NU’s Scientific Image Winners @ EPL

The twelve stunning winners of Northwestern University’s 2016 Scientific Images Contest are making their annual EPL stop as they tour Chicagoland.  Selected by a panel of artists, scientists, and community leaders, the eye-popping images were captured during wide-ranging scientific research and “invite you to enjoy both the aesthetics and innovation of NU Science.”  As a bonus, this year’s exhibit also features artwork by ETHS students inspired by NU’s research-based images.  Prints of the NU images are available for purchase, and you can catch the show at the library through January 15.  You can also learn more about the contest by visiting HELIX – an online magazine produced by NU’s Science in Society.

Meghana Puri’s Best Reads of 2014

My name is Meghana Puri, and I’ve lived in Evanston for four years while studying Economics and Psychology at Northwestern University.  I enjoy reading and learning how to cook.

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1) Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2013)

Adichie became one of my favorite authors with this book which has incredibly insightful perspectives on varied topics such as the American dream, race, and immigrants around the world while telling a compelling love story.

Anja Spruston’s Best Reads of 2014

My name is Anja Spruston, and I’m an Economics undergraduate senior at Northwestern University, where I am also a member of the university’s premiere hip hop company, Fusion.  I’ve grown up in Evanston since I was two, and as a leisurely reader, have had an Evanston Public Library card for as long as I can remember.  I have read a large stack of books over the course of this past year, but these four have left the biggest impressions on me, and I hope to pass them along to you as well!  In my spare time, I work as a waitress at Buffalo Wild Wings and a floor hockey referee at Northwestern.

1)  The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (2003)

If you haven’t read it, you’ve certainly heard of it.  A book that most people are familiar with but not enough have read.  My new favorite book of all time, I am still thinking about it months later.  This book was extremely thought provoking and brought me to tears time and time again.  The characters are well formed, and the book is written in a way that pulls you in.

An Interview with Huey Copeland

Photograph by LaMont Hamilton

Dr. Huey Copeland is an Associate Professor of Art History at Northwestern University and the author of Bound to Appear: Art, Slavery, and the Site of Blackness in Multicultural America, published just last year by the University of Chicago Press.  On Thursday, March 6th, he will discuss his new book project In the Arms of the Negress: A Brief History of Modern Artistic Practice when he visits EPL’s 1st Floor Community Meeting Room at 7 p.m. as part of the Evanston Northwestern Humanities Lecture Series.  While exploring a transnational history of modern contemporary art, Dr. Copeland’s lecture will examine how the figure of the “negress” has influenced the way black women are represented in the visual arts as well as the way they represent themselves.  In anticipation of his visit, we recently spoke with him via email about the origins of the term “negress,” the Art Workers’ Coalition vs. MoMA, his forthcoming book, and the pioneering black women artists you should know.

An Interview with Dr. Michelle M. Wright

Find “An Interview with Dr. Michelle M. Wright” at Off the Shelf’s new home on Evanston Public Library’s redesigned website.

See you there!!

 

An Interview with Dr. Thomas Simpson

Dr. Thomas Simpson is a Distinguished Senior Lecturer in Italian at Northwestern University and the author of the recent book Murder and Media in the New Rome: The Fadda Affair.  Meticulously researched in the libraries and archives of Italy, his book offers a fascinating exploration of “a sensational crime and trial that took place in Rome in the late 1870’s, when the bloody killing of a war hero triggered a national spectacle.”  On Thursday, January 31st at 7 p.m., you can hear Dr. Simpson discuss and read from Murder and Media in the New Rome when he visits EPL’s 1st Floor Community Meeting Room as part of the Evanston Northwestern Humanities Lecture Series.  In anticipation of his visit, we recently spoke with him via email about how the Fadda Affair fits into the whole of Italian history, how newspapers helped enflame the scandal, the role of Roman women in the spectacle, and the best novels about the “Risorgimento” period.

From Mexico to Evanston: Latino Studies at Northwestern University

Panel discussions are good, but they are even better if they can connect to the real world.  Join members of the Latino/a Studies Department at Northwestern University for an engaging panel discussion about how Latino Studies connects with our local community. The program takes place on Wednesday, October 5th @ 7 pm in the Evanston Public Library Community Room.  Panelists include Dr. John Cutler and others.  For more information, call 847-448-8630.

Amazingrace: A Piece of Evanston History

The fall issue of Northwestern’s alumni magazine contains an excellent cover story about Amazingrace, the Evanston non-alcoholic coffeehouse and nightclub that began in the basement of Northwestern’s Scott Hall in 1971. After moving to Shanley Hall in the spring of 1972, the group enjoyed a reputation beyond Evanston and Northwestern for hosting folk singers. By 1973 the twelve original  members of Amazingrace had either graduated from Northwestern or dropped out and began living communally in a house in Evaston at the corner of Sherman and Colfax. In 1974, after years of zoning disagreements with Northwestern and the city, Amazingrace severed ties with Northwestern and moved the The Main, a newly built “town center” shopping area at Main and Chicago. According to Northwestern University Archives, during the next few years Amazingrace continued to gain in popularity and became one of the best places in the Chicagoland area to hear live music. Times were changing, however, and refusing to embrace the changing business culture of the late seventies was the group’s downfall. Amazingrace fell behind on their rent and were evicted in July 1978. For more information on Amazingrace coffee shop and nightclub checkout the library’s reference files, Northwestern Library Archives, or read the Northwestern feature article where you will also see wonderful photos of an interesting piece of Evanston’s history.

Rika G.

An NU Alumni Sampler

NU alum Charlton Heston

All dressed up in its purple best, Northwestern University celebrated last week as it sent a new graduating class out into the world, and odds are good this won’t be the last you hear of them.  Over the years, you see, NU has become a veritable assembly line of notable alums – a fact comedian Stephen Colbert duly noted during his much-anticipated commencement address. “Northwestern’s alumni list is truly impressive,” said the 1987 NU grad.  “This university has graduated bestselling authors, Olympians, presidential candidates, Grammy winners, Peabody winners, Emmy winners – and that’s just me.”  All kidding aside, though, he’s right.  From Saul Bellow and Cloris Leachman to Steve Albini and Dan Chaon, Wildcat grads are clearly an accomplished bunch.  So to honor their achievements both past and future, we present the following eclectic list of books, movies, and music from some of Northwestern’s talented very own.  Enjoy, and stay tuned.  The list is growing.