2006 Penn Events>

April 2006 Events

Franklin Symposium
April 4, 2006
Van Pelt – Dietrich Library Center
Offered in collaboration with the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

Franklin's ideas about education are the subject of this panel discussion, open and free to the public. A performance by Tempesta di Mare featuring the music of Franklin's times as well as the Historical Society of Pennsylvania’s annual dinner and speaker award ceremony—open to the public for a fee—will follow at the Penn Museum.

Ben Franklin's autobiography is the most widely published memoir of all time, and the preferred bedside reading of such notable Americans as Andrew Carnegie and Warren Buffet. As Philadelphians prepare to write their own 300-word memoirs, Michael W. Zuckerman, Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania, will explore the ingredients and impact of Franklin's autobiography, inspiring us all to think of writing as a tool for analyzing, shaping, and communicating a coherent story from the material of our lived experience.

This lecture has been made possible through the generosity of the John Templeton Foundation.

For more information about The Autobiography Project, and to find out how to get involved, visit www.theautobiographyproject.com from April 5 through May 17, 2006.

Conversations about Caregiving: Franklin’s Time to the Present
April 6, 2006
8:30 – 3:00pm
“Without good and careful nursing many must suffer greatly and probably perish that might have been restored to health and comfort, and become useful to themselves, their families, and the public for many years after”. (Benjamin Franklin 1754).
Franklin understood the interrelationship between individuals in need, caregiving resources, and the state, deftly tying together these themes. This one day interdisciplinary conference will address the nexus of caregiving and the state from Franklin’s time to the present. Scholars will explore how particular individuals, groups, or entities determine their caregiving needs in light of other pressing social and emotional requirements. This conference will strengthen the interdisciplinary intersection of the social sciences, humanities, and the professional schools. It poses an opportunity to bring these scholars together to think about the connection between their individual scholarship, the idea of caregiving, and the real impact both have on the experiences of individuals, families, communities, and states across the globe.
Location: School of Nursing
For more information: contact Janet Tomcavage at tomcavag@nursing.upenn.edu or 215/898-4522, www.nursing.upenn.edu/ce

Franklin, Vergennes, and the Achievement of American Independence
April 7, 2006
5:00 PM
Rosenwald Gallery, 6th floor, Van Pelt Library

Richard Beeman, Professor of American History at the University of Pennsylvania, will discuss the way in which Franklin, by his extraordinary combination of charm, political acumen, guile and, perhaps most important, genuine love of France and the French people, negotiated the dangerous diplomatic waters during America's peace negotiations with England, France, and Spain. Sponsored by the French Heritage Society, in conjunction with the University of Pennsylvania Library. A reception and viewing of the Library exhibition, �Educating the Youth of Pennsylvania: Worlds of Learning in the Age of Franklin,� will follow. Sponsored by the French Heritage Society.
More information: Elizabeth Beck egw@pobox.upenn.edu