EUGENE–Author Stephen Greenblatt, a professor of literature, will present the inaugural lecture for the University of Oregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts (AAA) Koehn Colloquium at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29, in Room 177 of Lawrence Hall, 1190 Franklin Blvd., on the UO campus.

Greenblatt’s talk, "Cultural History and Racial Memory," will address the recent recurrence of interest in cultural history and literature. He will examine a set of assumptions that postmodernism seems to have dismantled notions of wholeness, evolutionary progress and ethnic authenticity.

Greenblatt is the Harry Levin Professor of Literature at Harvard University. He is the author of many books, including "Marvelous Possessions," "Learning to Curse" and "Renaissance Self-Fashioning." He is also the general editor of the "Norton Shakespeare and the Norton Anthology of English Literature." He is the founder of the journal "Representations."

The Koehn Colloquium, supported through a gift from Michael and Stacy Koehn, brings scholars to the UO campus who share a broad interdisciplinary perspective on the diverse fields of the school–architecture, landscape architecture, fine and applied arts, art history, planning, public policy and management, and arts administration. This lecture is free and open to the public.

Each colloquium aids in discussing a range of ideas and sharing perspectives on the nature of the school’s disciplines. A colloquium also includes a lecture by an invited scholar and a one-day seminar for graduate students and faculty.

On Friday, Oct. 30, the school will host a seminar on "The New Historicism and the Conjuring of the Past." Greenblatt will lead a discussion on the postmodern uses of the past, on the problems that New Historicism tries to address, and on some of the issues that lie in the future of cultural theory.

Before attending the seminar, AAA Associate Dean Terri Warpinski says, participants may find it useful to read Greenblatt’s essays: "The Eating of the Soul" and "The Touch of the Real," both published in "Representations," and his essay "What is the History of Literature?" published in "Critical Inquiry." Reviewing "Hamlet" may be useful as well. These readings are available at the reserve desk in the Architecture and Allied Arts Library.

Because seating is limited, participants must register in advance to attend the Oct. 30 seminar by calling 346-3631 or send e-mail to aaarecep@aaa.uoregon.edu.

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