J. Fred MacDonald lecture looks at 'Death of History' Sept. 23
September 09, 2010Kathleen S. White
(315) 443-8782
Historian and video archivist J. Fred MacDonald will discuss “The Death of History: Natural Causes or Murder?” in a lecture presented by Syracuse University Library Associates at 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 23, in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons of E.S. Bird Library.
Performing an “autopsy” on the traditional study of history, MacDonald contends that in the digital age primary documents—the raw materials essential to an understanding of the past—are easily, casually and regularly being relegated to the obscurity of basements around the world through online auctions. Most of these documents will be forever lost to public scholarship. MacDonald will discuss efforts to save the principal evidence of our past from amateur collectors, impulse buyers and ideological revisionists.
MacDonald is professor emeritus of history at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago and founder and president of MacDonald & Associates, whose holdings constitute one of the largest private repositories of films and television programs in the world. Clients of his archive include the BBC, NHK (Japan) and every major U.S. motion picture studio and television network. He is the author of six books and numerous articles on the history of American popular culture, available for free online reading at www.jfredmacdonald.com.
The event is free and open to the public; free event parking is available at Booth Garage, on the corner of Waverly and Comstock avenues, one block from Bird Library. For more information, visit library.syr.edu/libraryassociates.
Recent News
- VA awards Burton Blatt Institute partner contract to examine employment of veterans
June 13, 2011 Thanks to a $483,000 grant from the Veterans Administration, the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University, in partnership with veteran-owned business Corporate Gray, will conduct substantial research to improve the hiring and retention of veterans by businesses nationwide.
Read more - Syracuse University to receive Ted Koppel Collection
June 10, 2011 Ted Koppel, original anchor of the groundbreaking ABC News program “Nightline,” has agreed to make a donation of videotapes and other items he has prepared or received during his career in broadcast journalism to the Syracuse University Library.
Read more - VPA announces establishment of Philip H. Stevens Award in industrial and interaction design
June 10, 2011 Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) has announced the establishment of the Philip H. Stevens Award in the college’s industrial and interaction design (IID) program in its Department of Design.
Read more - Haynie appointed Barnes Professor of Entrepreneurship in Whitman School
June 10, 2011 Melvin T. Stith, dean of the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University, announces that J. Michael “Mike” Haynie has been named the Barnes Professor of Entrepreneurship, in recognition of his outstanding accomplishments in teaching, research and service.
Read more - Burton Blatt Institute Chairman Peter Blanck to co-chair Israeli disability rights panel on community living
June 07, 2011 University Professor Peter Blanck, chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University, has been appointed by the government of Israel’s Ministry of Welfare and Social Services to co-chair a disability rights expert panel on community living for persons with intellectual disabilities.
Read more
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY 13244-5040
- Phone: 315.443.1870