Series III. Audio and Video Recordings, 1974-2010, inclusive

Discussions led by Richard Sennett at the 1976 Wellfleet Conference. Sennett does a lot of the talking but there are multiple participants discussing politics and religion.

Appearing on ABC's "Broadband," Richard Sennett discusses his recent book The Fall of Public Man, which proposes that the growth of the idea of individualism and the western obsession with self-awareness and self development is the most reactionary force in public life.

Famed American concert pianist opens the Fall 1978 James Lecture series with a discussion of Memory in Romantic Song Cycles; lecture is followed by 3 minutes of Q&A.

Round table conversation of unnamed participants, on the working class and its relationship with commercial culture and art in the 19th century. A good portion of the conversation revolves around T.J. Clark's book, The Painting of Modern Life: Paris in the Art of Manet and His Followers. The formal conversation ends about 5 minutes before the recording and that time is filled with layered banter between the participants.

After lengthy introductions by NYU President John Sexton and Lawrence Weschler, the lecture begins about 18 minutes into the recording. Photographer, Joel Meyerowitz discusses his work creating a photographic archive of the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center which culminated with his book, Aftermath: World Trade Center Archive.

Side A has the episode of the NPR show This American Life, "Pimp Anthology". Side B holds a 2004 episode of "All Things Considered," also on NPR. Judging by one of the labels (Tony Grafton on Kircher ATC May 22, 2002), the content that was targeted as the intended recording begins at 18:27 on side B (Or ACCESS CD 7:23). Anthony Grafton discusses a NYIH symposium on the life of Athanaseus Kircher. The story can actually be found here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1143769. (See related materials note for symposium)

A NYIH symposium on Athanaseus Kircher. Princeton University professor Anthony Grafton hosts and leads the lectures. Grafton discusses Kircher in general terms, then focuses on how Kircher thought about history, tradition, and the past, particularly Kircher's thoughts on how the Egyptian tradition was recorded in hieroglyphs. Next, Paula Finland discusses Kircher as a global figure, focusing on his deep and intimate connections around the world maintained through correspondence. After Finland, Michael John Gorman discusses Kircher the "engineer and magician", the creater of magnificent machines. Finally, David Wilson "channels" Kircher to close things out.

Introduced by Lawrence Weschler, this is a recording of a conversation between Ryszard Kapuscinski and Oliver Sacks that took place at Hemmerdinger Hall on September 18, 2002; an event entitled Rhapsodic Non-Fiction. Weschler explains the title by pointing out a common thread in the seemingly very different authors' works. Kapuscinski's The Emporer, on the surface was about an an anti-communist, Ethiopian regime being toppled, but was allegorical to the situation in Poland in the late 1970s. Oliver Sacks' Awakenings was about his patients with "locked in" syndrome, but could be compared to the result of liberation of nations, such as Poland and Czechoslovakia, previously trapped under strict authoritarian rule.

In June of 2002, the New York Times invited architects from around the world to submit suggestions and ideas on how to rebuild the World Trade Center. In this lecture, the curator of the project, New York Times Architectural critic Herbert Muschamp discusses the proposals and their potential impact on the lower Manhattan area.

The website that was created by the New York Times as a result of the project is still available here: http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/magazine/20020908_911_PLAN/index.html.

This is a version of the 3rd lecture Michael Fried originally delivered on April 28, 2002 for the A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. as part of a six-part lecture series entitled "The Moment of Caravaggio." Because it is the third in a series of six, he begins the lecture with a brief summation of the first two. Introduced by Lawrence Weschler.

This is a version of the 6th and final lecture Michael Fried originally delivered on May 19, 2002 for the A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Originally titled "Painting and Violence," this version he calls "Loosely, Roughly, Severed Representations." It was part of a six-part lecture series entitled "The Moment of Caravaggio."

Art historian Michael Fried discusses the topic of a book he recently published with Yale University Press about 19th century German artist, Adolph Menzel.

This is a public conversation between artist Breyten Breytenbach and author Lawrence Weschler. The topic is Breytenbach's work, which at the time of the conversation, was being displayed in the United States for the first time, at La Mason Francaise on Washington Mews at NYU.

Recorded in December of 2002, this is a discussion lead by mark danner on the looming war in Iraq. He begins with a quote from an unnamed ambassador on the UN Security Council who recently had said, "What has been decided is that there will be a war. What is being negotiated is the reason." This sets the mood of the rest of the recording.

This is a panel discussion about pre-adolescent intellectuals and society's prejudice against precosity featuring Susan Sontag, Oliver Sacks, and Freeman Dyson.

Apparently a dinner/lecutre of some kind, judging by the clinking of flatware in the background of the recording. While Jorge Castaneda had been scheduled to speak at this event, he was stuck in Bogota, Colombia and at the last minute, NYU visiting professor Derrick Bell was slated in his stead. Professor Bell discusses a recently finished book "Silent Conenants: Brown v. Board of Education and the Quest for Racial Justice" and the recently decided Supreme Court Cases regarding affirmative action at the University of Michigan, Gratz v. Bollinger and Grutter v. Bollinger.

Fomer Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Mexican Foreign Secretary Jorge Castañeda discusses the relationship between Latin American countries and the George W. Bush administration between 2000 and 2003.

Former Getty directorJohn Walsh discusses a project he worked on with video artist Bill Viola. There is an approximately 10 minute long "silence" on side 1, where the participating conversationalists are watching something silent (20:00-30:00). When conversation resumes, it's harder to make out.

Simon Schama discusses a work in progress that would become his 2005 publication Rough Crossings, a book about the rocky relationship between the United States and Great Britain in the century following America's independence in regard to each nation's stance on slavery.

The volume of this recording is so low it is completely inaudible.

Recorded at NYU's Deutsches Haus the second week of October 2003, Professor of English and Judaic Studies at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and memorial historian/expert, James Young, discusses the ongoing process of creating a memorial at the site of the September 11,2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City.

American poet Saskia Hamilton discusses her work editing the correspondence of American poets Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop. She reads excerpts from the letters and engages in Q&A with the audience.

Less than two months after her death, friends and admirers of Susan Sontag gather to discuss their memories of her, her works and her legacy. The event is introduced by Lawrence Weschler. Many unidentified speakers contribute. The event was organized by Susan's friend and designer of many of her books, William Drenttel. It is a somber and quiet event, described by one of the participants breaking a heavy silence, as being "like a Quaker meeting."

A lecture by Lawrence Douglas - James J. Grosfeld Professor of Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought at Amherst College (MA).

Former NYIH director, Leonard Barkam reads excerpts from and discusses his book Satyr Square: A Year, a Life in Rome.

Walter Murch discusses the limit of human perception and it's relation to editing film, asking "How much is too much?" He uses examples from Chinese characters and Ringling Brothers and his own work on Apocolypse Now and The Conversation.

Author and professor and lecturer in politics at Princeton University, Alan Ryan, delivers a lecture on pragmatism and the American status quo, entitled Is Pragmatism Good for Us?" It was originally entitled "Is the Pragmatist Revival Bad For Us?"

A NYIH symposium on Athanaseus Kircher. Princeton University professor Anthony Grafton hosts and leads the lectures. Grafton discusses Kircher in general terms, then focuses on how Kircher thought about history, tradition, and the past, particularly Kircher's thoughts on how the Egyptian tradition was recorded in hieroglyphs. Next, Paula Finland discusses Kircher as a global figure, focusing on his deep and intimate connections around the world maintained through correspondence. After Finland, Michael John Gorman discusses Kircher the "engineer and magician", the creater of magnificent machines. Finally, David Wilson "channels" Kircher to close things out.

Author and University of Pennsylvania Professor of English Literature, Elaine Scarry gives a lecture entitled "The Mother's Consent." The material she discusses was the basis for a project she was then working on. Extensive Q&A follows lecture.

After introductions an agenda is laid out on this discussion of consumer culture, gender and sexuality. Bill Leach seems to be one of the moderators. Topics discussed are as follows:

The historical significance of food abundance in cultures, focusing on China. Unique features of food abundance and scarcity in the modern period. Characteristics of modern abundance and the narrowing of body type ideals Eating disorders Gender and eating

Rather than a lecture, this recording is of a meeting of the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes. They discuss creating a Humanities Groups directory, funding, education and other topics. The tape is labeled April 28, but no year is given. Logistics are being discussed, making it appear to be early on in the Consortium's existence.

With a tape label reading "April 29" with no year, this appears to be day 2 of a CHCI meeting. The discussion on this recording focuses around creating an annual report or publication of some kind - who the audience will be, who will pay for it, etc.

Volume is exceptionally low with occassional bursts of volume. Difficult to distinguish content.

American Economist Wassily Leontief lectures on the relationship between man and machines from the 17th century to the present day.

Cognitive psychologist Jermoe Bruner discusses the problem of the acquisition of language in the human mind.

Richard Sennett discusses the importance of narrative explanation; how narratives have hidden and powerful explanatory effects in social and economic theory etc. He uses Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism as exemplary of the way in which the narrative structure of an argument is inseparable from the nature of the argument itself.

Ren Weschler and Joel Meyerowitz discuss Meyerowitz's work photographing the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. Labeled April 7, this recorded, one-on-one private conversation probably took place in preparation for the Meyerowitz's public NYIH lecture that took place in May of 2002. (see related materials note)

This appears to be a recording of a meeting of people discussing urban development in New York City. Saskia Sassen-Koob is among the people present. The meeting closes by one of the participants listing a number of other groups in the City interested in urban issues and holding meetings in upcoming weeks.

Israeli poet Aharon Shabtai discusses political poetry. Peter Cole discusses translating the poems into English. Cole and Shabtai read the poems both in Hebrew and English and then discuss.

Three talks by various speakers at the Harvard Graduate School of Design Conference of an unknown year. Talks by Moshe Safdie, Teddy Kollek and Richard Sennett.

Barbara Ehrenreich and Allen Hunter act as "co-conveners" of this New Right Seminar on the Equal Rights Amendment of 1972 and how the political right reacted to it.

Richard Rorty talks for 78 minutes, discussing, among other things, truth, knowledge, science, values, ethics, moral philosophy language and human cognitive capacity.