By Anna Jankowski

Happy March! The first day of Spring is just 18 days away! Let this flowery blast from the past remind you of warmer days.

Here, a young girl from a family in Wisconsin is seen posing in a field of flowers while collecting some in her arms. The photo, taken in 1919, mirrors the pics snapped by modern Instagram influencers.

You can find this image in a family photo album available through Falvey’s digital collection. According to the information, “The photograph album is 90 pages includes 70 pages of multiple photos…The photos include views of; California Missions & Travel; Early Tent Campers; Swimming; Little Boy in Indian Costume; Antique Automobiles; a few shots of Railroad Trains; Family Photos & Children; quite a few photos of young woman in period glamour poses.”

Anna Jankowski ’23 CLAS is a Junior Communication Major from just outside Baltimore who ​​works as a Communication & Marketing Assistant in Falvey.

By Jenna Renaud 

Happy Friday, Wildcats! Falvey Memorial Library is delivering you another semester of Weekend Recs, a blog dedicated to filling you in on what to read, listen to, and watch over the weekend. Jenna, a graduate assistant from the Communication department, scours the internet, peruses the news, and digs through book stacks to find new, relevant, and thought-provoking content that will challenge you and prepare you for the upcoming week. 

Spring break is upon us, and everyone can hopefully take some time to relax and reset for the final push of the semester! Whether you’re actually traveling for break or just spending some time with family and friends at home, we have weekend recs to transport you all over the world. Check out this week’s recs below whether you have 5 minutes or 10 hours.  

If you have 5 minutes… make sure you are up to date on the latest CDC recommendations for travel. 

If you have 7 minutes… read this article from Asher & Lyric about everything you need to remember to pack for your trip, whether domestic or international. 

If you have 30 minutes… and primarily travel to try new food, watch Street Food: Asia or Street Food: Latin America. With 30-minute episodes it’s the perfect show to binge when you’re on a train, on a plane, or just at home on your couch.  

If you have 1 hour and 54 minutes… watch The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and see how he leaps into the adventure of life. 

If you have 10 hours… and are looking for a new book to read, check out The Yellow Envelope by Kim Dinan. Kim Dinan talks about how her and her husband quit their jobs to travel around the world, but when a yellow envelope enters their lives right before leaving, it changes their perspective on the trip. Borrow it through inter-library loan here.  

Jenna Renaud is a Graduate Assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a Graduate Student in the Communication Department.

By Anna Jankowski

Photo of Belle Air Terrace in 1990s

Recent photo of Belle Air Terrace

Midterms week is almost over, you can make it to Spring Break! For today’s TBT, check out this photo of the Belle Air Terrace in Connelly Center from the 1990s from Falvey’s digital collection. Can you spot some of the differences from the way Belle Air is set up today? 

For the final push of midterms studying you can find perfect study spots all over campus, including any floor of Falvey and in the Old Falvey Reading Room. As soon as you’re done, you can fully enjoy break and hopefully some warmer weather!

Anna Jankowski ’23 CLAS is a Junior Communication Major from just outside Baltimore who ​​works as a Communication & Marketing Assistant in Falvey.

By Jenna Renaud

Word of the Week: Assiduous  

(adj) showing great care and perseverance  

Mid-terms are upon us, and I implore everyone to be assiduous with your studies this week. A much-needed Spring break is right around the corner, we all just need to persevere and put in those extra hours studying and drafting papers to get there. I’ll be pulling quite a few late nights and early mornings this week to get everything done, so just know you are not alone. 

This Week at Falvey  

NOW–Wednesday, Jun. 15th  

“That Fairyland of Ice”: Polar Exploration in Mind and Memory Exhibit | Falvey First Floor & Online | Free & Open to the Public 

Monday, Feb. 21st  

Mindfulness Mondays | 1–1:30 p.m. | Virtual | https://villanova.zoom.us/j/98337578849  

Wednesday, Feb. 23rd

Mid-Term Event | 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. | Falvey First Floor | Stop by for some dough to get you through midterms! Cookie dough and Play-Doh are the essentials you never knew you needed to get through this mid-term season.

This Week in History 

February 22nd, 1980 – U.S. hockey team beats the Soviets in the “Miracle on Ice” 

Stay in theme with the 2022 Beijing Olympics wrapping up this past weekend, this week’s week in history flashes back to the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Games. In one of the most dramatic upsets in Olympic history, the United States hockey team, made up of college students, defeated the Soviet Union team that had one the last four Olympic gold medals. 

The U.S. team, with an average player age of 22, entered the Games as the 7th-seed as opposed to the Soviet Union’s experienced team entering as 1st-seed. In front of 100,000 spectators, the U.S. pulled out a 4-3 win and then went on to defeat Finland two days later, securing the gold. This unbelievable upset and victory was later memorialized in a 2004 film, Miracle, starring Kurt Russell. Miracle is available for streaming on Disney+. To read more about this upset and how it played out, visit History.com. 

Jenna Renaud is a Graduate Assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a Graduate Student in the Communication Department.

By Jenna Renaud

Source: “The Economist”

Happy Friday, Wildcats! Falvey Memorial Library is delivering you another semester of Weekend Recs, a blog dedicated to filling you in on what to read, listen to, and watch over the weekend. Jenna, a graduate assistant from the Communication department, scours the internet, peruses the news, and digs through book stacks to find new, relevant, and thought-provoking content that will challenge you and prepare you for the upcoming week. 

If you’ve been paying any attention to international news lately, you may have seen that tensions are rising between Ukraine and Russia, and war may be on the horizon. If you’ve just been getting bits and pieces from social media, but don’t understand the full story, I’ve done the digging and put together recs to keep you in the know, whether you have 1 minute or 40 minutes.  

If you have 1 minute… watch the latest update from President Joe Biden following Russia’s claim they would “pull troops back” from the borders.

If you have 6 minutes… skim this article breaking down the history between Russia and Ukraine and the details of why tensions are escalating right now. 

If you have 8 minutes… listen to “The Takeaway” podcast by NPR. You will hear them discuss the conflict at the border as well as have a conversation with Alex Ward, a national security reporter at Politico. 

If you have 40 minutes… interact with the Council on Foreign Relations’ Global Conflict Tracker. They offer updates on the conflict as well as a slideshow for a more visual exploration of the conflict. 

If you have 2 minutes or hours… follow live updates regarding the situation via Al Jazeera’s website. 

Jenna Renaud is a Graduate Assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a Graduate Student in the Communication Department.

By Jenna Renaud

“I write plays that I like to describe as having endings with hard hope…It makes the characters and hopefully the audience want to keep fighting, keep going, keep living, and keep learning at the end of the play.”
—Lauren Gunderson 

The Revolutionists: A Villanova Theatre Production

Villanova Theatre is back for the spring semester with its newest comedy production, The Revolutionists. The show runs Feb. 10–20 in the Court Theatre housed in the John and Joan Mullen Center for the Performing Arts. The show is written by Lauren Gunderson and directed by Valerie Joyce. 

The Cincinnati Inquirer describes The Revolutionists as follows: In the shadow of an overworked guillotine, four badass women collide and collude in Paris during the Reign of Terror: fugitive queen Marie Antoinette, idealist assassin Charlotte Corday, Caribbean spy Marianne Angelle, and beleaguered playwright Olympe de Gouges (who just wants to make the plot work out). Lauren Gunderson’s breakneck comedy of ideas is a fiercely funny fever dream as well as a timely rumination on the role of violence in the quest for change, a “sassy, hold-on-to-your-seats theatrical adventure.” 

Dig Deeper into The Revolutionists 

• Education Guide 
• View the Playbill 
• Buy Tickets

Women and the French Revolution 

Photo provided by Kimberly Reilly & Villanova Theatre

The French Revolution took place from May 1789 to November 1799 and is considered one of the largest and bloodiest upheavals in European history. French citizens eliminated the absolute monarchy and feudal system and created an entirely new political and social framework. Following the death of the King, a radical group called the Jacobins took over, ushering France into what would be later known as “The Reign of Terror.” During that time, they murdered over 17,000 people. In 1795, a new, relatively moderate constitution was adopted and opposition was stopped through the use of the French army, led by Napoleon Bonaparte. Political corruption and unrest continued until 1799 when Napoleon staged a coup to declare himself France’s “first consul.”

During the time of the French Revolution, women began to speak up and fought for their own rights. Following the storming of the Bastille in 1789, women began to join in riots, demonstrate for their rights, and attend the political clubs of men. Although there was no major change regarding the rights of women following the Revolution, they made their presence known and are depicted in the majority of revolutionary art for being symbols of revolutionary values. 

Dig Deeper into Women and the French Revolution 

• Women’s Rights and the French Revolution: A Biography of Olympe de Gouges by Sophie Mousset 
• Women of the French Revolution by Winifred Stephens Whale 
• The French Revolution by Geoge F.E. Rudé 
• Marie Antoinette: The Making of a French Queen by John Hardman 

Jenna Renaud is a Graduate Assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a Graduate Student in the Communication Department.

Ad from The Villanovan in February 1974

Photo by William P. Gottlieb/Ira and Leonore S. Gershwin Fund Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress

Next Tuesday will mark the 47th anniversary of Miles Davis’s performance at Villanova! The ad above is from an edition of The Villanovan published in February of 1974. Check out his beloved music on Spotify or click here for a quick synopsis about “arguably the most influential jazz musician in the post-World War II period.” Be sure to look into more resources and information on this iconic performer in the Falvey Collection, or check out the books linked below.

• MILES ON MILES : INTERVIEWS AND ENCOUNTERS WITH MILES DAVIS
• MILES DAVIS, MILES SMILES, AND THE INVENTION OF POST BOP
• THE STUDIO RECORDINGS OF THE MILES DAVIS QUINTET, 1965-68

Anna Jankowski ’23 CLAS is a Junior Communication Major from just outside Baltimore who ​​works as a Communication & Marketing Assistant in Falvey.

By Jenna Renaud

Word of the Week: Wordle 

(n) a name for an electronic image that shows words used in a particular piece of electronic text or series of texts. The words are different sizes according to how often they are used in the text. 

Before Wordle was the game that causes us to forget the English language every morning, it was the name for the word clouds that you’ve probably made at some point in your life. In addition, a wide variety of games with the same moniker have been released over the years although the trademark situation is a bit up in the air at the moment.  

Below is a wordle of the words in a blog post Ethan did about the game Wordle! Wordle-ception!  

This Week at Falvey  

NOW–Wednesday, Jun. 15th  

“That Fairyland of Ice”: Polar Exploration in Mind and Memory Exhibit / Falvey First Floor & Online / Free & Open to the Public 

Monday, Feb. 14th  

Mindfulness Mondays | 1–1:30 p.m. | Virtual | https://villanova.zoom.us/j/98337578849  

Tuesday, Feb. 15th  

The Bible in Black, Part 2 on the New Testament | 12–1 p.m. | Room 205 | More info here 

Tuesday, Feb. 15th  

Robbie Richardson, PhD, on “Death, Bones, and the Rise of the Museum in the Eighteenth Century” | 5:30 p.m. | Room 205 or Virtual| More info here 

Friday, Feb. 18th  

Villanova Gaming Society Meeting | 2:30–4:30 p.m. | Speakers’ Corner | Free & Open to the Public  

This Week in History 

February 14th, 270 A.D. – St. Valentine beheaded 

At the time, Rome was under the rule of Claudius II, also known as Claudius the Cruel, and was involved in many bloody campaigns. Because of the many campaigns, it was imperative that the emperor maintained a strong army; however, he struggled to recruit men. He attributed this difficulty to marriage and the strong attachment men had to their wives and families. In response to this, Claudius banned all marriages in Rome. 

Valentine, a holy priest, saw this decree as unjust and continued to perform marriages in secret. When he was found out, he was put in prison until his execution on February 14. Legend has it that right before his beheading, he wrote a letter to the jailor’s daughter signing it “Love your Valentine.” Following his death, he was made a saint. 

This is just one of the stories that potentially account for the life of St. Valentine and the origins of the holiday. To read more about the theories surrounding Valentine’s Day and St. Valentine, visit History.com.  

Jenna Renaud is a Graduate Assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a Graduate Student in the Communication Department.

By Jenna Renaud

Happy Friday, Wildcats! After a year off, Falvey Memorial Library is bringing back Weekend Recs, a blog dedicated to filling you in on what to read, listen to, and watch over the weekend. Jenna, a graduate assistant from the Communication department, scours the internet, peruses the news, and digs through book stacks to find new, relevant, and thought-provoking content that will challenge you and prepare you for the upcoming week.

Valentine’s Day is here and whether you’re celebrating this year with your friends, family, or a significant other, we have a variety of weekend recs to make the holiday special! This week we cover everything from diving into the archives to fine dining and theatre. Check it out below, whether you have 2 minutes or an entire evening.

If you have 2 minutes… read Anna Jankowski’s TBT this week, where she dove into the digital library and found Valentine’s Day themed content.

If you have an evening… visit The Refectory for dinner and drinks. They have a special Valentine’s Day menu this Friday, Saturday, and Monday, so make your reservation today! The perfect date night option without having to venture too far from campus.

If you have a sweet tooth & a couple hours… make one of these 57 Valentine’s Day Dessert Recipes from Brit + Co. If you do, make sure you tag Falvey so we can see your creations!

If you have 1 hour and 37 minutes… get together with your Galentines and watch the coming-of-age 90s classic comedy, Clueless, currently available on HBO Max. Check out this list of the 30 Best Galentine’s Day Movies for You and Your Bestie to Enjoy for more movie recs.

If you have 2 hours… go on a date to the theatre – the Villanova Theatre. This week marks opening weekend of Villanova Theatre’s newest show, The Revolutionists. Click here to learn more and purchase tickets.

Jenna Renaud is a Graduate Assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a Graduate Student in the Communication Department.

By Anna Jankowski

In preparation for Valentine’s Day, this week’s TBT focuses on this quirky miscellaneous satirical dime novel. The art of kissing: curiously, historically, humorously, poetically considered was published and sold in 1902. The 120-year-old book is still relevant today as it is “Dedicated to all who love”. Check out this cheeky resource available online through Falvey’s Digital collection!

Below are some additional photos captured of students sharing some smooches in the 1969 Belle Air Yearbook!

Wishing you and your loved ones a very Happy Valentine’s Day!

Anna Jankowski ’23 CLAS is a Junior Communication Major from just outside Baltimore who ​​works as a Communication & Marketing Assistant in Falvey.