November 19, 2009

Off the Shelf- Episode 11:Biblical Literacy with Tim Beal

Biblical Literacy

Joining me this week for episode eleven of Off the Shelf is Florence Harness Professor of Religion Timothy Beal. Tim is a prolific author and scholar, and his latest book is entitled Biblical Literacy: The Essential Bible Stories Everyone Needs to Know. The sub-sub title of the book is "The best bits without all the boring bits" which describes it quite clearly. In our conversation, we talk about how the book came about, Tim's fascination with the binding of Isaac and the book of Job, and mermaids.

The podcast can be heard by clicking the play arrow on the player below.

In addition, the podcast can be downloaded as an mp3 file or iTunes-friendly m4a version. To download either file, right-click (control-click on the Mac) the link below the player and select "save file as..." or "download linked file as..." When the file is downloaded, you can listen to it with the audio playing software or device of your choice.






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Explore the text of Biblical Literacy here:

Posted by William Claspy on November 19, 2009 10:45 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

October 08, 2009

Off the Shelf- Episode 10: Triumph of Pleasure, Georgia Cowart

Triumph of Pleasure

My guest for episode ten of Off the Shelf is Professor of Music Georgia Cowart. We discuss her recent book entitled The Triumph of Pleasure: Louis XIV and the Politics of Spectacle, which was published in 2008 by the University of Chicago Press. The book focuses on the shifting intersections of the arts, ideology and aesthetics at the court of Louis XIV and in the Parisian public sphere during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century.

Professor Cowart recently helped curate an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York entitled Watteau, Music, and Theater, which is open from September 22nd through November 29th, 2009. The Metropolitan Museum of Art web site has more information on the exhibition, including links to view the works of art on display, a listing of special events related to the exhibition, a short excerpt from the audio guide which Professor Cowart mentions during our conversation, and much more. The exhibition was recently reviewed in the New York Times.

Georgia also mentions former CWRU Music Department student and current lecturer in the department Debra Nagy and her recording of music of the era, which is available via CDBaby.

The brief piece of music just before our conversation begins is by Lully, his Gigue pour Bacchus from the Ballet de Xerxes written in 1660.

The podcast can be heard by clicking the play arrow on the player below.

In addition, the podcast can be downloaded as an mp3 file or iTunes-friendly m4a version. To download either file, right-click (control-click on the Mac) the link below the player and select "save file as..." When the file is downloaded, you can listen to it with the audio playing software or device of your choice.






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Explore The Triumph of Pleasure below at Google Book Search:

Posted by William Claspy on October 8, 2009 02:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

September 15, 2009

Off the Shelf- Episode 9: Dissection with James Edmonson

Dissection

I'm happy to kick off season two of Off the Shelf with my guest James Edmonson. Jim is the curator of the Dittrick Medical History Center here at Case Western Reserve University, and is also adjunct associate professor in the Department of History. Jim was co-author of the book Dissection: Photographs of a Rite of Passage in American Medicine: 1880-1930, with John Harley Warner of Yale University. The book came out earlier this year to great critical and popular success. You can listen in to our discussion about the book, the role of cadavers and dissection in American medical education, and more about the Dittrick's collection.

The podcast can be heard by clicking on the player below.

In addition, the podcast can be downloaded as an mp3 file or iTunes-friendly m4a version. To download either file, right-click (control-click on the Mac) the link below the player and select "save file as..." When the file is downloaded, you can listen to it with the audio playing software or device of your choice.






m4abutton.pngDownload iTunes (m4a) version

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I'd also like to provide a link to the opening of a new permanent exhibition space at the Dittrick Medical History Center at the Allen Memorial Library, that will feature the Center's Percy Skuy Collection on the History of Contraception. The Center is hosting an accompanying talk and reception that is being held on Thursday, September 17th at 6 pm.


The book Dissection can also be ordered directly from the Dittrick Medical History Center using this order form.

Posted by William Claspy on September 15, 2009 04:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

September 14, 2009

Booked for Lunch event

The Friends of English group at CWRU is hosting a fantastic event on October 10th, 2009 at noon entitled "Booked for Lunch: A Conversation with Local Novelists". This elegant buffet lunch event is open to all. Featuring authors Michael Grant Jaffe, Mary Doria Russell, and Sarah Willis, the afternoon panel discussion will be moderated by Dee Perry from WCPN. The English Department has more information on this event, for which reservations need to be made before September 21st.

Additionally, you can email bookedforlunch@yahoo.com or telephone the English Department at 216-368-1508.

Posted by William Claspy on September 14, 2009 04:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)