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Dig Deeper: 3D Donut Cat

A 3D ornament of a cat on a donut.

Photo courtesy of Shawn Proctor, Communication & Marketing Program Manager.


If you look closely, you’ll spot “Donut Cat” on the Christmas tree displayed on Falvey Library’s first floor. “Donut Cat” was created by Shawn Proctor, Communication & Marketing Program Manager, in the Idea Lab as a way to celebrate “Falvey Library’s Semi-Annual Stress Busting Event: Donut Worry About Finals” on Thursday, Dec. 8, from 12-2 p.m. in front of Falvey’s Holy Grounds.

Fitting in beautifully with the “Wildcat” blue décor on Falvey’s tree, Proctor shared his process for making the ornament:

“Over the summer, I learned how to 3D print from Assistant Director Stephen Green. I’ve always been curious–how can someone make something and a machine creates it layer by layer? You’re only limited by the size and technical limits of the machine, but there’s an incredible number of things that can be created within those perimeters. Robots, tools, articulated slugs. Most of all, I learned 3D printing is as much art as it is science (often, a small problem completely ruins a print) but when it works…(chef’s kiss) magic.”

Interested in printing your own project? The Maker Lab (located in the Idea Lab on Falvey’s ground floor) “is equipped with a plethora of tools (3D printers, laser cutter, sewing machine, drill press, Cricut, wrenches, etc.).” Everyone is welcome in the Idea Lab and no prior 3D printing experience is required. Just stop by and the staff will assist you in bringing your idea to fruition.


Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Library.

 

 


 


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Dig Deeper: Reproductive Rights in a Post-Roe v. Wade America 

Falvey Memorial Library’s Dig Deeper series explores topics of importance in our society and the news. It connects these subjects with resources available through the Library, so our faculty, students, and staff can explore and learn more, potentially sparking new research and scholarship. 

In June, the US Supreme Court reversed its prior 1973 ruling on Roe v. Wade, the decision that provided a “constitutional right to abortion,” according to one National Public Radio report. Abortion rights in nearly half the states have been “rolled back.” And the issue, debated across the country long before the Roe v. Wade case, has returned as a top political and legislative subject. 

The Library possesses many resources for anyone who wishes to learn more about the history of abortion or the Roe v. Wade decision as well as the many facets of reproductive rights and the impact of the Supreme Court’s June decision. 

The midterm elections show that in every state where abortion was explicitly on the ballot voters came out to support the right to choice.

We invite you to peruse Falvey Library’s relevant resources, curated by Sarah Wingo, Subject Librarian for the departments of English Literature, Theatre and and Romance Languages and Literature, here: https://library.villanova.edu/Find/MyResearch/MyList/10015.


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Dig Deeper: Salman Rushdie

By Ethan Shea

 

Falvey Memorial Library’s Dig Deeper series explores topics of importance in our society and the news. It connects these subjects with resources available through the Library, so our faculty, students, and staff can explore and learn more, potentially sparking new research and scholarship.

Salman Rushdie, author of award-winning literature such as Midnight’s Children (1981) and The Satanic Verses (1988), has been the subject of intense controversy for more than three decades.

The most notable conflict began after the publication of The Satanic Verses when the former Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa, or ruling on Islamic law, against against Rushdie, ordering his execution.

Hostility toward The Satanic Verses stems from Rushdie’s magical realist depictions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, representations many influential Muslims found offensive.

In addition to violence against Rushdie, hatred for The Satanic Verses has caused a few people connected to the text, such has translators, to be injured or killed in attacks. Not to mention that several people have died during protests against the book’s publication.

As a result of this violent opposition, Rushdie was forced to go into hiding for over a decade. During this time, he lived in a guarded safe house in London and was granted protection by the British police.

In recent years, Rushdie has enjoyed a more public life and even made public appearances with minimal security on occasion. However, the fatwa (officially or unofficially) still remains.

Flash forward to last month, and Rushdie’s worst fears were realized. On Aug. 12, 2022, before giving a lecture at Chautauqua Institution in New York, Rushdie was stabbed multiple times. He remains alive but will most likely suffer long-term, serious injuries, such as the loss of an eye.

The attack on Rushdie has sparked new debates over freedom of expression and the role of artists.

From book to Twitter bans, this is not a new topic, but seeing actual violence carried out against a prominent writer on American soil is undoubtedly reason for concern. However, this does not mean authors have been silenced by the attack. Rather, writers are expressing the urgency of making their voices heard more than ever before.

In an interview with The Guardian, outspoken French-Moroccan writer Leïla Slimani says that cowering away from the spotlight after the attack is akin to letting terrorism win. As an artist, Slimani feels obligated to continue to use her voice despite any potential consequences, and she is not alone.

To learn more about Salman Rushdie and his work, dig deeper into the resources below.

Find Salman Rushdie’s books at Falvey:

"Joseph Anton: A Memoir"

Salman Rushdie’s memoir, “Joseph Anton”

Check out the full Guardian interview with Leïla Slimani here.

Several texts criticizing and interpreting Rushdie’s work can be found here.

This article references Rushdie’s cameo on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Rushdie was also mentioned in the plot of the Seinfeld episode “The Implant.”


Headshot of Ethan SheaEthan Shea is a graduate student in the English Department at Villanova University and Graduate Assistant at Falvey Memorial Library.


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Join the Villanova Communication Department for the World Premiere of “Parakeet”


Join the Villanova Communication Department for the world premiere of Parakeet at the Villanova Communication Department Studio (Garey Hall) on the following dates: Thursday, Sept. 29 (7 p.m.), Friday, Sept. 30 (7 p.m.), Saturday, Oct. 1 (7 p.m.), and Sunday Oct. 2 (2 p.m.) Click here or use the QR code above to reserve tickets.

Parakeet, a play adapted and directed by Heidi M. Rose, PhD, Chair of the Department of Communication, Professor of Performance Studies, is based on the novel by Marie-Helene Bertino ’99 CLAS.

Parakeet tells the story of a bride-to-be who is visited by a bird (parakeet) she identifies as her dead grandmother. After her grandmother tells her not to get married, the bride takes a transformational journey a week before her wedding. “Parakeet asks and begins to answer the essential questions. What do our memories make us? How do we honor our experiences and still become our strongest, truest selves? Who are we responsible for, what do we owe them, and how do we allow them to change?” (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2020). Read the novel before the world premiere of the play: Parakeet is available for loan at Falvey Memorial Library.

Parakeet is co-sponsored by the Villanova College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, the Office of Intercultural Affairs, VU Pride, the Honors Program, the McNulty Institute, the English Department, the Creative Writing Program, Gender & Women’s Studies, and the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Parakeet kicks off the 30th anniversary celebration of Performance Studies at Villanova University.

Photo courtesy of http://www.mariehelenebertino.com/

Marie-Helene Bertino ’99 CLAS

Marie-Helene Bertino’s work has appeared in The New York Times, Electric Literature, Tin House, McSweeneys, Granta, BOMB, Guernica, NPR, and others. The author of four books: Safe as Houses, 2 A.M. at The Cat’s Pajamas, Parakeet, and Beautyland (forthcoming), she is the recipient of The Frank O’Connor International Short Story Fellowship in Cork, Ireland, The O. Henry Prize, and The Pushcart Prize. She teaches in the Creative Writing programs of NYU and The New School, and earned a BA in English from Villanova University and an MFA from Brooklyn College. For more on Bertino, visit her website.

Dig deeper and explore the links below for further reading:

Photo courtesy of Villanova University.

Heidi M. Rose, PhD

Heidi M. Rose joined the Communication Department at Villanova University in 1993. She earned a BS in Speech/Theatre from Northwestern University, a MA in Communication from Emerson College, and an Interdisciplinary PhD in Communication from Arizona State University. Her scholarship focuses on performance ethnography, autoethnography, performance, culture and identity, ASL poetics and Deaf culture, and performance and advocacy. The author of numerous publications, she is the writer and performer of “Twin,” “Mirror Image,” and “Good Enough.”

She is a recipient of the Top Contributed Performance, Performance Studies Division, National Communication Association (2020), the Leslie Irene Coger Award for Distinguished Performance, National Communication Association (2018), the Creative Expression Award, Organization for the Study of Communication, Language, and Gender (2017), the Lilla A. Heston Award for Outstanding Scholarship in Performance Studies, National Communication Association (2015), Service to the Discipline Award, Performance Studies Division, National Communication Association (2012), and many others. For more information on Dr. Rose’s scholarship, please visit her webpage.

Anna Jankowski ’23 CLAS

Photo courtesy of Anna Jankowski.

Voicing the parakeet is Anna Jankowski ’23 CLAS, a senior communication major, and communication and marketing assistant at Falvey Memorial Library.

 

 

 

 

 

 


Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Memorial Library.

 

 


 


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Dig Deeper: Earth Day Video Offering

 Image courtesy of NASA Earth Observations. Image is of four world globes overlapping.

Image courtesy of NASA Earth Observations.


A brief sampling of Falvey Library online video related to Earth Day and our rapidly changing planet:

For Falvey Library video subscribed content visit an introduction to Streaming Video at Falvey or try one of the selected library subject headings below:

For more video dig further in:


""Merrill Stein is Political Science Librarian at Falvey Memorial Library.

 

 


 


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Dig Deeper: Women, Climate Change, Law and Data

By Merrill Stein 

As we approach the end of March, Women’s History Month and look towards Earth Day in April, consider listening to this recent podcast from the OECD, Women, climate change and data: Why we need to better understand the environment-gender nexus.

Take a moment to consider these research guides and YouTube videos from the Library of Congress, Smithsonian and U.S. National Archives.

Examine the Woman in the Law (Peggy) resource in the HeinOnline database, a  subscription courtesy of the Charles Widger School of Law Library. The “Peggy” collection features more than one million pages of contemporary and historical works related to women’s roles in society and the law.

Give thought to any possible gender gaps in common resources to which we interact with frequently, as indicated by this recent study from the University of Pennsylvania. Read about women in the digital world in the special issue of Information, Communication & Society, Volume 24, Issue 14 (2021).

 

Dig Deeper resources:


""Merrill Stein is Political Science Librarian at Falvey Memorial Library.


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Dig Deeper: Villanova Theatre Presents The Revolutionists

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. 1020 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 

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 


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


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Dig Deeper: In Memoriam—Anne Rice


Every writer knows fear and discouragement. Just write. The world is crying for new writing. It is crying for fresh and original voices and new characters and new stories. If you won’t write the classics of tomorrow, well, we will not have any.” —Anne Rice

Author of more than 30 novels, Anne Rice was born Howard Allen O’Brien and raised in New Orleans. Changing her name to Anne in the first grade, Rice lived with her parents and three sisters in New Orleans until her mother passed away when she was 15. Her father remarried and moved the family to Richardson, Texas. She attended Texas Woman’s University for a time before marrying Stan Rice, whom she had met in high school. After their marriage in 1961, the couple moved to San Francisco, and attended San Francisco State University where Rice earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science (and later a Master’s Degree in English and Creative Writing in 1972).

In 1966, the couple’s daughter Michele was born. After relocating to Berkeley, Calif., in 1969, Rice wrote the short story Interview With the Vampire. In 1970, Michele was diagnosed with leukemia and passed away in 1972. The following year, Rice worked to make Interview With the Vampire into a novel (published in 1976). Struggling with the loss of her daughter, “she conjured up the vampire Lestat [Interview‘s main character] out of her grief.”

Her son Christopher was born in 1978 and in 1980 she and her husband moved to San Francisco and returned to New Orleans in 1988. In 1994, the film adaptation of Interview With the Vampire was released. Directed by Neil Jordan, the movie starred Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. Antonio Banderas, Kirsten Dunst, Helen McCrory, Thandiwe Newton, and Christian Slater also starred. Interview With the Vampire was the first of 13 novels in The Vampire Chronicles series that became “one of the most popular and profitable vampire properties of all time; selling upwards of 80 million copies worldwide.”

Rice is the author of numerous standalone novels and books series including The Wolf Gift chronicles, The Mayfair Witches, The Sleeping Beauty series, among others. Her novel, Feast of All Saints became a Showtime mini series in 2001. Rice adored her fans, telling the ABC News program Day One in 1993, “When I go to my signings…Everybody else is dripping with velvet and lace, and bringing me dead roses wrapped in leather handcuffs, and I love it.” Her fans in New Orleans, part of the Vampire Lestat Fan Club, host numerous events including an annual Anne Rice Vampire Ball. A local celebrity in her hometown, Rice was know to show up to local book signings in a coffin. Rice passed away on Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, in Rancho Mirage, Calif., from complications of a stroke.

Rice was hopeful her legacy would live on—”I want to be loved and never forgotten…I’m really greedy, you know? I want to be immortal.” Rice’s life and legacy remains though her family, her fans and her writing. Acquiring Rice’s major literary works in 2020, AMC Networks plans to adapt Interview With The Vampire in an upcoming TV series on AMC and AMC+ set to premiere in 2022.

Explore some of Rice’s work below:

Autobiography:

Standalone novels:

The Wolf Gift Chronicles:

The Vampire Chronicles:

New Tales of the Vampires:

The Mayfair Witches:

The Vampire Chronicles/The Mayfair Witches Crossover:

The Life of Christ:

Songs of the Seraphim:

Ramses the Damned:

Further reading:


Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Memorial Library.

 

 

 

References:

Anne Rice Dies: “Interview With the Vampire” Author Was 80. https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/books/2021/12/12/anne-rice-interview-with-a-vampire-author-dies-at-80/6484438001/. Accessed 15 Dec. 2021.

Genzlinger, Neil. “Anne Rice, Who Spun Gothic Tales of Vampires, Dies at 80.” The New York Times, 12 Dec. 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/12/books/anne-rice-dead.html.

Welcome To Anne Rice.Com! http://annerice.com/Chamber-Biography.html. Accessed 15 Dec. 2021.

 


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Dig Deeper: Samuel Beckett

“We are all born mad. Some remain so.” 

– Samuel Beckett 

Beckett Bites: A Villanova Theatre Production 

Villanova Theatre’s newest production, Beckett Bites, is here. Beckett Bites is a collection of four short plays by Samuel Beckett, directed by Edward Sobel, and running Nov. 414 in the Court Theatre at the brand-new John and Joan Mullen Center for the Performing Arts. There are four plays comprising Beckett Bites: “Play,” “Footfalls,” “Rockaby,” and “Come and Go.”

The play is described by Villanova Theatre as follows: “As we reemerge from a world defined by screen interactions to rejoin each other in shared space, we return with Beckett Bites, four short plays by the modern theatre’s greatest existential clown. Samuel Beckett’s plays exquisitely capture the powerful longing for connection, the inexorable nature of time, and the sheer absurdity of being human. In this deftly curated collection of four short works, audiences will imaginatively progress from isolation to the communal experience of live performance, alternately laughing at the ridiculous and glimpsing the sublime. “

Dig Deeper into Beckett Bites

Theatre of the Absurd 

The theatre of the absurd describes the post-WW2 designation of plays that focus on absurdist fiction. Late 1950s European playwrights such as Samuel Beckett, as well Harold Pinter, Eugène Ionesco, Jean Genet, and Arthur Adamov, amongst others, alluded to the question of “why are we all here?” The four main features of the Theatre of the Absurd are anti-character, anti-language, anti-drama, and anti-plot. In addition, read below for more characteristics and themes of the Theatre of the Absurd.  

CHARACTERISTICS OF THEATRE OF THE ABSURD 

  • Situations and characters’ emotional states may be represented through poetic metaphor (dreamlike, fantastical, or nightmarish images). 
  • The notion of realism is rejected: situations and characters are not “realistic” and characters are often placed in unreal situations. 
  • Set and costumes may not reflect an outward reality. 
  • Dialogue is often nonsensical, clichéd, or gibberish. 
  • Communication is fractured. 
  • There is usually an emphasis on “theatricality” as opposed to realism. 
  • Absurdist playwrights often use dark comedy for satiric effect. 
  • Characters exist in a bubble without the possibility of communication. 
  • Characters may be one-dimensional, with no clear motivation or purpose. 
  • Characters may be symbolic of universal situations. 
  • Behavior and situations may not follow the rules of logic. 
  • Structure may be circular, without a precise resolution. 
  • Action may be minimal. 
  • Setting of the play may be in one locale. 
  • Often characters perceive a threat from the “outside,” leading to a sense of powerlessness. 

THEMES OF THEATRE OF THE ABSURD 

  • Isolation of human existence in a world without God 
  • Lack of communication between individuals 
  • Dehumanization in a commercial world 
  • Social disparity 
  • Life without purpose or examination 
  • Class difference/the haves and have nots 
  • Loneliness 
  • Fear of the disenfranchised 

(Beckett Bites Education Guide, 2021) 

Dig Deeper into the Theatre of the Absurd 

Still want to learn more about the Theatre of the Absurd? Check out the following Falvey offerings: 

About Samuel Beckett 

Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish novelist, playwright, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. Beckett wrote in both English and French, being born in Ireland, but spending the majority of his adult life in France. He is a playwright known outside of the field of theatre, primarily for his most famous work Waiting for Godot. As a member of the Theatre of the Absurd, Beckett often explored themes such as the passage of time and utilized repetition and silence to emphasize key ideas. 

Dig Deeper into Samuel Beckett 

Still want to learn more about Samuel Beckett or read some of his works? Check out the following Falvey offerings: 


jenna newman headshotJenna Renaud is a graduate student in the Communication Department and graduate assistant in Falvey Memorial Library.


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Dig Deeper: Get to Know Haiti

Map of Haiti from the John Smith Collection

Courtesy of the Distinctive Collections and Digital Engagement (from the John F. Smith, III and Susan B. Smith Antique Map Collection.)

 

In the past several weeks, Haiti has become a frequent news topic, the world following the twists of political intrigue and fallout sparked by the assassination of Haiti’s President Jovenel Moïse in the early morning on July 7. The plot is alleged to have included a pair of retired Colombian soldiers, an intelligence officer, and a Florida-based pastor.

Many also recall Haiti from the earthquake that devastated the country in 2010 or, perhaps, the 1791 Haitian Revolution, an insurrection of self-liberated slaves against French rule.

But there is so much more to know about Haiti, including its people, its culture, and its land. Haiti is home to 9 million people and has two official languages: French and Haitian Creole. Occupying the western part of Hispaniola and sharing the island with the Dominican Republic, Haiti resides between the Atlantic Ocean to the north, and the Caribbean Sea to the south.

Work Cited:
Bartell, Jim. Haiti. Bellwether Media, Inc, 2011.


Works from and about Haiti, curated by Jutta Seibert, Director of Research Services & Scholarly Engagement at Falvey Memorial Library.

Haitians writing about Haiti

Dubois, Laurent, Kaiama L. Glover, Nadève Ménard, Millery Polyné, and Chantalle F. Verna, eds. The Haiti Reader: History, Culture, Politics. Durham: Duke University Press, 2020.

Includes excerpts from the works of Haitians from all walks of life covering political tracts, novels, poems, and songs, among others. Featured writers include Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Simon Bolivar, Henri Christophe, Victor Schoelcher, François Duvalier, René Depestre, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Edwidge Danticat, Jean Casimir, Frankétienne, and Emeric Bergeaud.

Must-Read:

Selected Fiction:

  • Kleist, Heinrich von. The Betrothal in Santo Domingo.
    Print copy available. One of the earliest literary works about the Haitian Revolution. German writer Heinrich von Kleist explores interracial love in his 1811 novella.
  • Bergeaud, Emeric. Stella: A Novel of the Haitian Revolution. New York: New York University Press, 2015.
    First English translation of Stella, a novel about the Haitian Revolution by Haitian novelist Emeric Bergeaud, first published in 1859.
  • Bontemps, Arna. Drums at Dusk. A Novel. New York: Macmillan, 1939.
    A novel by Harlem Renaissance member Arna Bontemps.
  • Frankétienne. Dezafi: A Novel. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2018.
    A novel about life under the Duvalier regime written in Haitian Creole by Haitian writer Frankétienne. Now available in English translation.
  • Danticat, Edwidge, ed. Haiti Noir. New York: Akashic Books, 2011.
    A collection of stories from Haiti including works by Edwidge Danticat, Gary Victor, Evelyne Trouillot, Madison Smartt Bell, Patrick Sylvain, Kettly Mars, and Yanick Lahens.

Contemporary Accounts of the Haitian Revolution:

  • Rainsford, Marcus. An Historical Account of the Black Empire of Hayti. Durham: Duke University Press, 2013.
    A new edition of the earliest English-language account of the Haitian Revolution. Originally published in 1805.
  • Geggus, David Patrick. The Haitian Revolution: A Documentary History. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 2014.
    Print copy available. Features a wide range of primary sources related to the Haitian Revolution including personal recollections, letters, government documents, popular songs, travel narratives, and advertisements.
  • Toussaint Louverture. The Memoir of General Toussaint Louverture. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.
    Print copy available. Edited and translated by Philippe R. Girard, this book includes a transcript of the handwritten account and an English translation.
  • Beard, J. R., and Toussaint Louverture. Toussaint L’Ouverture: A Biography and Autobiography. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2001.
    Combines John Relly Beard’s biography with the first English language translation of Toussaint Louverture’s memoir.

Recent Scholarship:

 


Shawn Proctor is Communication and Marketing Program Manager, and Jutta Seibert is Director of Research Services & Scholarly Engagement at Falvey Memorial Library.

 


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Last Modified: July 27, 2021

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