Free Lecture on Dante and The Divine Comedy September 22, 2007

Medieval scholar Elizabeth Schirmer, PhD., New Mexico State University, will deliver a free lecture, Dante Alighieri and the Writing of the Divine Comedy, at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 22 at the Branigan Cultural Center in Las Cruces. The event is one in a series of lectures supporting the Dali Illustrates Dantes Divine Comedy exhibition at the Las Cruces Museum of Art, which runs through Sunday, Nov. 25.

Assistant Professor in the New Mexico State University English Department, Schirmer received a PhD in English from the University of California, Berkeley and also holds an AB in English and French Literatures from Stanford University. She has been a faculty member at NMSU since 1993, where she teaches in the Honors College and Womens Studies Program, as well as in the English Department, where she is Director of Undergraduate Studies. Included among her courses are those on medieval rhetoric, medieval women reading the Bible, Chaucer, and a survey of British literature through the 18th century. Schirmer explains that in her research and teaching, she asks how literature shapes the intellectual, political, and spiritual lives of readers in both medieval and modern times.

There is a $5 admission fee for visitors over the age of 18 to the Dali Illustrates Dantes Divine Comedy exhibition at the Las Cruces Museum of Art. The exhibition is open on Tuesday through Thursday from 10 a.m. 5 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m. 7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. 5 p.m.; and Sunday, 1 - 5 p.m. The exhibition is closed on Mondays. For more information about additional lectures and performances that will accompany the Dali exhibition, call 505-541-2137 or visit the website, www.dalilc.org

Event submitted by Eventful.com on behalf of lcms.