Westfield Athenaeum Library

Lecture Series

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2011 Fall Lecture Series

Lectures take place on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. in the Lang Auditorium, unless otherwise noted. All the lecctures are free & open to the public, yet a donation of $5.00 per person per lecture is greatly appreciated.
The Edwin Smith Family Distinguished Speaker is a ticketed event.

September 21 at 7:00 p.m.

Presenter: Professor Gwendolyn Scherer
Topic: GREAT ESCAPES: The Underground Railroad in Western Massachusetts

September 24 at 11:30 a.m.

Special Event: 2011 Carol Otis Hurst Children’s Book Award @ Colonial Harvest Day
Location: Colonial Harvest Day Performance Tent

October 5 at 7:00 p.m.

Presenter: Transition Trainer Tina Clarke
Topic: Coming Together in a Time of Challenges and Change: Transitioning our Region to a Positive Future ( film & discussion). More information is available at http://transitionmassachusetts.ning.com/profile/TinaClarke.

October 19 at 7:00 p.m.

Presenter: New England Historical Consultant Bill Hosley
(Terra Firma Associates NE)
Topic: Making Sense of Place: Perspectives on Westfield’s Heritage and CulturalResources

More information about Mr. Hosley is available at www.billhosley.com.

November 2 at 7:00 p.m.

Special Event: 2011 Edwin Smith Family Distinguished Speaker Award

Presenter: Boston Globe Sports Columnist Dan Shaughnessy

Topic: The Resurgence of New England Sports Teams During the Past Two Decades

November 16 at 7:00 p.m.

Presenter: Historian Peter Quirk
Topic: The Kennedy Assassination and the Warren Commission Report

Historian Peter Quirk has lectured at American International College (AIC), Westfield State University, Springfield Technical Community College, Holyoke Community College and Deerfield Academy. Quirk will be presenting an overview of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the work of the Warren Commission, which investigated the “magic bullet” theory, the film footage shot by bystander Abraham Zapruder which captured Kennedy being shot and the immediate aftermath, what Quirk believes was “awful” work done by the FBI, as well as some of the frivolous press coverage about the assassination that continues to this day.

December 7 at 7:00 p.m.

Presenter: Professor Harry Stessel
Topic: Charles Dickens on Film

This Dickens Days program will feature showings of film clips from some classic film adaptions of the novels of Charles Dickens. Professor Stessel will talk about how the films compare and contrast to the novels on which they are based. In particular, Professor Stessel will discuss Director David Lean’s versions of Great Expectations, which Lean directed in 1946, and Oliver Twist, which he directed in 1948. Great Expectations won two Academy Awards for Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography, and was nominated for three others, including Best Picture. Oliver Twist, starring Alec Guinness as Fagin, did not garner any Oscars, however, Guinness’ portrayal of Fagin caused considerable controversy and was considered to be anti-semitic by some (it was banned in Israel for anti-semitism). It is now considered to be one of the great classics of British cinema. The musical version, Oliver!, which premiered on Broadway in 1963, directed by Peter Coe, will also be discussed.

Professor Stessel has a BA in English from the Univ. of North Carolina, an MA in English from the Univ. of Chicago, and a Ph.D. in American Civilization from the Univ. of Pennsylvania. He teaches Film Studies, American Literature and Speech classes at Westfield State University, where he has been on the faculty of the English Dept. for 26 years.

Sponsored in part by Westfield on Weekends (WOW) and the Westfield Business Improvement District (WBID), in conjunction with Westfield Dickens Days.

All of the lectures (with the exception of the Edwin Smith Family Distinguished Speaker program on November 2, featuring Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy) are free and open to the public and refreshments will be served. For more information, call the Westfield Athenaeum at 413-562-0716 or visit www.westath.org.

The Lecture Series is funded in part by Friends of the Westfield Athenaeum