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Adventure, Danger, Literature, and Science
Angela Hanshaw | March 22, 2011
The newly renovated Barney Branch of the Farmington (Conn.) Libraries is hosting the Director’s College, a series of programs designed to satisfy the intellectual curiosity of adult patrons. The library partnered with Dr. Humphrey Tonkin, President Emeritus, University of Hartford, and current Director of the President’s College Programs, to develop the series, which will include professorial lectures with audience participation, performing arts with give-and-take, travelogues, and music. Offering something for everyone, the series includes:
Images from Nepal: 21 Days in the Himalayas
Evan Cowles retired from his landscape architecture practice in July 2008 and immediately started training for a trek in the Anapurna region in October 2008. Cowles will tell the story of how he and five other trekkers spent twenty-one days on an ancient trade route that has been used for centuries. The images are vivid digital photos that include children, ancient stone paths, and rickety suspension bridges.
In Search of Edith Wharton’s Passions and Repressions
Jane Barstow, professor emerita of English, University of Hartford, will discuss the dynamic interplay between Wharton’s writings and what we now know about her life, using examples from several of her most fascinating short stories.
Kidnapped By the Taliban: The Authors of A Rope & A Prayer
David Rohde, a correspondent for the New York Times, and his wife, Kristen Mulvihill, will talk about Mr Rohde’s seven months and ten days in Taliban captivity in Afghanistan and Pakistan, her harrowing negotiations for his release, and his escape and return. A book signing will take place.
Climbing Denali (My McKinley)
Three times over fifteen years, adventure photographer and high-altitude mountaineer Walt Hampton attempted to climb Mt. McKinley (Denali), North America’s highest peak. Turned back twice by ferocious winds, unrelenting snows, and unmitigated fears, Hampton nearly abandoned his lifelong dream of summiting The High One. But with uncompromising tenacity, he returned this past June to finally stand on top. Denali sits in the heart of the Alaska Range and has a vertical rise higher than Everest’s. Known for its extreme cold and dangerous storms, Denali is not for the unprepared or faint of heart.
The Internet, Nanotechnology, and a Sustainable Future
Louis Manzione, dean, College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture, will lecture on the Internet, nanotechnology, and creating a sustainable future. Two profound technological movements in the drive toward a sustainable society are the megatrends of the Internet and the field of nanotechnology. At first these two topics seem radically opposite, but both will play critical roles in our future.
A Summer of Shakespeare—English Renaissance
Shakespeare really comes into his own in southern New England, with offerings in Lenox, Massachusetts, and West Hartford and New Haven. Dr. Tonkin will take a look at some of the plays scheduled to be performed this summer and offer brief introductions to what are likely to be the more notable productions.
Angela Hanshaw is Program Officer/Web Editor for the ALA Public Programs Office.
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