Women and learning series presents 3 scholars

Women and Learning, a lecture series by three nationally known University of Wisconsin–Madison scholars, begins Wednesday, Oct. 10. The lectures, sponsored by the Friends of the UW–Madison Libraries, sample women’s scholarship in literature, science and history.

• Wednesday, Oct. 10, 4:30 p.m., Department of Special Collections, 976 Memorial Library, 728 State St.: The opening lecture, “Renée Lang: A ‘Little Lady’s’ Labor of Love,” will be given by Biruté Ciplijauskaité, Bascom Professor of Spanish emerita. Her talk features insight into the life and literary achievements of Renée Lang, professor emerita of Comparative Literature at Marquette University and the first chair of the Marquette University Women’s Studies program. At home in Switzerland, France, Italy and the United States, Lang writes and publishes in four languages. An exhibit in Special Collections from the Renée Lang Collection will complement the lecture.
• Thursday, Nov. 1, 4:30 p.m., 126 Memorial Library, 728 State St.: Deborah Blum, a journalism and mass communication professor, will present “The Nature of Love.” Blum won a Pulitzer Prize in 1992 for her newspaper series on primate research that inspired her book “The Monkey Wars.” In 1997 she wrote “Sex on the Brain: The Biological Differences Between Men and Women.” She is now writing a biography of Harry Harlow, the pioneering psychologist and founder of UW–Madison’s Primate Center. Harlow helped drive a revolution in psychology that forced science to confront the nature of affection and relationships
• Wednesday, Nov. 14, 4:30 p.m., 976 Memorial Library, 728 State St.: “Biography and Autobiography: Challenges and Contradictions,” will feature Gerda Lerner, the Robinson Edwards Professor of History emerita. Lerner developed a new discipline of academic study when she established the country’s first graduate program in women’s history at Sarah Lawrence College. She later founded the doctoral program at the UW–Madison. Born to a Jewish family in Vienna and imprisoned when the Nazis came to power, Lerner has said this experience influenced her interest in history. She began taking history courses at age 38 to research a book. Within three years after earning a bachelor’s degree, she earned her master’s and doctorate in history. Her autobiography, “Fireweed: A Political Autobiography,” will be published in 2002.

For information about the lecture series, contact the Friends of the UW–Madison Libraries, (608) 265-2505.