Peter Morrin and John Begley, retired UofL fine arts faculty members and community arts executives, organized the yearlong celebration of the Ohio’s impact on nature, art, history, literature, economy, culture and more, especially in Louisville and southern Indiana. They started with one exhibit because they were fascinated by underappreciated Kentucky artist, writer and environmentalist Harlan Hubbard’s watercolors but then expanded their efforts to “explore the river that fascinated him all his life,” Begley said.

“As we talked with other community groups and individuals, we found all were bound to the river in one or another way, many in multiple ways,” he added.

Several museums, galleries and academic institutions are participating, and UofL faculty and staff members have volunteered to draw from their wide-ranging specialties to lecture at various venues.

“The faculty expertise at UofL has been a real boon to Afloat and really appreciated by all the institutional hosts,” said Begley, also former director of UofL’s Hite Art Institute galleries.

“It provides an opportunity to showcase our excellent faculty and the relevance of their research to the community,” said John Gibson, director of UofL’s Commonwealth Center for the Humanities and Society. “’Afloat’ is the brainchild of Peter Morrin and John Begley, and CCHS is delighted to partner with them on this exciting initiative.”

“So far we have placed our professors at the Frazier History Museum, Historic Locust Grove, Farmington Historic Plantation, LFPL-Main Library, Falls of the Ohio State Park, with plans to arrange more faculty talks in the months to come,” Gibson said.

Here’s the current lineup of participating College of Arts and Sciences speakers, topics and venues:

• June 13 – “Work Along the River Jordan: African American River Labor in the Ohio River Valley and the Development of Black America,” David Anderson, English associate professor, 6:30 p.m., Farmington Historic Home, 3033 Bardstown Road.
• June 29 and July 16 – “The Fish in the Ohio,” Linda Fuselier, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and biology associate professor. The June talk will begin at 3 p.m. at the Falls of the Ohio State Park, 201 W. Riverside Drive in Clarksville, Indiana, and the July one will start at noon at the Carnegie Center for Art and History, 201 E. Spring St. in New Albany, Indiana.
• Aug. 25 – “Emerson, Thoreau and the River in American Art,” John Gibson, philosophy professor and CCHS director, and Alan Golding, English professor, 2 p.m., Frazier History Museum, 829 W. Main St.
• Oct. 24 – “River Stories: Mother Love on Slavery’s Border,” Susan Ryan, English professor, 6:30 p.m. at the Louisville Free Public Library’s Main Library, 301 York St.
• Nov. 6 – “Traversing Indian Diplomacy on the Ohio River,” Frank Kelderman, English assistant professor, 1:15 p.m., Locust Grove, 561 Blankenbaker Lane.

Also, during the spring semester, UofL archivist and historian Tom Owen and English faculty member Sarah Strickley participated in an April 2 panel on “The Great Flood of 1937” at the Frazier History Museum.��

.��

The events at the Main Library, 301 York St., are part of the Will in the Ville citywide celebration of all things Shakespeare. UofL, Louisville Free Public Library and the Frazier History Museum are the chief sponsors with more than 45 community partners helping to mark the 400^th anniversary of the author’s death. The “First Folio! The Book That Gave Us Shakespeare” exhibition at the Frazier History Museum will run Nov. 10-Dec. 10.

Here are some featured events:

Oct. 10-Dec. 10 – “Shakespeare in Kentucky,” original exhibition about the history of Shakespeare and Shakespearean performances in the state, including rarely seen photographs and artifacts from UofL Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections, Kentucky Historical Society, The Filson Historical Society and others. The exhibit is produced in collaboration with UofL’s English, history and geography and geosciences departments and will be open at the library’s Bernheim Gallery during regular hours.

Oct. 17 – “Shakespeare in the World,” UofL and Sister Cities of Louisville Inc. present short discussions by UofL professors Matthew Biberman and Hristomir Stanev, English, and Janna Segal, theater arts, and readings of Shakepeare’s “To be, or not to be” soliloquy performed in the various languages of Louisville’s sister cities. The event is free but tickets are required by calling 502-574-1644 or .�� 

Oct. 18, 25, Nov. 1, 8, 15 –,” UofL English professor Julia Dietrich will teach a five-week, Tuesday night short course on Shakespeare’s “greatest hits,” their eternal themes and lasting impact on modern language and culture. The course is free, but registration is required by calling 502-574-1623. (6:30-8 p.m.)

The full event schedule is .��

The University of Louisville’s English department presents the 2016 Phi Beta Kappa Lecture with support from the Phi Beta Kappa Association of Kentuckiana.

Shapiro’s talk at the Main Library, 301 York St., is part of the . UofL, Louisville Free Public Library and the Frazier History Museum are the chief sponsors, but there are more than 45 community partners helping to mark the 400^th anniversary of the author’s death. The “First Folio! The Book That Gave Us Shakespeare” exhibition at the Frazier History Museum will run Nov. 10-Dec. 10, and several UofL professors will give gallery talks.

Shapiro will draw from his “Shakespeare in America” anthology, which he edited for the Library of America, to discuss how American writers from all regional, social, ethnic and political sectors have turned to Shakespeare in exploring issues that defined and divided the United States. His other books include “Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare?” and “1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare” and “The Year of Lear: Shakespeare in 1606,” expected this fall.

Shapiro is the Larry Miller professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University. He serves on the Royal Shakespeare Company and Folger Shakespeare Library boards; the Folger, Cincinnati Museum Center and American Library Association have made the traveling First Folio exhibit possible through a grant.

The event is free but tickets are required. Register at LFPL.org or call 502-574-1644.