LMU Library News

New student-curated exhibition in the Archives & Special Collections gallery!

On display May 20 through July 26, 2013: our first-ever exhibition curated entirely by the Department of Archives and Special Collections’ work study student assistants.

From Their Perspective: Student Assistant Discoveries in A&SC

Our undergraduate student assistants have helped the department to process, preserve and make available a number of interesting special collections over this past academic year. Their ongoing work helps to ensure that our legacy collections have a chance to survive into the future, to be used by hopefully many generations of LMU students to come. We are truly grateful for our student assistants and the important contributions they make to Archives and Special Collections.

So we thought we’d ask our students to share some of their thoughts on their work experience, picking, perhaps, one or two special collections items to display and writing up a very short summary statement. A “small and easy exhibit,” we thought, nothing that would stress out any of our students in their final weeks of the semester.

Where we were thinking “small and easy,” however, our student assistants turned out to have other ideas. They went “big and creative!” A&SC work study students seized our exhibit concept and plunged into it whole-heartedly, taking the opportunity to dig around our department’s holdings to discover objects and collections they hadn’t had a chance to see or work with during the year. The resulting exhibition isn’t just about what our student assistants worked with in their day-to-day jobs with us. This is also an exhibition about the intriguing materials they have discovered in the library’s vault, rare or unique items that particularly appeal to them, artifacts that struck a resonant chord.

The exhibition items selected by our undergraduate curator team include a wide spectrum of materials, from art works and archival papers to rare books, manuscript screenplays, and audio-visual materials. They did not simply write a summary statement, either, but described each of their artifact choices with engaging captions that reveal their personal taste, scholarly leanings, and appreciation of the world.

We love the enthusiasm with which our student assistants created the current exhibition. Our student assistants have been true explorer-curators. We invite you to come see the artifacts they connected with, and to read their captions.

Our curators:

Rachel Deras

Lauren Gancayco

Alvaro Gonzalez

Alec Lee

Micaela McCauley

Michael Morgenstern

Dunya Osman

Cullan Shewfelt

Matt Steelman

Haig Ter-Ghevondian

Monique Williams

Bri Wong

From Their Perspective is on display Monday-Friday, 8:00 am – 5:00 p.m.

Please contact Archives and Special Collections for more information.

Special.Collections@lmu.edu

310.338.5710

Coming to the library this summer: 150 years of Swami Vivekananda

150 Years of Swami Vivekananda: Pioneer of Transcendental Pluralism

A new exhibition coming to the William H. Hannon Library

June 3 - July 26

Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), born Narendranath Datta, was an Indian Hindu monk, well known for introducing Vedantic philosophy and yoga to the western world.  Traveling to the US in 1893, Vivekananda participated in the Parliament of the World's Religions at Chicago, where he was adulated for his message of religious pluralism founded in transcendentalist ideals. Taken from the Bhagavad Gita, Vivekananda's image exemplifying this message found wide resonance among his audience: "As the different streams having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the sea, so, O Lord, the different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to thee." Repeated by Vivekananda during his 4+ years' stay and travels in America and Europe, this message of universal acceptance appealed to an American world-embracing sensibility fostered by the Boston Transcendentalists and other thought leaders of the mid to late 19th c.; and contributed substantially to the development of the interfaith movement and mystical eclecticism of modern and contemporary America.

The 2-month exhibition celebrates the 150th anniversary of Swami Vivekananda and features photographs of Vivekananda in America and posters on his life and teachings. Its opening coincides with the reception for a 2-day conference on "Vedanta and Its Many Manifestations: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow" (June 15 and 16) and the presentation of the Bridgebuilder Award to Indian Cultural Ambassador and Vedantic scholar, Dr. Karan Singh. The exhibition also inaugurates Loyola Marymount's newly established program in Yoga Studies.

Additional events related to the exhibition will be announced later.

 

Top image: Poster of Vivekananda from the Parliament of the World's Religions at Chicago, 1893

Bottom image: Indian delegates to the Parliament of the World's Religions, 1893

New exhibit: Le Point Vierge: Mary & the Catholic Imagination 4/7 - 4/20

This photographic exhibit, sponsored by the Department of Catholic Studies, features work by Dorothy Tuma with interpretation by Wendy M. Wright, PhD.

It explores the nature of the Catholic imagination as viewed through the lens of the many faces of the Virgin Mary as she is discovered in the "minority majority" Catholic archdiocese of Los Angeles.

The product of Dr. Wright's  seven-year pilgrimage through this region, which is a microcosm of global Catholicism, these images reveal the rich textures of Catholic Marian experience and allow a glimpse into the exquisite tenderness and remarkable vigor with which she is embraced.

An opening event for the exhibition, featuring Dr. Wright, will take place on Tuesday April 9 at 4:30 p.m.

Read more, and RSVP here.

 

Exhibition is on display in the level 3 atrium of the William H. Hannon Library from April 7 – 20.

Admission is free and open to the public. 

Library hours

Directions & parking information

New exhibit on display: LMU Family of Schools / Neighborhood

The William H. Hannon Library is delighted to host the LMU Family of Schools' 4th annual art exhibit showcasing the students’ interpretation of the theme “Neighborhood.”

The exhibition, featuring artwork from students in grades K-8, will be on display in the level 3 atrium from Monday February 25 through Friday March 8.

The LMU Family of Schools (FoS) is dedicated to promoting student success and educational equity within the Westchester/Playa education community. For more information about the art work, or about FoS, visit the FoS web site, or call 310-258-5472.

Wrapping up Manifold Greatness

Over the past month, the William H. Hannon Library (in collaboration with a small army of partners from both on- and off-campus, listed below) hosted four distinctly different programs exploring the King James Bible's influence throughout history, religious studies, literature, and music –– all designed to supplement and enrich the themes within Manifold Greatness: The Creation & Afterlife of the King James Bible.

There are only a few days left before we have to pack up the traveling exhibition and ship it off to its next venue. But that means you still have plenty of time to watch the recordings of the programs (click title below to view), and to visit the exhibition, which will be taken down first thing Monday morning 2/25. (Note that the library's exhibition of rare books and manuscripts, Singular Wisdom: The King James Bible and Early Printed Bibles, will remain on display through May.)

What Kind of a Text is The King James Bible? Manuscripts, Translation, and the Legacy of the KJV

Opening event, with keynote talk by Dr. Bart D. Ehrman, James A. Grey Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. January 24, 2013

 

Martyrs & Heretics: The Wycliffite Bible

Talk by LMU English Professor Stephen Shepherd. January 30, 2013.

 

The KJV in a Catholic Context 

Panel discussion with LMU Theological Studies Professors Thomas Rausch, S.J., Jeffrey Siker, and Daniel Smith-Christopher. February 19, 2013.

 

(Regretfully, we don't yet have the video of the 2/11 gospel concert... but will post it here once we receive the finished production! But did you see the great Loyolan article about the event? You can also read some personal thoughts by Dr. Dee and Reverend Jason Darden about the KJV on the Manifold Greatness blog.)

 

We could not have made any of this happen for our community without the generous support of the Office of the Provost, the Office of the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education, the Department of Theological Studies, the Department of African American Studies, Young Presidential Associates, Peg Dolan RSHM Campus Ministry Center, LMU Center for Religion and Spirituality, and the William Andrews Clark Library at UCLA. 

1/24 Manifold Greatness opening, featuring Dr. Bart D. Ehrman

From January 24 through February 22, the William H. Hannon Library is host to a traveling exhibition that explores the social, cultural, literary, and religious influence of the King James Bible over the four centuries since it was published. We are one of only 40 sites nation-wide that were selected to display Manifold Greatness: The Creation and Afterlife of the King James Bible, and we are delighted to be able to use it as a starting point for a month's worth of entertaining, thought-provoking programming.

On Thursday January 24, all are invited to the opening event for Manifold Greatness, where New Testament scholar and New York Times bestselling author Bart D. Ehrman will share his perspective on the question, "What kind of a text is the King James Bible?"

Ehrman is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and is a leading authority on the New Testament and the history of early Christianity. He is the author or editor of more than twenty-five books, including four New York Times bestsellers (Forged, Misquoting Jesus, Lost Christianities, and Jesus, Interrupted), and his books have been translated into twenty-seven languages. Ehrman's work has been featured in publications such as Time, Newsweek, the New Yorker, the Washington Post, and he has appeared on NBC's Dateline, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, CNN, The History Channel, National Geographic, the Discovery Channel, the BBC, major NPR shows, and other top media outlets.

Attendees of this event will learn about why the KJV has received such praise and adoration over the centuries, and then turn to consider aspects of the translation that also need to be considered when assessing its greatness and value:  the archaic language that at times can confuse modern readers; the inferior ancient manuscripts on which the translation was based; and the theological biases that occasionally led the translators to make the biblical text say something other than it originally meant.

This event is free and open to the public. Ehrman's talk will start at 6 p.m. in Hilton 100, and afterwards all guests are invited back to the William H. Hannon Library for a reception and exhibition viewing to celebrate the opening of Manifold Greatness.

RSVP now!

Manifold Greatness was organized by the Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C., and the American Library Association Public Programs Office. It is based on an exhibition of the same name developed by the Folger Shakespeare Library and the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, with assistance from the Harry Ransom Center of the University of Texas. The traveling exhibition was made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

We are grateful to the following LMU sponsors for their generous support of our programming.

• The Office of the Provost
• The Office of the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education
• The Department of Theological Studies
• Campus Ministry
• Young Presidential Associates

12/6: One-day-only exhibition of rare first editions and ephemera

This Thursday, December 6, Archives and Special Collections is pleased to offer a special one-day exhibition of selected rare books and ephemera from the private collection of the Dreier Family.  R. Chad Dreier, former chair of LMU’s Board of Trustees and his wife Ginni, current member of LMU’s Board of Trustees with their daughter, Kristin M.F.A. ‘69 and son, Douglas are pleased to share their passion for reading with our community through this collection.

 

The exhibition contains highlights of the Dreier Family Collection, which emphasizes the most beloved books of the 19^th and, especially, 20^th centuries. The books will be displayed closed, so these particular books were selected also for their beautiful dust-jacket art and bindings. Fans eagerly anticipating the upcoming film of The Hobbit may want to take special note that the first edition of The Hobbit, along with a wonderful map of Middle Earth, signed by Tolkien, will be among the treasures on display. Other titles featured include Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Catcher in the Rye, The Sword in the Stone, The Grapes of Wrath, and Uncle Tom's Cabin. 

These beautiful works will be on display in the Archives & Special Collections classroom from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday December 6. This special exhibition is free and open to all.

 

11/1 Exhibition opening: Crude Reflections

You are invited to the opening of the exhibition Crude Reflections: Oil, Ruin, and Resistance in the Amazon, by documentary photographer and LMU parent Lou Dematteis. This event should be of interest to anyone concerned about issues related to the environment, human rights, and social justice. 

Dematteis took his camera into Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest and brought back images of the exquisite beauty of the land and its indigenous peoples. He also brought back a darker perspective—shocking images of the devastating effects of Chevron’s oil extraction practices, both on the environment and on the people who inhabit the region. 

In the face of disease, death and the contamination of their land, this exhibit is a document of the Ecuadoran peoples’ frontline fight for environmental justice and heroic struggle to save their rainforest.These powerful images are accompanied by moving first-person testimonies from the peoples of the Amazon. 

This exhibition also includes a selection of aerial photographs produced together by Dematteis and environmental activist, artist and educator John Quigley of Spectral Q.

Thursday November 1, at the William H. Hannon Library

6 p.m. Exhibition viewing

6:30 p.m. Panel discussion featuring:

Lou Dematteis & John Quigley, photographers

John Dorsey, Professor of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science (moderator)

Shelley Luce, Executive Director of the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission

Cesare Romano, Professor of Law at Loyola Law School

7:45 p.m. Reception, with music by Alexis Stevens

This event is free and open to the public. (Download a flyer to post or distribute as you like!) The exhibition is installed throughout all three floors of the library. The panel discussion will take place in the Von der Ahe Suite (level 3), and the reception will be in the level 3 atrium. Exhibition catalogs will be available for purchase and signing, and appetizers and refreshments will be served. Crude Reflections is on display through December 12, 2012.

Please RSVP here.

The Book Festival 2012

The Academic Resource Center, the Freshman English Program, and the William H. Hannon Library invite you to join us in celebrating the Common First Year Book, and the uncommon discoveries in reading!

The third annual Book Festival has a series of panels and film showings all centered around Journey of the Universe by Brian Thomas Swimme and Mary Evelyn Tucker. Three of the events are hosted in the library! Come stargaze outside the library this Friday, September 7th, or listen to a panel hosted by President Burcham on September 11th, or hear a panel on science fiction on September 12th!

To find a copy of the first year book, check out our library catalog or LINK+. For more information about the first year book program and a complete list of this year's events, check out the ARC website or The Book LibGuide.

 

2012 Book Events

Journey of the Universe Keynote presentation featuring book authors, Brian Thomas Swimme and Mary Evelyn Tucker

Thursday, September 6, 2012

12:15pm, Gersten Pavillion

 

In the Library! Star Gazing: Exploring the Universe in an Urban Setting

Moderator: Dr. John Bulman, Physics and Astronomy and Douglas Ellison, Visualization Producer, (Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

Friday, September 7, 2012, 8:00pm
Von der Ahe Family Suite, William H. Hannon Library

 

Big History and Eco Theology

Panel: Dr. Chris Chapple, Theology, Dr. Paul Harris, English, and Dr. Lucy Wilson, English

Moderator: Dr. Brad Elliot Stone, Philosophy

Monday, September 10, 2012, 5:30pm
Ahmanson Auditorium, University Hall 1000

 

 In the Library! The New Story: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on The Journey of the Universe

Panel: Dr. Jim Landry, Natural Science and Dr. Brian Treanor, Philosophy

Moderator: Dave Burcham, President

Tuesday, September 11, 2012, 6:30pm
Von der Ahe Family Suite, William H. Hannon Library

 

 In the Library!  Imagining/Creating the Universe through Science Fiction

Panel: Dr. John Dionisio, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Dr. Sue Scheibler, Film and TV,   and Dr. Kelly Younger, English

Moderator: Kevin Wetmore, Theatre Arts

Wednesday, September 12, 2012, 5:30pm
Von der Ahe Family Suite, William H. Hannon Library

 

 In the Library!  State of the Art and Mind, by Jean-Francois Podevin

 This interactive multimedia art exhibition is the centerpiece of
Operation STEAMroller, an interdisciplinary symposium celebrating the
intersection of science, technology, engineering, art, mathematics, and
the humanities. Please visit http://www.lmu.edu/STEAMroller                    

August 26 – October 12, 2012, William H. Hannon Library, 3rd floor

 

We look forward to seeing you at the events!

8/31 Exhibition opening & special event: State of the Art and Mind

We are delighted to kick off a new school year with a marvelous interactive exhibition by artist Jean-François Podevin, entitled State of the Art and Mind.

 

This exhibition, on display at the Hannon Library through October 12, is the centerpiece of Operation STEAMroller: A Festival of Many Disciplines, a symposium celebrating interdisciplinary connections. 

All are invited to a special opening event on Friday August 31 at 6:30 p.m., featuring a keynote talk by Colin Gardner, Professor of Critical Theory and Integrative Studies at UC Santa Barbara. 

 

6:30 p.m.     Exhibit viewing (level 3 atrium)

7:00 p.m.     Keynote talk by Professor Colin Gardner (Von der Ahe Family Suite, level 3)

8:00 p.m.     Reception (with light appetizers, wine, beer, and other refreshments) and exhibit viewing  (level 3 atrium)

 

 

 

 

This event is free and open to the public, but we do request the courtesy of an RSVP. Please fill out the RSVP form here, or contact Stephanie August at saugust@lmu.edu, or 310.338.5973.

 

State of the Art and Mind and Operation STEAMroller would not be possible without the generous support of our LMU partners:

Associate Provost, Research Advancement and Compliance

College of Communication and Fine Arts

Eric Strauss and the LMU Center for Urban Resilience

Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering

School of Education