Speakers Bureau Speaker
Albrecht Classen, Ph.D., Tucson
Dr. Albrecht Classen is a University Distinguished Professor of German Studies at the University of Arizona, Tucson. He has published close to 50 scholarly books, and close to 500 scholarly articles. His research focuses on the European Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the history of German speaking Jesuit missionaries in eighteenth-century Sonora. He has received numerous teaching and research awards, most recently the Henry and Phyllis Koffler Prize for Research (2008) and the Five Star Faculty Award (2009, student nomination only). In 2004 the German government awarded him with its highest civilian Order of Merit, the Verdienstkreuz am Band.
Presentations may be made in Spanish, and are suitable for high school as well as adult audiences.
Love and Marriage: From a Medieval Perspectives
Both love and marriage are of extreme importance in most everyone’s life, and many of our modern discussions are centered on them. This presentation engages the audience in an examination of what constitutes true love and marriage from cultural and historical perspectives of the Middle Ages. The audience will be invited to examine critically their own positions vis-à-vis past perspectives and learn how much these values are results of long-term historical processes.
Host organization provides PowerPoint set-up and screen.
Quest for Religious Otherness:
Medieval Mysticism and Modern Spirituality
The human quest for spirituality has an eternal tradition. Today, we are in the midst of this quest as much as people in the past. During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, mysticism was one of the shining moments when religious women, above all, were graced with divine visions and revelations. Their experiences transpired in vibrant text, images, and music. This presentation will explore the meaning of mysticism in the Middle Ages and its connection to contemporary life. Audiences will have a chance to gain deeper insight into the timeless quest for otherness and will learn how to grasp mysticism from a historical perspective.
Host organization provides PowerPoint set-up and screen.
History of Women in the Western World: Medieval and Early Modern Women
Contrary to modern perceptions, the struggle for gender equality has a long tradition dating back to the Middle Ages. Feminist and gender research over the last four to five decades has continuously opened new dimensions of women’s participation in public life and culture, as well as men’s interest in fighting for or against women’s rights. This presentation will examine what we really know about women in the Middle Ages and in the early modern age, and will highlight women’s roles in literature, the arts and music, politics and the sciences. Audiences will get a sense of how modern day feminism has deep historical roots, and explore how our modern attempts to cope with gender issues are informed by a solid grasp of historical antecedents or predecessors.
Host organization provides PowerPoint set-up and screen.
German Jesuit Missionaries as Founders of Sonora/Arizona
We commonly assume that the early history of the Pimeria Alta (now Sonora/Arizona) was determined by the Spaniard colonizers. But in reality the Jesuit order can be credited with having had the greatest impact on the entire region, perhaps best represented by Padre Eusebio Kino (d.1711). A surprisingly large number of his successors hailed from German speaking lands and left a huge impact on the early history of the Southwest. This presentation illuminates the historical background of the Jesuit Order and traces the path of major representatives of German Jesuit missionaries to the Pimeria Alta. Moreover, it will bring to light some of the most recent research that is intensifying as major collections of original texts/letters are being translated into English. The audience will have a chance to gain insight into the global role which the Jesuits played, and how important the Sonoran province was for the international Jesuit order.
Host organization provides PowerPoint set-up and screen.
