Today in the Humanities... The Giver, Ethics, Soviet Monuments, and 100 Year Old Sound Recordings

Humanities News and Events from DC and Beyond

Children's book author Lois Lowry used to store her rough drafts in the crisper drawer of her refrigerator so that if the house burned down, she wouldn't lose what she was working on. After a book was published, she'd toss her manuscripts in the trash. She figured they had no value.

- "Beloved Children's Books Preserved Thanks to Retiring U Librarian Karen Nelson Hoyle," Maja Beckstrom (TwinCities.com, Pioneer Press)

The Undersecretary for History, Art, and Culture, and the Director of the Smithsonian's Anacostia Community Museum invite you to attend the 27th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Program featuring keynote speaker Harry E. Johnson.

- The Anacostia Community Museum

"Gonna Lay Down My Sword and Shield," Amanda Poppei. Join Amanda as she uses Dr. Martin Luther King's anti-war work as a springboard for thinking about America's military, the ethics of support for the military generally and for individual troops, and WES's own involvement in conscientious objector status work.

- Upcoming Platforms, (The WES [Washington Ethical Society] Express)

Soviet Monument in Sofia, Bulgaria

The destruction of the monuments of the Soviet past and a buildup of new monuments was supposed to be an indication of the new values that came to the post-Soviet societies after the collapse of the Soviet system. However, not everywhere and not always did it happen to be true.

- "Monument Wars Across the Post-Soviet Space as a Conflict of Memories and Cultures," (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars)

That collaboration has resulted in unlocking experimental sound recordings made more than 100 years ago by Alexander Graham Bell and associates. The recordings, now available for listening by the public, can be found at http://irene.lbl.gov/volta-release.html.

- "Library of Congress Helps Unlock Experimental Sound Recordings of Alexander Graham Bell," (Library of Congress)