Thursday Lecture Series: Diverse Dimensions of Art   

Photographs hang in museums, and art schools train photographers. It seems clear that photography has claimed a permanent place in art and art history—but the story is, in some ways, a recent one, unfolding during a period of radical changes in art itself. From the G.I. Bill to the present, this presentation traces photography’s winding path through a rapidly shifting era.

Brendan Fay is an associate professor of art history in the School of Art and Design at Eastern Michigan University. He is the author and curator of Photography as a Way of Life: Minor White, Aaron Siskind, and Harry Callahan, a book and exhibition about teaching, learning, and living photography in the postwar United States (forthcoming April 2026). 

Speaker will be presenting in-person and streamed live through Zoom

An introduction to the Art Quilt movement, including the visionary artists who created the genre, their individual styles and examples of their work, and how art quilts changed traditional notions of what constitutes a quilt.  

Leslie C. Levy was named the Ardis & Robert James director at the International Quilt Museum in 2014. After earning her Juris Doctor from the University of Nebraska's College of Law, Ms. Levy worked in both private and public services, including two international non-profits and 12 years as the Chief of the Consumer Protection & Antitrust Division for the Nebraska Department of Justice.

The speaker will be presenting on Zoom only.

Over a century ago, tablets with ancient writing were discovered in Michigan. Some argued they were relics of a lost civilization, while experts identified them as fake artifacts. Interest in these relics continues to this day. This lecture explores questions about the evidence used to identify the authenticity of ancient artifacts, why these relics continue to intrigue people, and the ramifications of archaeological frauds. 

Lisa C. Young is a Teaching Professor in anthropology at the University of Michigan. Her archaeological research examines changes in community organization and foodways of small-scale farming communities in the American Southwest. She also researches the histories of museum collections to explore the changing relationships between anthropologists, museums, and communities of origin. Public outreach and community engagement with diverse stakeholders, including Indigenous communities, are an integral part of her work.

Speaker will be presenting in-person and streamed live through Zoom

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well," notes the narrator in Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own. Amidst an increasing focus on gut health, sustainable food systems, food sovereignty, food (in)security, and other social (and social media) topics, the place of food in literature and culture has come in for renewed interest in scholarship that goes beyond the gustatory text. How do a range of literary forms (fiction, nonfiction, cookbooks) and visual media help us imagine the significant ways in which food relates to our lived experience? If food has power, as Anthony Bourdain insists in Kitchen Confidential, how does literature reveal its power?

Supriya M. Nair is a Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. She is the author of two monographs, Caliban's Curse: George Lamming and the Revisioning of History and Pathologies of Paradise: Caribbean Detours. She is also co-editor of Postcolonialisms: An Anthology of Cultural Theory and Criticism and editor of Teaching Anglophone Caribbean Literature. She regularly teaches courses on Food and Culture at the University of Michigan. 

Speaker will be presenting in-person and streamed live through Zoom

The speaker will demonstrate how just about every movie – from Hollywood blockbuster or to small, indie film – follows the same story structure, divided by three acts and 12 steps along the “the Hero’s Journey.” In addition to providing examples of story structure in popular films, Fox will also touch upon screenplay formatting. There will also be an interactive component in which participants can explore these concepts through their favorite films. 

R.J. Fox is the award-winning writer of three published books, several short stories, plays, poems, a memoir, and 15 feature-length screenplays. He is also the writer/director/editor of several award-winning short films. He teaches English and film at Huron High School in Ann Arbor, MI. His movie Love & Vodka (based on his book of the same name) premiered at the 2024 Cinetopia Film festival. 

Speaker will be presenting in-person and streamed live through Zoom