Date: Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Where: Fullsteam Brewery, 726 Rigsbee Avenue, Durham, NC 27701
Join the Duke University Libraries at Fullsteam Brewery in downtown Durham for a toe-tapping discussion about the history of the banjo with Laurent Dubois, Marcello Lotti Professor of Romance Studies and History at Duke University.
Professor Dubois is currently writing a book about the banjo for Harvard University Press. He is the author of Haiti: The Aftershocks of History (2012), Soccer Empire: The World Cup and the Future of France (2010), and a frequent contributor to such magazines as the New Republic, Sports Illustrated, and the New Yorker. He will discuss the African roots and Caribbean and North American plantation origins of this versatile instrument and how it has evolved into a multifaceted cultural symbol.
Plus live banjo picking!
Professor Dubois will be joined by musicians Zeke Graves, David Garner, and Jay Hammond, who will demonstrate various banjo playing styles and showcase historical and contemporary instrument designs from their own collections.
This event is part of the Engaging Faculty Series, sponsored by the Friends of the Duke University Libraries. Beer and other refreshments will be available for sale by Fullsteam, and complimentary hors d’oeuvres will be provided by the Libraries.
Free and open to the public.
For more information, contact:
Aaron Welborn
Director of Communications, Duke University Libraries
919-660-5816
aaron.welborn@duke.edu