Chiji Akoma, PhD, associate professor, Department of Global Interdisciplinary Studies, discussed the oral performance aesthetic that defines Igbo drama and the challenges of transposing that into literary and written drama during an Africana Studies Tuesday Talk on Nov. 27, 2018

The Africana Studies Program in Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences continues its 25th anniversary celebration this semester with a distinguished speaker series. Save the date for the Africana Studies Program Distinguished Speaker Series Spring 2019 lineup:

Jasmine Cobb, PhD on “New Growth: The Art and Texture of Black Hair after Emancipation”
Monday, Feb. 25 at 4:30 p.m. in the Idea Accelerator, Falvey Memorial Library

Jasmine Cobb, PhD, Department of Africana Studies, Duke University, will give a talk titled “New Growth: The Art and Texture of Black Hair after Emancipation.” This event is co-sponsored by the Africana Studies Program, Falvey Memorial Library, the Waterhouse Foundation, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Tuesday Talk: Rory Kramer, PhD on “The Impossibility of Integration”
Tuesday, Feb. 19 at 4:30 p.m. in Speakers’ Corner of Falvey Memorial Library

Rory Kramer, PhD, Department of Sociology, Villanova University, will give a talk titled “The Impossibility of Integration.” This event is co-sponsored by the Africana Studies Program, Falvey Memorial Library, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Tuesday Talk: Crystal Lucky, PhD on “Relentless Hearts: A Journey of Time, Love and Perseverance”
Tuesday, March 12 at 4:30 p.m. in Speakers’ Corner of Falvey Memorial Library

Crystal Lucky, PhD, Department of English, Villanova University, will give a talk titled “Relentless Hearts: A Journey of Time, Love and Perseverance.” In June 2018, Debbie Africa was released from prison after serving a 40-year sentence related to an incident involving MOVE in 1978. Four months later, Michael Africa, Sr. (VU ’05), a second member of the MOVE 9, returned home and was reunited with his wife and their son, Michael Africa, Jr. Their story of love, unity and separation speaks to the strength of family, the power of forgiveness and the will to move forward. Join Dr. Lucky as she moderates a panel discussion with the Africa family on their new book project. This event is co-sponsored by the Africana Studies Program, Falvey Memorial Library, the Center for Peace and Justice Education, the Department of History, Campus Ministry, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Annual Senghor-Damas-Césaire Lecture featuring Patrick Manning, PhD on “Africana Studies in Africa and North America: Knowledge of Past and Present”
Thursday, March 21 at 7:00 p.m. in the Alumni Events Room of Garey Hall

Patrick Manning, PhD, Department of History, University of Pittsburgh, will give a talk titled “Africana Studies in Africa and North America: Knowledge of Past and Present.” This event is co-sponsored by the Africana Studies Program, Falvey Memorial Library, the Department of History, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

All events are free and open to the public. All events have been ACS approved.

For the past fifty years, the Vanderbilt Television News Archive has recorded and indexed news coverage so that it can be studied and analyzed. The collection indexes and describes segments of evening news broadcasts from ABC, CBS, and NBC from 1968- present, along with one hour per day from CNN (1995- present) and Fox News (2004- present,) as well as selected clips from other networks. The segments from NBC and CNN are available to watch as streaming video. See contemporary news coverage of the moon landing, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the movement to divest from apartheid South Africa, Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s swearing in as a justice of the Supreme Court, Barack Obama’s election to the presidency, and much more.

You can search the collection by keyword, date, television network, reporter or anchor, and segment type. Villanova has trial access to this resource through March 9, 2019. Please contact Deborah Bishov (deborah.bishov@villanova.edu) if you’d like to recommend this database for purchase by the library.

Article by Deborah Bishov, Social Sciences and Instructional Design Librarian
Room 225, 610-519-5207, Email: deborah.bishov@villanova.edu

Ross Gay reads from his collection of essays, The Book of Delights

Ross Gay kicked off the 21st Annual Villanova University Literary Festival on Tuesday, Feb. 5 in Falvey Memorial Library’s Speakers’ Corner. Gay, a National Book Critics Circle Award and Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award winner, read excepts from his new collection of essays, The Book of Delights.

Mark your calendars for the 2019 Literary Festival lineup. All readings begin at 7:00 p.m., are free, and are followed by a reception and book signing.

Lauren Grodstein: Thursday, February 21st; Falvey Memorial Library’s Speakers’ Corner
Grodstein is the author of four novels, including the New York Times bestseller A Friend of the Family and the Washington Post Book of the Year The Explanation for Everything. Her latest novel, Our Short History was published by Algonquin Books in March, 2017. She directs the MFA Program at Rutgers University-Camden and lives in New Jersey with her husband, children and dog.

Mike McCormack: Thursday, March 21; Presidents’ Lounge, Connelly Center
McCormack has published two collections of stories, Getting it in the Head, which won the Rooney Prize for Irish fiction, and Forensic Songs. He is also the author of three novels, most recently, Solar Bones, which won the 2016 Goldsmith’s Prize and the 2018 International Dublin literary award. He is currently in residency at Villanova University as the 2019 Heimbold Chair of Irish Studies.

Claudia Rankine: Thursday, April, 4; Connelly Center Cinema
Rankine is founder of the Racial Imaginary Institute and the author of two plays, Provenance of Beauty andThe White Card, and five poetry collections including Don’t Let Me Be Lonely and Citizen, which received awards from the LA Times, the NAACP, the National Book Critic’s Circle and PENN. Recipient of a 2016 MacArthur Foundation “Genius” grant, she teaches at Yale University as the Frederick Iseman Professor of Poetry.

Julia Kasdorf: Thursday, April, 25; Dougherty Hall, East Lounge
Kasdorf is the author of four books of poetry, including Sleeping Preacher, which won the Agnes Lynch Starrett Prize, as well as the Great Lakes College Award and the Conference of Christianity and Literature Book of the Year. She is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize, and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. She is professor of English and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Penn State University.

The 21st Annual Villanova University Literary Festival is co-sponsored by the English Department, the Creative Writing Program, the Honors Program, Africana Studies, Global Interdisciplinary Studies, The Writing Center, Gender and Women’s Studies, and Falvey Memorial Library.

Borrow the romance, keep the swag! What better way to spend Valentine’s week than reading a romance novel? Falvey Memorial Library has a great collection of some of the greatest ones ever written. Borrow the book of your choice by taking it to the service desk. And when you do, you may keep the accompanying monogrammed gift bag, laptop sticker, and limited edition “How To Write A Love Letter” postcard. Happy Valentine’s Day from Falvey!

On this date in 1964, the Beatles arrived in New York! This week, the Curious ‘Cat asked Villanova students,

“What is your favorite Beatles song?” 

(Noelle Pennacchia, Reid Koren)

Noelle Pennacchia: “Hey Jude.”

Reid Koren: “All You Need Is Love.”

(Jimmy Beyer, Alexandra Marasa, Neelam Ferrari, Hamilton Heckney)

Jimmy Beyer: “Hey Jude.”

Alexandra Marasa: “Hey Jude.”

Neelam Ferrari: “Hey Jude.”

Hamilton Heckney: “Strawberry Fields Forever.”

(Jacqueline Dollard, Emily Spahn)

Jacqueline Dollard: “Let It Be.”

Emily Spahn: “Let It Be.”

(Jordan Landa, Cowan McCormick)

Jordan Landa: “Hey Jude.”

Cowan McCormick: “Help!”

Sarah Wingo, Gina Duffy, Kallie Stahl, Caroline Sipio

“You should think less about the future and more about the pleasures at hand” (even during a polar vortex). Have a fabulous first Friday of February!

―Quote by George R.R. Martin, A Song of Ice and Fire

It’s snow day season! On this chilly Thursday, the Curious ‘Cat asked Villanova students,

“What is your favorite thing to do on a cold winter day?” 

(Hannah Weiss, Christine Park)

Hannah Weiss: “Drink some hot coffee and watch episodes of The Office.”

Christine Park: “Stay inside and have hot chocolate.”

(Charles O’ Brien, Elise Miller)

Charles O’ Brien: “Eat soup from Holy Grounds.”

Elise Miller: “I like to watch Gilmore Girls and That ’70s Show.”

(Audrey Hamilton, Lauren DiNardo)

Audrey Hamilton: “Stay in and watch movies.”

Lauren DiNardo: “Watch Friends.”

Rob LeBlanc, First Year Experience Librarian:

“I like to snuggle under a warm blanket and watch reruns of The Sopranos.”

Deborah Bishov and Susan Turkel

Deborah Bishov, Social Sciences and Instructional Design Librarian, and Susan Turkel, Sociology and Criminology, Global Interdisciplinary Studies, and Gender and Women’s Studies Librarian, hosted a table at Villanova University’s 2019 Freedom School on Thursday, Jan. 24. Students were provided informational pamphlets highlighting the many services offered at Falvey as well as some free swag (stickers, buttons, bookmarks, pens, etc.)! For more information on diversity and inclusion-specific resources, visit the library’s subject guide. Be sure to check out Villanova University’s Digital Library to view Falvey’s digital collections.

This week, the Curious ‘Cat asked Villanova students, “What class are you enjoying this semester?” 

Eriny Tawfik: “Drugs and Behavior.”

(Gregory Wolz, Alan Yao, Raymond Ogunjimi)

Gregory Wolz: “Analysis of Algorithms.”

Alan Yao: “Theology.”

Raymond Ogunjimi: “Discrete Structures.”

Holly Hanson: “Monsters and Literature.”

(Giovanna Gallara, Savannah Restori)

Giovanna Gallara: “Animal Behavior.”

Savannah Restori: “Finite Elements.”