Hi, everybody. Afternoon. Im john obrien from the department of english and im happy to kick things off. Todays lecture is part of English Department lecture series known as the peters rushton seminars, a series that goes back to 1950. Its a series that included speakers such as keith brookes, randall general auden and seamus heaney. Today, were happy to welcome fred kaplan to the west oval room of the rotunda to speak on his designer Thomas Jefferson. Fred kaplan is distinguished Professor Emeritus of english at Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of new york. A scholar in century literature, kaplan has become best known as one of the most distinguished biographers of our era. He is published biographies of thomas carlyle, mark twain, henry james, charles dickens, John Quincy Adams, Abraham Lincoln gore vidal, and now Thomas Jefferson in his masterly pen. Kaplan offers us a biography of Thomas Jefferson by giving an english professors kind attention to jeffer
Baxter here with us today the author of in pursuit of jefferson traveling through europe with the most perplexing founding father. Joining us today from fairfax, virginia where he lives with his wife and children and in his words. They lived quite a peaceful life there before deciding to follow thomass jeffersons travel advice across europe, so he is going to tell you a little bit more about the book and we are so thrilled to have him here derek baxter everybody. Great. Well, thank you. Thank you scuppernong and and cspan. Thank you everybody for watching. So. So yes, this book is about its about me following jeffersons travels across europe and its really it was a chance to learn about a different side of jefferson that we dont often hear about we all know about the younger jefferson who wrote the declaration of independence at the age of 33, and we probably know something about jefferson as an older man when he was president , but this gave me a chance to explore this different side
Programing, community and descendant engagement and exhibits. The concept seems simple enough. Tell the full story. But storytelling, much like history itself, can be complicated, complex and contradictory. These speakers and their respective sites have all encountered different challenges while seeking to tell the full story. But theyve also experienced access, encouragement and praise for embracing and sharing the entirety of the american experience. Our moderator for this discussion is felicia bell Senior Advisor to the director at the Smithsonian National museum of American History, joe. Joining her on stage is meredith evans, who is director of the jimmy carter president ial library and museum. Sara bonharper executive director of James Monroes highland. Kate lemay, curator and historian for the National Portrait gallery. And Gayle Jessup White Public Relations and Community Engagement officer at monticello. And the Thomas Jefferson foundation. Please join me in welcoming our pane
Descendant engagement and exhibits. The concept seems simple enough. Tell the full story. But storytelling, much like history itself, can be complicated, complex and contradictory. These speakers and their respective sites have all encountered different challenges while seeking to tell the full story. But theyve also experienced access, encouragement and praise for embracing and sharing the entirety of the american experience. Our moderator for this discussion is felicia bell Senior Advisor to the director at the Smithsonian National museum of American History, joe. Joining her on stage is meredith evans, who is director of the jimmy carter president ial library and museum. Sara bonharper executive director of James Monroes highland. Kate lemay, curator and historian for the National Portrait gallery. And Gayle Jessup White Public Relations and Community Engagement officer at monticello. And the Thomas Jefferson foundation. Please join me in welcoming our panelists. Like. Well, good af
sculptures honour various historical and culturalfigures. but how should society commemorate controversial people from the past? barbara chase riboud, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. we re sitting here at a major exhibition of your work called infinite folds, and you started your artistic training at the age of seven. how on earth did you know at that early age that you wanted to become an artist? i didn t know i wanted to be an artist. it was my mother and my grandmother who decided that i was going to have something to do with the arts. they weren t quite sure what. you were 16 and you were the youngest person to ever have a work acquired by moma, the museum of modern art in new york. it was reba, which was a woodcut print of a young girl with a plant next to her. and you have said that success as a child came easily to me, and that i grew up as a confident, curious child, not willing to settle for anything but the best. were you always very ambitious from an early age