Newsletter Volume 12 Issue 4 - November 2025 | | Lunch Colloquium with Mel Konner -- November 3, 2025 | | |
Mel Konner
Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor Emeritus
MONDAY, November 3, 2025
The Luce Center
825 Houston Mill Road -- Room 130
11:30am-1:00pm
“Believers: Faith in Human Nature”
In the widening spectrum of psychological and behavioral phenomena that have been deemed to have biological underpinnings, religion and faith seem among the least likely. But anthropology suggests that they are universal not to all individual people but to all cultures, and that in turn suggests that a search for such underpinnings might be rewarding. We'll consider the evidence that religion and faith are products of evolution and instantiated in the human brain. They also develop predictably in a large minority if not a majority of people, although for many of us these inclinations don't last. Religion-bashing is a pastime for many scientists and philosophers and a career for some, yet it seems to have substantial staying power.
About Mel Konner:
Professor Konner received an A.B. degree in Anthropology, from CUNY, Brooklyn College, 1966, his PhD from Harvard University, 1973, and MD Harvard Medical School, 1985.
Melvin (Mel) Konner came to Emory in 1983 as the first Chair of the newly created Department of Anthropology. He co-founded the Anthropology & Human Biology major and has been a core member of the Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology faculty since that program was founded. He is also affiliated with the Tam Institute of Jewish Studies.
Long committed to fostering the public understanding of anthropology and evolution, he has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Review of Books, Newsweek, Salon.com, and many other publications both academic and general. He has testified twice at U.S. Senate hearings related to health care.
Konner is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2016. He is listed in Who's Who in America, and received fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, the Fulbright Foundation, and others. He was a trustee of the Russell Sage Foundation (2000-2010) and received the John McGovern Award in Medical Humanities from the Yale School of Medicine. He was Creative Loafing's Best Local Intellectual of 2004 and has been listed in "Who's Who in Hell."
| | Lunch Colloquium with Lois Overbeck -- November 17, 2025 | | |
Lois Overbeck
Director, The Letters of Samuel Beckett Project, Department of English,
Emory Curator: Chercher, an open-access website
MONDAY, November 17, 2025
The Luce Center
825 Houston Mill Road -- Room 130
11:30am-1:00pm
“The End is in the Beginning. And yet you go on.”
Lois will present a brief overview of the Editorial Project, begun in 1985 by Samuel Beckett, that became affiliated with the Laney Graduate School at Emory in 1990. With the assistance of Emory graduate and undergraduate students from many disciplines, as well as the support of many faculty colleagues at Emory, the four volumes of Beckett's selected letters were published by Cambridge University Press (2009-2016).
While over 16,000 letters were consulted and transcribed by the four editors, only about 2500 were selected for publication. It seemed important to make more of these letters accessible for future scholarship. With the approval of the Beckett estate, we worked with the Emory Center for Digital Scholarship to develop an open-access website to provide a finding-aid and index of letters that have been published or are in public archives around the world.
Chercher is intended to be a living archive. Once again, it is former Emory graduate students (now professionals in the field) who form the Advisory Board charged with continuing to discover, transcribe, and incorporate new materials into this website.
By the end of this year, we plan to deposit the Research Collection of the Letters of Samuel Beckett with the Rose Library at Emory. From the beginning, Emory and particularly the library, has been home to the project. Without grants from the NEH, other awards and fellowships, and gifts from individual donors, this project would not have been possible. We are grateful for the hands and minds of so many.
The presentation will include a few stories from along the way, a glimpse of Chercher, some words from students who were involved in the work of the edition, and an opportunity to meet some of our collaborators.
About Lois Overbeck:
Lois studied at Beloit College (BA), the University of Chicago (MA), and the University of Pennsylvania (PhD, the History of Drama and 20th Century Literature). She has taught at Claremont McKenna College, Georgia Tech, Geogia State, Agnes Scott, Spelman, and Emory (Theatre Studies and English).
She has published an edited collection with Paul Jackson, Intersecting Boundaries: the Theatre of Adrienne Kennedy (Minnesota), and is one of the four editors of The Letters of Samuel Beckett (Cambridge University Press, 2009-2016).
| | Preview of December Lunch Colloquiums | | |
December 1, 2025
BookFest
Read any good books lately? Might you be willing to recommend one (or more) of those good books to those of us wondering what to read next? We are looking for volunteers to describe books they have enjoyed that others might enjoy, as well. If you’ve got one to discuss, we’ll be happy to allot you five minutes of our BookFest time. If you’ve got two or three, we can schedule you for ten minutes. And of course, you can choose a book or books of any kind at all. If you would like to volunteer, please do so in an email to Ron Gould - rg@emory.edu.
Please supply Ron with the name of the book(s) you’ll be recommending, and let him know if you will need five or ten minutes. We will schedule accordingly. First come, first scheduled, until we run out of time.
In Person Registration
Zoom Registration
December 15, 2025
Emeritus College Holiday Party
Please join us for a special holiday version of our lunch colloquium. No lecture/speaker, just food, music, and spending time with friends before the holiday break.
NOTE: This will be an in-person only event.
In Person Registration
| | Athens Pizza Meet / Greet / Eat! -- November 22 | | |
Please join us for this month's Athens Pizza Meet/Greet/Eat!
Saturday, November 22, 2025
Noon
Athens Pizza
1341 Clairmont Road
Decatur, GA 30033
As always, we will relax and enjoy talking and eating with old and new friends. This is an opportunity to get out of the house, buy yourself a nice lunch, meet other Emeritus members, and have a little fun. Significant others are welcome.
Please let us know if you are planning to attend by clicking this link
No meeting scheduled for December: we will resume in January 2026
| | MedShare Volunteer Opportunity | | |
If you’d like to join this group, we are volunteering the second Thursday afternoon of each month. Upcoming sessions: November 13 and December 11 . Registration on the MedShare web site is required.
To register:
Visit the MedShare event registration page at: https://www.cervistech.com/acts/console.php?console_id=0319&console_type=event&ht=1&res_code=EmoryEmeritus
Click the "Sign Up" button for your event and enter your email and first name. If you don't have a MedShare volunteer account, you'll be prompted to create one.
Select the listed event and click “Register."
For registration issues, questions or information about carpooling, please contact Marianne Skeen, marskeen@comcast.net.
| | AMIS Atlanta Volunteer Opportunity | | |
Now that the holidays are approaching, the Atlanta Ministry with International Students (AMIS) is hosting several events to enrich the Atlanta experience for the students and scholars, and volunteers are needed!
Friendsgiving with AMIS 2025
Sat, Nov 15 | North Avenue Presbyterian Church
Join Friendsgiving with AMIS! Enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving meal while getting to know international students and American friends. This event is $6 for students and $16 for volunteers to attend. This will be a fun lunch with games, Thanksgiving trivia, and fellowship with Atlanta's international college students. Register on the AMIS website!
Thanksgiving Day Host 2025
Thu, Nov. 27 | Local Homes
We are seeking volunteers to host international students and scholars for a Thanksgiving meal! If you would like to invite any number of students (the number is up to you) to join you on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 27th, 2025, please complete the short Volunteer Interest Form. You will receive a follow up email from AMIS in November to match you with a student(s).
Amigo Friendship Program
AMIS is also actively recruiting volunteers for the Amigo Friendship Program, which matches international students with a local volunteer for a semester or year-long friendship. Many students are awaiting a match so we need volunteers to match with them! We are especially in need of male volunteers and/or couples/families that are willing to take male students. Please visit www.amisatlanta.org/amigovolunteer for more information on this low time-commitment volunteer opportunity!
Questions? Email office@amisatlanta.org. We hope that you will join us in welcoming the international student and scholar community to Atlanta!
AMIS Atlanta
607 Peachtree Street NE
Atlanta, GA 30308-2226
470-851-1248 (o)
office@amisatlanta.org
www.amisatlanta.org
Sign up for our mailing list.
| | Fox Center for Humanistic Inquiry | | |
For our October 20 Lunch Colloquium, Carla Freeman from the Emory University Fox Center for Humanistic Inquiry talked about the Center and all that it offers. Her talk was extremely interesting and informative. To learn more about the Fox Center, please click here (to sign up for their newsletter, click the "Join our Mailing List" tab at the bottom of their website page).
One of the upcoming programs Carla talked about is the Spring Ellmann Lecture with Min Jin Lee. You can register for free tickets and get more information by clicking here.
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Ron Gould
Goodrich C. White Professor Emeritus
Ron was featured in an October 22, 2025, Zoom colloquium for San Jose State University. His talk was entitled, Mathematics in Games, Tricks, and Puzzles.
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New members are the lifeblood of any organization.
Please make a special effort to welcome them to the EUEC!
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Ann Abramowitz
Professor of Practice, Department of Psychology
Lisa Radtke Bliss
Clinical Professor, Director of Health Law Partnership Legal Services Clinical, Georgia State University College of Law
Kenneth Castro
Professor Emeritus of Global Health
Sharron Close
Assistant Professor, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing
Nancy Collop
Professor Emerita of Medicine
Rick Doner
Goodrich C. White Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science
Hans Grossniklaus
Professor Emeritus of Ophthalmology and Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Bob Harbort
Emeritus Professor of Computer Science, Kennesaw State University
Michael Landau
Professor of Law Emeritus, Georgia State University College of Law
Amy Lederberg
Professor Emerita of Learning Sciences, Georgia State University
Michael Perry
Robert W. Woodruff Professor of Law Emeritus
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Dorinda Evans
Professor Emerita of Art History
We recently received an email from her daughter:
Sadly, Dorinda Evans passed away on September 13th in the company of doctors and family.
If you would like to be informed about future services, please reach out to antoniaevans@landmark.edu with your email or phone #.
If this is an artistic inquiry, you might try her friend and former colleague Ellen Miles (egmiles2@verizon.net) who had some crossover with her specialties, emphasizing Stuart, with the understanding that she is also retired and may not be available.
If this is from Redwood Library, Dorinda left behind research notes but I won't be able to look at them until school lets out at year's end. She enjoyed collaborating with you very much.
My condolences to anyone finding out this way; I tried to inform as many people as possible but I am not aware of all of her correspondence. If you would like to be added to the email chain of her friends to reminisce, feel free to let me know.
With regret,
Antonia Evans
To view an obituary, click on the link below:
https://obituaries.carewellcremations.com/dorinda-evans
| | Some Upcoming Events at Emory in October 2025 | | |
Photography Speaks: Stephanie Dowda DeMer
Emory Visual Arts Gallery | 700 Peavine Creek Dr. Atlanta, GA 30322
Monday, November 3, 2025, 7pm EST
Free event, open to public
Organized by Emory University photography professor Jason Francisco, the ongoing Photography Speaks series presents discussions with contemporary photographers. On Monday November 3, Photography Speaks invites Stephanie Dowda DeMer to discuss her work. DeMer is an Atlanta-based photographer and the current Emory Arts Fellow in Visual Arts.
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17th Annual Emory Veterans Day Ceremony
The Quad around the flagpole (rainout location is Convocation Hall, Room 210)
Tuesday, November 11, 2025, 11am – 12pm EST
Join us as we honor the service and sacrifice of our nation's veterans.
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Theater Emory: Peerless
Mary Gray Munroe Theater | 630 Means Dr, Atlanta, GA 30322
Thursday, November 13, 2025, 7:30pm EST
Friday, November 14, 2025, 7:30pm EST
Saturday, November 15, 2025, 7:30pm EST
Sunday, November 16, 2025, 2pm EST
$20 | Emory Students Free
In this darkly funny satire, twin Asian American sisters, brilliant, ambitious, and inseparable, have dedicated their lives to gaining admission to “The College.” However, when the coveted early decision spot is awarded to someone else, the competition turns deadly. Inspired by Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Peerless offers a razor-sharp exploration of academic pressure, identity, and the lengths we’ll go for success. Wickedly clever and bitingly relevant, this play delves into the heart of ambition with humor, horror, and a candid examination of what it takes to win.
Content Notice: This production contains incidents of racism, ableism, death, simulated physical violence, sexualized content, fire, and body shaming.
Recommended parking for Schwartz Center events is the Fishburne Parking Deck (free for events after 6 p.m. and on weekends).
Additional Emory Visitor Parking Information Here
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Details and other information, as well as additional campus events, can be found on the Emory Events Calendar.
If you'd like to share an event/program of interest before the next newsletter
please contact Dianne Becht Dianne.becht@emory.edu
| | Exploring the Campus with Dianne | |
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The small, and sometimes large, details....the Emory campus is home to many. The photo from our last newsletter is one of the rather fancy eaves on the Callaway Memorial Center Building located on the Quad.
Be sure to "look up" the next time you are in that area. I've provided another view of the eaves and one of the building itself for reference below.
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Let's continue exploring some of the "details" at Emory.
Many of us do not get a chance to see Emory when it gets dark, but the lights that illuminate the walkways and buildings can be quite interesting. These, in particular, are very futuristic, and I think there are no others like them on campus.
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Where will you find these on the Emory Campus?
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Emory University Emeritus College
The Luce Center
825 Houston Mill Road NE Room 206
Atlanta, GA 30329
http://www.emory.edu/emeritus
Emory is an equal opportunity employer, and qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by state or federal law. Inquiries should be directed to the Department of Equity and Civil Rights Compliance, 201 Dowman Drive, Administration Bldg, Atlanta, GA 30322.
Telephone: 404-727-9867 (V) | 404-712-2049 (TDD).
Should you need this document in an alternate format, or require a reasonable accommodation, please contact the Department of Accessibility Services at 404-727-9877 (V) | 404-712-2049 (TDD).
Please note that one week's advance notice is preferred.
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