Guest Speaker: Jon Fein, Objects and Memory, Thursday, 10/29, 4-6pm

The Objects and Memory documentary film and educational initiative explores how we respond to history while it is happening - how we preserve the past and speak to the future through the otherwise ordinary things in our homes and museums that are associated with people, places, and events. With narration by Frank Langella and music by Philip Glass, Objects and Memory was PBS's national prime time special in commemoration of the seventh anniversary of 9/11.

Objects and Memory extends across the humanities, showing how we navigate through a fragile and chaotic world by using previously undistinguished items that have become irreplaceable conveyors of identity, community, experience, and aspiration. Because of the broad and deep implications of this perspective, the presentation helps students take a fresh look at history, psychology, sociology, art, anthropology, literature, and other humanities disciplines.

Jonathan Fein, Director and Producer, will speak about his eight-year journey with Objects and Memory on Thursday, October 29th. With short segments from interviews and scenes that could not be incorporated into the film, he will explore multiple educational issues, with application to classroom teaching. These edited pieces stimulate thought about responding to history as it is unfolding, finding meaning in apparently insignificant things, contemporary historical collecting, evidence, authenticity, the nature of museums, material culture, memorialization, artistic response, souvenirs, memory and identity, kitsch, and the notions of physical versus virtual reality.

Fein has long been interested in the interrelationships of the tangible and the intangible. As a sculptor (University of Pennsylvania MFA '78), his work has evolved from the manipulation of physical material to sculpting in time: filmmaking. Shortly after 9/11/01 he saw that historians and curators were working as history was unfolding, and started filming their thoughts and actions.

Moderating the discussion will be John Broughton, who teaches Cultural Studies courses here in the Arts and Humanities Department, and is co-founder of the Film and Education Research Academy (FERA), a research, publishing, and teaching collaborative at Teachers College.

Jon Fein and John Broughton will be joined by Andrea 'Nova' Gutierrez, a recent doctoral graduate of the Interdisciplinary Program (Arts and Humanities/International Education) at TC. Andrea is an artist working on biography, loss and memory, best known for her travelling exhibition about the tragic murder of her Aunt, which has appeared in many of our united states. She is a high school English teacher who often uses film in her classroom. Along with John Broughton and Reuben Castagno, Andrea teaches the TC summer seminar on "Latina Film."

This event is co-sponsored by the Gottesman Libraries and the Film and Education Research Academy.

Where: Russell 305