April 15, 2021
06:30 PM - 07:30 PM
Online Via Zoom
"By Mourning Tongues"
Presented by George Bedell, Professor of Communication, Arts, and Humanities
Inspired while working on a project visually documenting the environmental challenges surrounding Mattawoman Creek in Charles County and the consequent theme of “death,” Professor Bedell’s presentation deals with “images about death and our surrounding cultural rituals for memorializing the dead.” Much of the work explores literary and historical references to rituals of memorialization that have inspired the author’s portfolio of images. Drawing on funerary literary images such as Beowulf, Homer’s Iliad, and W. H. Auden’s remembrance of W. B. Yeats’s passing, Professor Bedell underscores in a time of pandemic how “humans have tried to make peace with our impermanence through ritual and remembrance, and in the process, have created images and poems both sublime and enduring.” His presentation provides an opportunity to share reflections on the “visual meditations” on these images.
About the Series:
The CSM Faculty Excellence Lecture Series was established to highlight and share the scholarly work and interests of our faculty with their colleagues, students, and community members.