Gregory McMahon (Classics, Humanities, and Italian Studies), Svetlana Peshkova (Anthropology), Nicole Ruane (Classics, Humanities, and Italian Studies), R. Scott Smith (Classics, Humanities, and Italian Studies), and Ethel Sara Wolper (History), will run next year's Sidore series, which will explore the question "Who Owns the Past?".
The organizers describe the urgency of the topic this way: "While human lives are at risk every day, so too is the cultural heritage created by past cultures and societies, ones that are important not only for scholarly interest but also for the identity of present cultures.” Some questions speakers will address over the year are 'Why do we—and should we—care about ancient monuments and culture when confronted with similarly urgent problems with what might be called ‘real-life’ consequences? And if we decide that the past is worth preserving, who has the right and responsibility to take on these challenges, and how can such preservation be effectively accomplished?'"
The series will focus on cultural preservation and its challenges in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.
The Saul O Sidore Memorial Lecture Series was established in 1965 in memory of Saul O Sidore of Manchester, New Hampshire. The purpose of the series is to offer the University community and the state of New Hampshire programs that raise critical and sometimes controversial issues facing our society. The University of New Hampshire Center for the Humanities sponsors the programs.
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Written By:
Katie Umans | UNH Center for the Humanities | katie.umans@unh.edu | 603-862-4356
