia, Brazil, India, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Morocco, The Netherlands, Russia and Hong Kong.

UC Libraries has participated in the International Edible Books Festival since 2001. The 2019 winners ares:

Most Humorous – After the Party by Olya Hart
Most Whimsical – The Monster at the End of This Book by Melissa Cox Norris
Most Literary – The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Ben Kline and Aaron Libby
Most Creative – The Giving Tree by Jessica Ebert
Most Magical – Good Night Moon by Michelle Matevia
Most Adorable – Owl Moon by Debbie Weinstein
Most Clever – The Amazing Spider-Man by Sam Norris
Most Delicious – All New Square Foot Gardening by Luahna Winningham Carter
Most Deadly – Where the Red Fern Grows by Jack Norris
Most Checked Out – Green Eggs and Ham by Sami Scheidler
Most Fun – Middlemarch by Steve Norris
Most Taboo – Human Resources or was it Human Remains by Aja Hickman
Scariest – Ring by Holly Prochaska
Most Imaginative – The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Jenny Mackiewicz
Silliest – Too Many Carrots by Melissa Cox Norris
Most Outrageous – A Dance with Dragons by Sam Kane
Best Overall – A Series of Unfortunate Cupcakes by the Warren Family
Best Student Entry – The Little Prince by Emma Duhamel and Eli Seidman-Deutsch

Congratulations to all the edible books creators! View the entries and the winners on the UC Libraries Facebook page. See you next year for Edible Books 2020!

Hungry? Bite into an Edible Book with UC Libraries on April 1

Posted on March 25, 2019 by Melissa Cox Norris

2018’s Most Deadly – “Life Cycles” from Nature Anatomy: The Curious Parts and Pieces of the Natural World by Tania Paine

Celebrate books good enough to eat at the International Edible Books Festival set for 1 p.m., Monday, April 1.

The University of Cincinnati Libraries will celebrate the International Edible Books Festival with an event scheduled from 1-2 p.m. on Monday, April 1, in the fifth floor lobby of the Walter C. Langsam Library.

At the event, over 20 participants will present their edible creations that represent a book in some form. There are few restrictions in creating an edible book – namely that the creation be edible and have something to do with a book. Submitted entries include edible titles such as Food: A Love Story and A Series of Unfortunate Cupcakes. Best sellers The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and The Giving Tree are represented alongside classics like Middlemarch, Where the Red Fern Grows and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, among other literary greats.

t-shirt As in past years, entries will be judged according to such categories as “Most Literary,” “Most Delicious,” “Most Hilarious” and “Most Gruesome.” In addition, the winners of “Top Student Entry” and “Best Overall Entry” will receive a limited edition UC Libraries t-shirt. After the entries are judged they will be consumed and enjoyed by all in attendance.

According to the International Edible Book Festival website, the edible book was initiated by librarian and artist Judith A. Hoffberg during a 1999 Thanksgiving celebration with book artists. It became an international celebration in 2000 when artist Béatrice Coron launched the Books2Eat website. Traditionally, the event is celebrated on April 1st (April Fools’ Day) to mark the birthday of Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), a French lawyer and politician who became famous for his book, Physiologie du gout (The Physiology of Taste). To view images of the 2018 edible books, visit the Libraries Facebook page.

The Libraries International Edible Books Festival is free and open to the public. It is sponsored in part by Books by the Banks: Cincinnati Regional Book Festival.

Come to celebrate (and eat) “books good enough to eat!”

“An Evening with Aristophanes” in the Classics Library March 28

Posted on March 18, 2019 by Melissa Cox Norris

evening with Aristophanes Join the John Miller Burnam Classics Library, Thursday, March 28 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., in celebrating the life and work of the Greek comedy playwright Aristophanes.

The evening will include remarks by Rebecka Lindau, head of the Classics Library; a brief presentation of Aristophanes’ life and work by Susan Prince, associate professor of classics; and a reading of the play Lysistrata in Jeffrey Henderson’s Loeb translation, under the direction of Brant Russell, assistant professor of acting. The play will feature students from both UC’s Classics Department and from the College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). True to ancient Greek drama, music will further accompany the entrances and exits of the chorus and interludes, under the direction of Yo Shionoya, a graduate student in CCM.

The evening will conclude with a reception including Greek food.

The event will be presided over by the Greek god Dionysus who will greet all revelers at the door. The Classics Library will also feature a book exhibition with works of Aristophanes, including rare editions.

Please RSVP to Cade Stevens at stevencd@ucmail.uc.edu or (513) 556-1314 by Monday, March 25.

New Langsam Library Exhibit – “Animals in Antiquity” as Reflected through Books and Artifacts in the John Miller Burnam Classics Library

Posted on March 5, 2019 by Melissa Cox Norris

On the fifth floor lobby of the Walter C. Langsam Library is the exhibit “Animals in Antiquity: An exhibition from the collections of the John Miller Burnam Classics Library.”

Curated by Rebecka Lindau, head of the John Miller Burnam Classics Library, and Michael Braunlin, assistant head of the Classics Library, and designed by Michelle Matevia, library communication design co-op student, the exhibit highlights the role and importance of animals in Antiquity.

Cats were sacred in ancient Egypt. There was even a cat goddess, Bastet.

Animals were divinities, especially in Egypt. In Ancient Greece and Rome they were the companions or theomorphic stand-ins for gods and goddesses. Many animals were considered sacred to the ancient Greeks and Romans. However, as humans went from a nomadic existence to one of settlers and farmers, they began taming and using animals for their own purposes and so the status of animals began to decline.

After their domestication, bulls, cows, horses, donkeys, pigs, sheep and goats were used to plow fields, to provide milk and meat, transportation, and clothing. Wild boars were hunted for food and for “displays of manhood” by well-to-do young men as were various birds, deer, hares and even lizards. Some animals were made companions or pets such as sparrows, pigeons, doves, dogs, cats, monkeys and even wild animals, gazelles and cheetahs. Animals in Greece, rabbits, dogs, roosters and doves, were given as presents, also in courtship as “love gifts.”

Foxes were wild and often considered a nuisance for wine growers because they liked eating the vines.

Various kinds of fish were eaten in antiquity, but they, too, could be pets and were sacred to the gods. Animals such as horses and elephants were used in war and as entertainment, for example, among the Romans at the Colosseum where lions, tigers, elephants, giraffes, bears, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, wild donkeys, hyenas and ostriches were forced to fight to their deaths. Greek and Roman authors such as Plutarch, Aelian and Pliny the Elder wrote about animals in works on ethics, morals and natural history and prose, poetry and history writers such as Homer, Aesop’s Fables, Lucretius, Ovid, Seneca, Dio Cassius, Diodorus Siculus frequently used animals to tell stories and to illustrate the human experience.

Sections of the exhibit inform how animals were used as entertainment, as companions, for ritual sacrifice, even in war. In addition, the exhibit features animals in art, displayed on coins, vases and statues. A bibliography of resources used in the creation of the exhibit is available on site and online as a PDF.

To learn more about Animals in Antiquity, read about or visit the Classics Library located on the fourth floor of Blegen Library where the books and artifacts featuring the texts and images in this exhibition are housed and where the librarian is happy to answer questions and offer research advice on this or any other topic concerning classical antiquity.

UC Libraries Seeks Books Good Enough to Eat for the International Edible Books Festival

Posted on February 28, 2019 by Melissa Cox Norris

2018 Best Overall – 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jessica Ebert

Know of a good book to eat?! Create an Edible Book for UC Libraries International Edible Books Festival!

It’s time once again for the fan-favorite International Edible Books Festival scheduled for Monday, April 1, 2019, from 1-2:00pm in the Walter C. Langsam Library’s 5th floor lobby. UC Libraries is seeking people interested in creating an edible book for the enjoyment (and consumption) of all in attendance. There are few restrictions – namely that your creation be edible and have something to do with a book – so you may let your creativity run wild.

t-shirt As in previous years, entries will be judged according to such categories as “Most Delicious,” “Most Creative,” “Most Checked Out” and “Most Literary.” Those awarded “Best Student Entry” and “Best Overall” will win a limited-edition UC Libraries t-shirt.

If you are interested in creating an edible book, please e-mail melissa.norris@uc.edu by Friday, March 22 with your name and the title of your creation.

Looking for inspiration? Visit UC Libraries on Facebook to see photos from the 2018 festival.

Read Source to learn more about the news, events, people and happenings in UC Libraries.

Posted on February 26, 2019 by Melissa Cox Norris

source graphic Read Source, the online newsletter, to learn more about the news, events, people and happenings in UC Libraries.

In this edition of Source, Dean Xuemao Wang writes about the university’s Bicentennial and we announce an exhibit of books from the libraries that document the university’s 200 years. We interview Brad Warren, associate dean of library services, and focus on the Visualization Lab located in the Geology-Mathematics-Physics Library.

An article from Rich Puff, assistant vice president of public relations & communications, Academic Health Center, honors Lucy Oxley, MD, ‘a pioneer and a servant leader.’ University archivist and head of the Archives and Rare Books Library Kevin Grace writes about James Landy’s 1876 images celebrating William Shakespeare

Lastly, we promote to upcoming events: Hidden Treasures: An Adopt-A-Book Evening on March 14 and the Cecil Striker Society Annual Lecture on May 15.

Read these articles, as well as past issues, on the web at http://libapps.libraries.uc.edu/source/ and via e-mail. To receive Source via e-mail, contact melissa.norris@uc.edu to be added to the mailing list.

Join Us Feb. 27 for UC Libraries’ Black History Month Celebration Featuring Author Carol Tongue Mack

Posted on February 19, 2019 by Melissa Cox Norris

carol tongue-mack flyer In celebration of Black History Month, UC Libraries is holding an event featuring author Carol Tongue Mack who will discuss her book Being Bernadette: From Polite Silence to Finding the Black Girl Magic Within. In her memoir, Carol Tonge Mack takes us on a journey from a small town in Antigua to the streets of the South Bronx to private college life in New England to a career in academia.

February 27, 2:00 – 3:00pm, 465 Walter C. Langsam Library

The program will also include a book giveaway, cultural food favorites, spoken word poetry and student-shared study abroad experiences. The event is free and open to all.

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Carol Tonge Mack is an accomplished leader in higher education. With nearly 20 years of experience, she has a longstanding commitment to mentoring and graduating scores of students, creating innovative strategies for success, empowering women to lead regardless of their position and collaborating with community stakeholders.

Currently, Carol is an assistant dean at the University of Cincinnati with the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S). For the past six years, she served as the college conduct administrator for academic misconduct and works collaboratively with the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards. She is the co-founder of the University of Cincinnati’s Black Women on the Move, an employee resource group designed to create systematic and holistic changes university-wide to support and empower Black female staff members. Carol also built the university’s first Cultural Competence Workshop Series for the academic advising staff in the College of Arts and Sciences.

And don’t miss – a table display featuring African-American authors and poets on display on the 4th floor of Langsam Library.

March 6 Life of the Mind lecture to once again address the topic of “Next”

Posted on February 18, 2019 by Melissa Cox Norris

Life of the Mind, interdisciplinary conversations with UC faculty, will return Wednesday, March 6, 2019 from 2:30-4:30pm, in TUC 400B with a lecture by Stephen Meyer, professor of musicology in the College-Conservatory of Music. Professor Meyer will speak on “Beyond Decanonization: The Future of Humanities in the Neoliberal University.”

Life of the Mind is a semi-annual lecture series that features a distinguished University of Cincinnati faculty member presenting his or her work and expertise. The series includes intriguing insights from diverse perspectives and encourages faculty and students from across the university to engage in further discourse. The presentation is not simply a recitation of the faculty member’s work but promotes an informed point of view.

Stephen Meyer specializes in early 19th-century opera, film music, music history pedagogy, music and medievalism and the history of recorded sound. He is the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Music History Pedagogy.

Stephen Meyer

Meyer’s presentation will build on his recently published work on transformations in the canon of works that served as the core of the music history curriculum for much of the 20th century. The hegemony of this canon — formed almost exclusively from the works of white, male composers — was challenged and at least partially deconstructed during the 1980s and ’90s. During these years, musicology was enriched by new critical approaches and methodologies that exposed the relationship between the historical canon and contemporary power structures. Ethnomusicology and popular music studies made new repertoires the subject of serious scholarly work, and the field seemed poised for a period of rapid expansion. And yet this expansion — at least insofar as it might be measured by an increase in the number of tenure-track positions allotted to musicology in North American universities — failed to materialize.

In this sense, what might be called the “de-institutionalization” of musicology participates in the so-called “crisis of the humanities”: the seemingly inexorable shift of resources away from the humanities and towards supposedly more profitable and applicable disciplines. Meyer’s presentation will use musicology as a case example through which to ponder the ways in which the humanities might reposition themselves in a post-canonic, multi-cultural and transformational society.

A panel of four UC faculty members will respond to and discuss the lecture from diverse perspectives. The March 6 Life of the Mind panel will consist of:

Alberto Espay, professor of neurology, College of Medicine
James Mack, professor of chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, associate dean, The Graduate School
Tamika Odum, assistant professor, behavioral sciences, UC Blue Ash College
Rebecca Williamson, associate professor, architecture and interior design, College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning

Sponsored by the Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost, and organized by the University of Cincinnati Libraries and Faculty Senate, the mission of Life of the Mind is to celebrate UC faculty research, scholarship and creative output and to foster the free and open exchange of ideas and discourse. Life of the Mind is free and open to the public and attracts a broad audience including UC students, faculty, staff and alumni, as well as people from the community.

More information about Life of the Mind is available online at www.libraries.uc.edu/lifeofthemind/.

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To continue the conversation on humanities and higher education, attend the Taft Center Lecture “Humanities Education at the Crossroads: Why the Liberal Arts are Fundamental to Democracy” presented by William Egginton, Thursday, March 7 at 3:00p.m.

UC Black Women on the Move and UC Libraries Co-Sponsoring “Sister Speak Published Edition” Feb. 21

Posted on February 14, 2019 by Melissa Cox Norris

Come out Thursday, Feb. 21, 6-8pm, at the African American Cultural & Resource Center and be inspired by the stories of black women authors as they share insight on their journey to becoming published. This event is free and open to the public. This event is sponsored by UC Black Women on the Move and the University of Cincinnati Libraries. To RSVP, or for more information, contact Ewaniki Moore-Hawkins at mooreek@ucmail.uc.edu.

Light refreshments will be served. The panelists’ books will be available for purchase.

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