Towson AAUP February 2009

TU is working with the Maryland Secretary of State Office of International Affairs and World Artists Experiences (a non-profit group in Annapolis) to bring films from China, Mexico, Estonia, and Egypt. Each film will be screened at four venues (TU, Salisbury, Frostburg, and Annapolis) over four weeks. Towson’s screenings are scheduled for Friday nights (2/20 [Mexico], 2/27 [Estonia], 3/6 [Egypt], and 3/13 [China]) at 7PM in Van Bokkelen Hall Auditorium. Contact Greg Faller in Electronic Media and Film at gfaller@towson.edu

In keeping with the growing tradition of foreign film programs in recent years, the College of Liberal Arts will sponsor the 6th Annual CLA Foreign Film Series in Spring 2009, along with activities linked to a new program effort titled, “Trans-Asia: Turko-Persian Culture From the Bosporus to the Bay of Bengal.” The series will open on March 26 for the celebration of Nau Rooz, a holiday marked in various ways throughout the region; we will recognize particularly its Persian form (the name may be translated as new day, referring to the Persian New Year). The holiday begins on the first day of spring, March 21, and runs for 13 days. The opening celebration will include food, an explanation of the traditions of this holiday, and other brief presentations on the cultural context. Following this celebration, the first film in the series, “The White Balloon,” which features the Nau Rooz festival, will be shown in the Lecture Hall. On the following three Thursday evenings, the popular CLA event will present films from three other areas within the larger region, including “The Kite-Runner” on Afghanistan, a film from Azerbaijan, and a film from India (details of which are still being confirmed). Additional programs linked with this larger region may also be offered. All programs for the 6th Annual CLA Foreign Film Series will be held in the recently refurbished Lecture Hall building (which is surrounded by Linthicum, Psychology, and Smith). Details for each program will appear in the Daily Digest and on the CLA Events webpage.

Around the world, wherever Jews have lived, they have spoken somewhat differently from their neighbors around them. Their languages have differed by as little as the addition of a few Hebrew words or by so much that they are largely unintelligible to outsiders. In a public lecture on March 26, 2009 at 4:00 (room not yet confirmed). Dr. Benjamin Hary, Associate Professor of Hebrew, Arabic and Linguistics at Emory University, will explore the spectrum of Jewish linguistic practice, including languages such as Judeo-Arabic, Yiddish and Judeo-Spanish, as well as what is termed “Jewish English.” He will trace the historical development of these languages, which he terms “religiolects” and examine the various typological characteristics shared by Jewish languages, including the literary genre of verbatim translations of sacred Hebrew and Aramaic texts (such as the Bible or Passover Haggadah) into Jewish languages. On display will be several different Haggadot in various Jewish languages as well as sounds recordings from different Jewish communities. Contact Kimberly Katz, Department of History, kkatz@towson.edu for more information.




	Volume 2009 No. 1		Spring, 2009

SECOND FRIDAYS