Friends of the Library

The World of Books in Early America

Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 7:00 pm
The Michael J. and Patricia K. Batza Room in the Athenaeum

A lecture by Assistant Professor of History Matthew Rainbow Hale, about how early Americans use printed materials in ways that reflected particular cultural traditions. Find out more here.

The Art and History of the Book

Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 7:30 pm
The Michael J. and Patricia K. Batza Room in the Athenaeum

A talk by April Oettinger, Assistant Professor of Art History at Goucher College, discussing a new course on the history of the book and book illustration in the Western world that is being taught in the library's Special Collections & Archives. Oettinger received the Brooke and Carol Peirce Center for Undergraduate Research in Special Collections first ever curriculum development grant to attend the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia this summer. Oettingercompleted a historical survey of texts from manuscript codex to electronic formats. The survey supported the development of The Art and History of the Book (Art 382).

Oettinger earned a doctorate degree in Italian Renaissance art history from the University of Virginia and teaches courses in the history of Western art from the ancient world through the 18th century, as well as, seminars on Venetian art, landscape art, and the art and history of the book. A Fulbright-Hays fellowship recipient, Oettinger has also received grants from the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation and the William Morris Society, and a Dame Francis Yates fellowship from the Warburg Institute at the University of London. She is currently at work on a book entitled, Romance and the Revival of Antiquity in Italian Renaissance Art, 1440-1580

The Peirce Center seeks to engage undergraduates in original research that takes advantage of the rich resources in Special Collections & Archives at the Goucher College Library. The Peirce Center supports internships, research fellowships, course development and enhancement, lectures, master classes, field trips, digitization projects, exhibits, and other activities. The Center also partners with faculty to incorporate rare and special materials into their curricula and pedagogies, enhancing Goucher's reputation for offering innovative learning opportunities. The Center operates as a programmatic component of Special Collections & Archives of Goucher College and is directed by the special collections librarian and college archivist along with an advisory steering committee that includes faculty, staff, students, scholars, and the college librarian.