The Faculty of Arts will host its Arts Wednesday events at UBC Robson Square.
By Loren Plottel
Arts Wednesdays, a free public speaker series now in its sixth successful season, brings UBC’s outstanding Faculty of Arts to the entire community. Taking place at UBC’s Robson Square campus in downtown Vancouver, the majority of this season’s programming will focus on topics relating to the Olympics and the human body.
The first event in the series, on Wednesday, October 14, is Olympic Reads I, a panel discussion entitled The Literature of the Olympics. In partnership with the staff of the Vancouver Public Library, UBC History student Birga U. Meyer and Hector Williams of UBC’s Classical Studies program will discuss the literature arising from past Olympic games. Speakers will examine the literature of the original games in ancient Olympia, including poems written to commemorate victors. They will also discuss the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany, the concept of the athlete as hero, and the impact on racial equality.
The role of sport in politics, the visual representation of the athletes’ bodies and the perception of the body as an expression of society are just a few of the topics the panel will discuss.
Arts Wednesdays talks are free and open to the public, but seats are limited. Talks begin at 6 p.m. and no registration is required. For more information call 604-822-4483 or visit www.arts.ubc.ca.
Arts Wednesdays is supported in part by the Winter Games Seminar Series.
Posted Sep. 23, 2009. See other Uncategorized
