PLEASE NOTE

Lunch Colloquium programming concludes for the summer with our July 25 talk. Lunch Colloquiums will resume in September.

The newsletter will also take a brief respite and will officially resume in early September.



Lunch Colloquium -- Monday, July 25, 2023

“From Mummies to Swimming Pools: Ethics and

Museum Collections in the 21^st Century”

Annie Shanley

Assistant Registrar and Provenance Researcher, Michael C. Carlos Museum

Monday, July 25, 2023

11:30-1:00pm

Museums are finally taking responsibility for the ethical (and sometimes unethical) choices they made in the past. How does the Carlos Museum reconcile historical collecting practices with 21^st Century ethical standards, and what does this changing museum culture mean for new acquisitions? Provenance Researcher Annie Shanley will explain how the Carlos and Emory are navigating the shifting ethical culture of American museums.

About Annie Shanley:

Annie Shanley has an M.A. in Egyptian Art and Archaeology and a Ph.D. in Egyptian Art. After teaching at the University of West Georgia and Emory University, she joined the Registrar’s office of the Michael C. Carlos Museum where she has served as the museum’s Provenance Researcher since 2020.



BookFest Follow-up

Thirteen books were presented on July 12 and will appear in the Colloquium recording. An additional thirteen are listed here, but were recommended without additional information from EUEC members.

[*indicates a prizewinning book or author, ^is a bestselling book or author, ^*indicates both]

Ron Gould

The Owen Archer Series by Candace Robb [2015-2022, 14 books] Medieval History/Mystery

The Wager^: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann*^ [2023]

British Naval History

Family Impromptu: Collected Stories by EUEC member Rosemary Magee [2022] fiction

Ann Rogers

Pompeii A Novel by Robert Harris^ [2005] Historical fiction

Donna Brogan

The Thursday Murder Club^ Series by Richard Osman [2022-] Mystery/Humor

Marilynne McKay

War Like The Thunderbolt* The Battle and Burning of Atlanta by Russell S. Bonds* [2009]

Civil War History

Brave Companions: Portraits in History by David McCulloch*^ [1991] History/Biography

Kindred* Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art by Rebecca Wragg Sykes* [2020]

Science/Anthropology

Vernon Robbins

Look for Me There: Grieving My Father, Finding Myself by Luke Russert [2023]

Autobiography/Travel

Different: Gender through the Eyes of a Primatologist by Frans de Waal* [2022]

Science/Anthropology

Len Carlson

1491*^ New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles G. Mann* [2005]

Science/Anthropology

The Last Days of the Dinosaurs*^ An Asteroid, Extincton, and The Beginning of Our World by

Riley Black* [2022] Science/Prehistory

Richard Kahn

The Exceptions* Nancy Hopkins, MIT, and the Fight for Women in Science by Kate Zernike [2023

NOTE: The following books were not presented, but were recommended by EUEC members:



Perry Sprawls

Even a Shepherd by Ronnie Jowers, retired Emory administrator [2023] Biblical history/fiction

Denise Raynor

Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave Ona Judge by

Erica Armstrong Dunbar* [2017] Black American History

Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom by Ilyon Woo* [2023]

Black American History

Babylon Sisters A Novel by Pearl Cleage* [2005] Black Fiction

Horse* by Geraldine Brooks* [2022] Historical Novel/horse racing

Linda Grabbe

The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain [2015] A lighthearted French novel

This Is Happiness by Niall Williams [2019] A wise and warm Irish novel

Kurt Heiss

Killers of the Flower Moon*^ The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann*^

[2018] American History

The Orphan Collector^ A Heroic Novel of Survival During the 1918 Influenza Pandemic by

Ellen Marie Wiseman^ [2020] Historical fiction

Forty Autumns: A Family's Story of Courage and Survival on Both Sides of the Berlin Wall by

Nina Wilner [2017] Cold War History

Sandra Dunbar

The Lincoln Highway^ A Novel by Amor Towles^ Set in 1954, two brothers find that our personal

journeys are never as linear or predictable as we might hope

Stealing by Margaret Verble* a novel about a Cherokee child removed from her family and sent

to a Christian boarding school in the 1950s

The Diamond Eye^ A Novel by Kate Quinn [2022] historical fiction based on a true story about

a female sniper in WWII

--Marilynne McKay



Program of Interest -- Reading and Discussion Group

Virgil’s Aeneid: Poem of Duty

Reading and Discussion Group

Emory University Emeritus College

Sponsored by the Dialogues on the Experience of War program of the National Endowment for the Humanities

Begins August 2023

Virgil's Aeneid became the most popular epic written in the Latin language shortly after the author's death and has retained that status for the past 2000 years. Through readings and group discussion, we will use the Aeneid to explore Roman ideas about duty in the context of military service.

Themes will include: what it means to be a hero of duty, the ideal of self-control, models of leadership, the definition of a classic, and the role of art and literature as a response to war.

We will also try to understand how a poem that includes multiple depictions of personal loss and sacrifice in war could resonate in our own society. Virgil describes several forms of duty: to oneself, to family, to tribe, to country, to an ideal, to the gods. What happens when two or more forms of duty come into conflict with each other? How should we choose which duty to follow?

The discussion group, moderated by Henry Bayerle, Associate Professor of Classics at Oxford College of Emory University, and hosted by the Emory University Emeritus College, will meet on Zoom. Books will be provided free of charge. The reading group is open to all. Veterans and family members of veterans of all ages are especially welcome, as are those who are interested in veterans’ issues.

If interested, please contact Henry Bayerle -- hbayerl@emory.edu

Professor Emerit - Round Two

As reported in the July 5, 2023, newsletter, the Emory Board of Trustees has now approved “Professor Emerit” as an addition to the titles “Professor Emeritus” and “Professor Emerita.” This came in response to Ann Roger’s proposal to the Emory University Faculty Council in March, and the proposal’s subsequent procession through the University Senate, the Office of the Provost, the Office of the President, and finally the Board of Trustees. Given the various efforts in gender inclusivity in other parts of the University, in dealing with the binary gendered titles of emeritus and emerita, it was almost inevitable that something would have to be done about those titles. I think it was extremely important that the Emeritus College would be in front of the title addition. We know that we are a vital and intellectually engaged group of faculty, but that is perhaps not the common narrative about “old people.” It is therefore important that we proposed the change, rather than made the retrospective argument “that is not the way it has been done in the past.”

We now face, perhaps a bit more urgently, the name of our organization: Emory University Emeritus College. The addition of a third Professor title points out more starkly that “Emeritus” refers to those who identify as male. Below I propose four suggestions.

Emory University Emeritus College

We could of course keep our name. The argument would be that our name has a distinguished history and has achieved recognition on our campus and beyond about our many activities.

EUEC

Certainly many companies such as International Business Machines and National Cash Register have done well as IBM and NCR. I would strongly oppose this suggestion for two reasons: 1)  EUEC says nothing to our campus or to the outside world about who we are and what we do and 2) I don’t know of any faculty member who wants a more corporate identity or branding.

Emory University Emeriti College

Some “Emeritus Colleges” have chosen to use the plural, emeriti, in their name. This seems less gendered. Emeriti is the Latin plural form of emeritus, and I was assured several years ago by one of our classicists, Herb Benario, that emeriti would also be the form referring to both male and female emeritus/emerita faculty. I think this is true in the same sense that when I was growing up, men was the plural of man, and also referred to groups of people that consisted of both men and women. Does anyone want to use “men” in that sense now? 

Emory University Emerit College

“Emerit College” perhaps doesn’t roll off the tongue because we are not used to the word emerit, but using this name has the virtue of being very similar to our current name, while avoiding the gendered emeriti plural. Because emeritus/emerita titles are rather esoteric, there is not much style guidance about their usage. That, interestingly, is not the case for alumnus/alumna. I found very similar, and pertinent, articles about alumnus/alumna online in Merriam-Webster and Grammarly about this topic. Both of the articles are short and worth quick visits. Both refer to the current usage of alum and alums for all graduates. Merriam-Webster ends its article with this suggestion:

“All of these words are, as is the English language itself, constantly in a state of flux, and what is considered correct now may be viewed differently in 20 years. If you are concerned about choosing the word that is least likely to arouse someone’s usage hackles think of alumnus & alumni as male, alumna & alumnae as female, and alum & alums as gender neutral.”

It is a short leap to substitute “emerit” for “alum” in the above; note also that “emeritus” in our current name is singular, as is “emerit.”  

--Gray Crouse



Member Activities

Oded Borowski

Professor Emeritus of Biblical Archaeology and Hebrew

Director, Lahav Research

Project: Phase IV

Director Emeritus, Mediterranean Archaeology

Oded Borowski participated in a conference titled Stone Carved Identity: The Tel ‘Eton Cemeteries and the Development of the Judahite Burial in Comparative Perspective; A Research Workshop of the Israel Science Foundation, in Neta (Israel), 17-19 April 2023 where he presented the paper “The Iron Age II Cemetery at Tell Halif.” 



New Member

New members are the lifeblood of any organization.

Please make a special effort to welcome them to the EUEC!

Upcoming Events at Emory

Emory Summer Farmer's Market

 McDonough Plaza

 Tuesday, July 25, 2023, 11am – 2pm EDT

All are welcome!

Hot food vendors, fresh produce, artisanal breads and baked goods, coffee & juice.

The final Summer Farmer's Market will be on Tuesday, July 25. Markets will restart on August 22 for the 2023-2024 academic year.

Emory Gate Crossing + Coke Toast

 Haygood-Hopkins Gate + Emory Quad

 Monday, August 21, 2023, 11:15am – 12pm EDT

On Monday, August 21, the entire Class of 2027 in the Emory College of Arts and Sciences will cross through the iconic Haygood-Hopkins Gate to mark the beginning of their journey at Emory University. The Emory community is invited to cheer on its newest members as they process to the quad where President Fenves will lead the annual Coke Toast.

Event Details:

• Please arrive at 11:15 a.m. to find a spot on the brick sidewalk between the Emory Gate and the Quad. Volunteers will be available to assist.
• The student procession will begin at 11:30am.
• We invite our community to applaud and cheer as new students process to the quad, making this a welcome to remember.
• After the procession ends, the Emory community is invited to join the Coke Toast on the Quad with President Fenves. The event will conclude at 12 p.m.
• All Emory community members are invited – faculty, staff, students, and alumni.

Please join us to celebrate this momentous occasion for our new students. Questions can be directed to Jill Camper, Director of Orientation, at jill.m.camper@emory.edu.



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

The sculpture from our last walk can be found in front of the Donna and Marvin Schwartz Center at the corner of North Decatur Road and Clifton Road.

The title of the sculpture is Construction #200 and was created by Jose De Rivera in 1980. It is made of stainless steel on a granite base. Rivera is known for twisting steel or bronze bands into space-defining three-dimensional shapes, a process he calls "plastic geometry."

I've been told the sculpture has the capability of slowly rotating, although I've never seen it do so.



Since we will be taking a brief newsletter break, I will not post a photo with a question about its location, but will leave you with a photo I took of the magnificent view from the Klamon Room in the Claudia Nance Rollins Building during our EUEC 20th Anniversary celebration in April 2023.

Be ready to walk the campus with me again in September!

Emory University Emeritus College

The Luce Center

825 Houston Mill Road NE Room 206

Atlanta, GA 30329

http://www.emory.edu/emeritus