Saturday, August 20, 2016, 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Information for Researchers: Using the Library of Congress European Reading Room
This Saturday orientation will provide researchers an opportunity to learn more about the Library’s European Reading Room, its collections, expertise, services and programs. The maximum class size is 45 participants. To register or for additional information, use the Saturday orientation online registration form.
Location: Room G-07 of the Jefferson Building. Metro stop: Capitol South.
Request ADA accommodations at least five business days in advance by contacting (202) 707-6362 or [email protected].
Click here for more information about the Saturday classes for researchers.
Saturday, August 27, 2016, 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Information for Researchers: Using the Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Reading Room
The staff of the African and Middle Eastern Division is offering a research orientation, “Armenian Illuminated Manuscripts, Inscribed Fabrics, and Silver (1321 AD – 1915 AD) at the Library of Congress.”
After discussing the research collections of and how to perform research in the African and Middle Eastern Division’s three sections—The African, the Hebraic, and the Near East– Levon Avdoyan, the division’s Armenian and Georgian Area Specialist, will present an illustrated discussion of highlights of Armenian rarities in the Near East Section. Included will be this richly decorated manuscript of the Life of St. John the Evangelist (copied 1765 AD) once owned by the renowned Armenian American stage and film director, Rouben Mamoulian.
The maximum class size is 45 participants. To register or for additional information, use the Saturday orientation online registration form.
Location: Room G-07 of the Jefferson Building. Metro stop: Capitol South.
Request ADA accommodations at least five business days in advance by contacting (202) 707-6362 or [email protected].
Click here for more information about the Saturday classes for researchers.
Tuesday, August 30, 2016, noon – 1 p.m.
“The Persian Book Lecture Series”
2016 Focus: Literature and Performing Arts
Book Talk: “Gender and Dance in Modern Iran: Biopolitics on Stage” by Dr. Ida Meftahi
This program is jointly organized by the Near East Section of the African and Middle Eastern Division of the Library of Congress and the Roshan Institute for Persian Studies at the University of Maryland. Dr. Ida Meftahi is Visiting Assistant Professor in Contemporary Iranian Culture and Society at the Roshan Institute for Persian Studies.
Location: African and Middle Eastern Reading Room, LJ-220, second floor, Jefferson Building, 10 First Street SE, Washington, DC. Metro stop: Capitol South
Event free and open to all. Please allow time to clear security.
Contact: Hirad Dinavari, [email protected], (202) 707-4518
Request ADA accommodations five days in advance at (202) 707-6362 or [email protected]
Click here for more information.
(Event Postponed) Friday, September 2, 2016, noon – 1 p.m.
Book Talk: Translating the Tale of Genji, the World’s First Great Novel: Bringing the Japanese Medieval Literature to Contemporary English Readers
Dennis Charles Washburn, Jane and Raphael Bernstein Professor in Asian Studies and Comparative Literature, Dartmouth College
This program is organized by the Asian Division. Free and open to the public. Please allow time to clear security.
Location: Asian Reading Room Foyer, LJ-150, First Floor, Jefferson Building. Metro stop: Capitol South.
Contact: [email protected], (202) 707-8054.
Request ADA accommodations five business days in advance at (202) 707-6362 (Voice/TTY) or email [email protected]
Wednesday, September 7, 2016, noon – 1 p.m.
Book Talk: The Art of the Sabbath: An Illustrated Talk by Artist and Author Debra Band on her book “Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification.”
This program is presented by the Hebraic Section of the African and Middle Eastern Division. The talk will be followed by a display of Rare Books from the collections of the Library of Congress.
Location: African and Middle Eastern Reading Room, LJ-220, second floor, Jefferson Building, 10 First Street SE, Washington, DC. Metro stop: Capitol South
Event free and open to all. Please allow time to clear security.
Contact: Ann Brener, [email protected], (202) 707-4186
Request ADA accommodations five days in advance at (202) 707-6362 or [email protected]
Wednesday, September 7, 2016, noon – 1 p.m.
Lecture: “‘Claim to oblivion!’ The New York Group”
by Ukrainian-American Author Yuriy Tarnawsky
The New York Group consisted of Ukrainian émigré writers who formed in the late 1950s and continued until informally ceasing in the 1990s, though several members continue to be active individually to this day. Their creativity revitalized Ukrainian émigré literature but also influenced literary movements in Ukraine. Acclaimed poet, novelist, playwright and essayist Yuriy Tarnawsky, a founding member of the New York Group, will discuss its history and read from his works. This event is sponsored by the European Division.
Location: European Division Conference Room, LJ-249, Thomas Jefferson Building, 2nd floor, 10 First Street, S.E., Washington D.C. 20540. Metro stop: Capitol South
Free and Open to the Public.
Contact: Erika Spencer (202) 707-4371, [email protected]
Request ADA accommodations five business days in advance at (202) 707-6362 (Voice/TTY) or email [email protected]
Thursday, September 8, 2016, 11:30 a.m.
Book Talk: READING CLAUDIUS: A Memoir in Two Parts
by author Caroline Heller
The European Division and the Hebrew Language Table of the Library of Congress in cooperation with the Embassy of the Czech Republic present “READING CLAUDIUS: A Memoir in Two Parts,” a book talk by author Caroline Heller. A stunning elegy to a vanished time, Caroline Heller’s memoir traces the lives of her parents, her uncle, and their circle of intellectuals and dreamers from Central Europe on the eve of World War II to present-day America. The story, set primarily in prewar Prague, brings to life the lost world of European café culture, and reminds us of the sustaining power of literature in the most challenging of times. Professor Heller is the director of the interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in Educational Studies at Lesley University, where she also teaches in the graduate school of education.
Location: Dining Room A, 6th floor, Madison Building, Library of Congress. Metro stop: Capitol South
Event is free and open to the public.
For information: Gail Shirazi [email protected], Galina Teverovsky [email protected]
Request ADA accommodations five business days in advance at (202) 707-6362 TTY or [email protected]
Tuesday, September 13, 2016, 11:00 a.m. – noon
Hispanic Reading Room Research Orientation
Sign up for our research orientation and learn about the Hispanic Reading Room services and collections. Orientations are offered to the public the second Tuesday of every month from 11:00am-12:00pm. Those attending should obtain a Library of Congress Reader Identification Card prior to the session. Click here for more information about reader’s cards.
Location: Hispanic Reading Room, Thomas Jefferson Building, LJ-240. Attendees should use the First Street Carriage Entrance of the Jefferson Building. Contact: [email protected]
New Date: Tuesday, September 13, 2016, noon – 1 p.m.
Wednesday, September 14, 2016, noon – 1:00 p.m.
“The Persian Book Lecture Series” 2016 Focus: Literature and Performing Arts
Mehdi Saeedi’s Persian Calligraphy Series Titled: EVOLUTION
Jointly organized by the Near East Section of the African and Middle Eastern Division of the Library of Congress and the Roshan Institute for Persian Studies at the University of Maryland, this program is made possible with the generous support of the Aftab Committee.
Location: African and Middle Eastern Reading Room, LJ-220, second floor, Jefferson Building, 10 First Street SE, Washington, DC. Metro stop: Capitol South
Event free and open to all. Please allow time to clear security.
Contact: Hirad Dinavari, [email protected], (202) 707-4518
Request ADA accommodations five days in advance at (202) 707-6362 or [email protected]
Click here for more information.
Thursday, September 15, 2016, noon – 1 p.m.
Lecture: Dubious Gastronomy: A Brief Story of Korean Food in America
by Dr. Robert Ji-Song Ku, Associate professor of Asian and Asian American Studies at Binghamton University of the State University of New York
Hosted by the Asian Division, this lecture will examine the story of Korean food in the United States, beginning with its essential place on the dinner table of the earliest Koreans immigrants to the current gastronomic scene in which Korean food and Korean American chefs are the toast of the culinary world. In telling this story, two foods in particular will take center stage: kimchi, the fermented vegetable dish that is considered the national food of Korea, and SPAM, the canned meat product that has been beloved by Koreans for nearly half a century. These two foods are examples of what the speaker refers to as “dubious” Asian foods in his published book, “Dubious Gastronomy: The Cultural Politics of Eating Asian in the USA.”
Location: Asian Division Foyer (LJ-150), Thomas Jefferson Building. Metro stop: Capitol South.
Event is free and open to the public. Please allow time to clear security.
Contact: [email protected]
Request ADA accommodations five business days in advance at (202) 707-6362 (Voice/TTY) or email [email protected]
Thursday, September 15, 2016, noon – 1 p.m.
Lecture: Hebrew Printing in Arab and Islamic Lands
Brad Sabin Hill, Curator of the I. Edward Kiev Judaica Collection, Gelman Library, George Washington University
This program is presented by the Hebraic Section of the African and Middle Eastern Division. A display of rare books from the Library’s collections will follow.
Location: African and Middle Eastern Reading Room, LJ-220, second floor, Jefferson Building, 10 First Street SE, Washington, DC. Metro stop: Capitol South
Event free and open to all. Please allow time to clear security.
Contact: Ann Brener, [email protected], (202) 707-4186
Request ADA accommodations five days in advance at (202) 707-6362 or [email protected]
Friday, September 16, 2016, noon – 1 p.m.
SPANISH GUITAR RECITAL: MAESTRO SOLER: A HOMAGE TO MIGUEL DE CERVANTES SAAVEDRA
In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Maestro Soler will present a guitar recital in honor of the 400th anniversary of the death of Miguel de Cervantes Saaverdra. Soler has been honored several prizes such as the Medal of St. Vladimir from the Russian Orthodox Church; Plaque of the Catalan Catholic Church Council, among others.
Location: Whittall Pavilion, Thomas Jefferson Building, ground floor. Metro stop: Capitol South.
Event is free and open to the public. Please allow time to clear security.
Contact: [email protected]
Request ADA accommodations five business days in advance at (202) 707-6362 (Voice/TTY) or email [email protected]
Click here for information.