SPOTLIGHT/HUMANITIES For details and a listing of all library events, visit princetonlibrary.org/events BEING HUMAN A FESTIVAL OF THE HUMANITIES
Presented in partnership with the Princeton University Humanities Council. For details on all events, see the Princeton University website. WORKSHOP
Queer Letters: Writing Stories About Identities, Families, Gender, Cultures and Communities Tuesday, Dec. 3, 4:30 p.m. This two-hour workshop centers on queer and trans experiences. The goal is to create a space for people to explore questions of identity through guided free-writes. At the end of the workshop, participants will share their writing. They will then select quotes from what they have written to be printed on postcards. Each participant will receive copies of all the postcards created in the class. Registration is limited and required through the library’s events calendar. Conference Room WORKSHOP
Improv and Being Human Monday, Dec. 9, 7 p.m. The Princeton Graduate Improv team, along with New York-based improvisation instructors, will teach audience members improvisation. Improvisation spurs creative thinking, confidence in public speaking, and unconventional problem-solving. Community Room LECTURE AND WORKSHOP
Illuminating Incarceration in Antiquity through Digital Humanities Wednesday, Dec. 18, 7 p.m. Historians, archaeologists and other scholars have traditionally thought that no prisons existed in antiquity, and that prisons began with modernity in Europe and the United States. However, a closer look at the material and textual data indicates otherwise. Professors Matthew Larsen (Religion) and Caroline Cheung (Classics) will guide audiences into the history of incarceration in conjunction with the use of digital humanities. The instructors will start by canvassing global developments including those of the ancient Mediterranean. Next, the professors will teach participants about insights afforded by 3D modeling, virtual reality and 3D printing technologies. Upon learning to handle such tools, attendees will use them to see layouts of entire ancient prisons, as well as experience one ancient prison through a virtual reality walkthrough of a 3D model. Lastly, the group will discuss its findings. Community Room
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LECTURE
Joseph Benatov How the Bulgarian Jews Survived the Holocaust Thursday, Dec. 12, 7 p.m. Benatov, who has a doctorate in comparative literature from the University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches Hebrew, discusses the history of Bulgarian Jews during the Holocaust. In 1943, Bulgaria complied with German demands and deported nearly 11,400 Jews from occupied territories in northern Greece and Yugoslavia. At the same time, Bulgaria successfully resisted German pressures to deport the 50,000 Jews living in Bulgaria. Benatov offers an overview of the facts surrounding these historical events and focuses on the conflicting opinions about the role played by King Boris III, church officials and politicians in the rescue of Bulgaria’s Jewish population. Community Room RADIO TAPING
Person Place Thing featuring Deborah Amos Tuesday, Dec. 17, 6 p.m. Randy Cohen interviews Deborah Amos for “Person, Place, Thing,” his public radio program during which guests are asked to speak about a person, a place and a thing they find meaningful rather than about themselves. Amos is an awardwinning international correspondent for NPR News. She is the author of two books and has won several major journalism honors, including a Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women’s Media Foundation, a George Foster Peabody Award, an Edward R. Murrow Lifetime Achievement Award and an Emmy. Cohen won multiple Emmy awards as a writer for “Late Night with David Letterman” and is the author, most recently, of “Be Good: How to Navigate the Ethics of Everything.” Community Room
Programs featuring this logo are presented with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this programming do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.