Events Mark Playwright and Activist Ariel Dorfman's 25th Anniversary at Duke
Film screenings, theatrical programs and an academic conference celebrate Dorfman's work
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University’s Center for International Studies (DUCIS) hosts a year-long series of events celebrating playwright and human rights activist Ariel Dorfman’s 25th anniversary at Duke.
“Ariel Dorfman: 25 Years at Duke” will include film screenings, theatrical programs, and an academic conference on Dorfman’s work.
“Duke has been the bulwark of my career,” said Dorfman, the Walter Hines Page Professor of Literature and Latin American Studies. “For someone who needed a refuge and a welcoming intellectual atmosphere, I can think of no other place in the world that would have encouraged my work with such care. It has been so stimulating to have those wonderful students and extraordinary colleagues and an administration that was always ready to support my work.”
“Ariel has been a wonderful part of the university over these last 25 years,” said Provost Peter Lange. “His brilliance and versatility as an author provide inspiration for his students and colleagues; his energy suffuses into all he does and all those with whom he works; and his wit and garrulousness enliven his encounters with others, both academic and social.”
All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.
From Thursday, Oct. 29, to Saturday, Oct. 31, at the Nasher Museum of Art, Duke theater studies lecturing fellow Jay O’Berski will perform a staged reading of Dorfman’s play “Picasso’s Closet.” A question and answer with Ariel Dorfman will follow Thursday’s performance. General admission tickets are $5. For ticket information, call 684-4444 or visit tickets.duke.edu.
A benefit dinner at 5 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 15 at the Nasher Museum of Art will precede a special performance of the play at 7 p.m. Contact Jennifer Prather at jennifer.prather@duke.edu to make reservations for the dinner. Ticket sales from all four performances and the dinner will benefit three local organizations supporting literary and human rights.
Duke University Press is publishing a book by Dorfman’s former student, Sophia A. McClennen, now a faculty member at Pennsylvania State University. Ariel Dorfman: An Aesthetics of Hope is scheduled to be published in February 2010.
On Jan. 29, 2010, McClennen will convene an academic conference at Duke on Dorfman’s work in conjunction with Duke University Press’s reprinting of his book, The Empire’s Old Clothes.
Also next spring, the Screen/Society will show a series of Dorfman’s films, including “Death and the Maiden,” “Prisoners in Time,” “Deadline,” “A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman,” and “My House is on Fire.” Check fvd.aas.duke.edu/screensociety/ for schedule information.
“Ariel Dorfman: 25 Years at Duke University” is sponsored by the Duke University Center for International Studies, the Office of the Vice Provost for International Affairs, the Center for Latin America and Caribbean Studies, the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, and the Screen/Society.
For more information, visit arieldorfman.com or ducis.jhfc.duke.edu.
