“Histories of the Alphabet” is the Subject of the 2015 NYU Fales Lecture, April 1st @ 6p

New York University’s Fales Library and Special Collections presents the 2015 Fales Lecture “Histories of the Alphabet” by Johanna Drucker on April 1, 2015 at 6:00pm at the Fales Library, 70 Washington Square South, Third Floor, New York, NY 10012. [Subways A,C,E, B,D,M to West 4th Street; 6 line to Astor Place; R train to 8th Street]. A reception will follow Drucker’s talk.

In its many forms and variations, the alphabet has been in continuous and widespread use for more than three millennia. Conceptions of its origin, development, identity, and diffusion have embodied models of history as varied in method as they are in belief. This presentation examines ways this rich field of materials might inform humanistic scholarship at the intersection of traditional approaches (historiographical, textual, graphical, archaeological) and those making use of digital tools and platforms while reflecting on a media technology that undergirds global networks of communication.

• WHO & WHAT: The 2015 Fales Lecture and NYU English Department’s First Wednesday Event Lecture: “Histories of the Alphabet” by Johanna Drucker;  Reception to follow.
• WHEN & WHERE:  April 1, 2015 at 6:00p, Fales Library, 3rd floor, Elmer Holme Bobst Library, 70 Washington Square South (at LaGuardia Place). [Subways A,C,E, B,D,M to West 4th Street; 6 line to Astor Place; R train to 8th Street].

Space is limited; the public should please rsvp.bobst@nyu.edu, specifying the event.

Johanna Drucker is the Breslauer Professor of Bibliographical Studies in the Department of Information Studies at UCLA. She is internationally known for her work in the history of graphic design, typography, experimental poetry, fine art, and digital humanities. In addition, she has a reputation as a book artist, and her limited edition works are in special collections and libraries worldwide. Her most recent titles include SpecLab: Digital Aesthetics and Speculative Computing (Chicago, 2009), and Graphic Design History: A Critical Guide (Pearson, 2008).

The 2015 Fales Lecture and NYU English Department’s First Wednesday Event is sponsored by the NYU Fales Library and Special Collections, and the NYU English Department.

About Fales Library and Special Collections:

The Fales Library, comprising nearly 355,000 volumes and over 10,000 linear feet of archive and manuscript materials, houses the Fales Collection of rare books and manuscripts in English and American literature, the Downtown Collection, the Marion Nestle Food Studies Collection and the general special collections of the NYU Libraries. The Fales Collection was given to NYU in 1957 by DeCoursey Fales in memory of his father, Haliburton Fales. It is especially strong in English literature from the middle of the 18th century to the present, documenting developments in the novel. The Downtown Collection, founded in 1993, documents the downtown New York art, performance, and literary scenes from 1975 to the present and is extremely rich in archival holdings, including extensive film and video.  The goal of the Downtown Collection is to comprehensively collect the full range of artistic practices and output of the Downtown scene, regardless of format.  This research collection, built on a documentary strategy, supports the research of students and scholars who are interested in the intersection of the contemporary arts with other forms of cultural and artistic expression.

The NYU Division of Libraries holds over 4 million volumes and comprises of five libraries in Manhattan and one each in Brooklyn, Abu Dhabi and Shanghai,. Its flagship, the Elmer Holmes Bobst Library on Washington Square, receives 2.6 million visits annually. Around the world the Libraries offers access to more than 1.2 million electronic journals, books, and databases. For more information about the NYU Libraries, please visit http://library.nyu.edu