The University of New Mexico

NEWS RELEASE

Contact : Carolyn Gonzales 277-5920
cgonzal@unm.edu

March 14, 2008

The University of New Mexico’s Institute for Medieval Studies hosts its 23rd Spring Lecture Series, “Medieval New Mexico: A Celebration of Tradition and Cultural Interaction in the Land of Enchantment,” Monday, March 31–Thursday, April 3. The series includes six lectures and a concert. All sessions will take place in Woodward Hall room 101 on the main UNM campus. The event, supported by a grant from the New Mexico Humanities Council, is free and open to the public.

The series begins with an opening keynote lecture on Monday, March 31 at 7:15 p.m. and continues with 5:15 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. sessions the following three days. The concert is scheduled Thursday, April 3 at 5:15 p.m. Speakers include internationally known faculty from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Brown University, as well as distinguished local experts on New Mexico’s traditions. The concert features UNM’s Early Music Ensemble under the direction of Colleen Sheinberg, founder member and co-director of Música Antigua de Albuquerque.

The purpose of the series is to explore some of the richly varied traditions that shaped New Mexico’s history and culture—traditions that continue to resonate today. Individual lectures will focus on medieval European traditions that have been transformed through transfer to New Mexico as well as on indigenous traditions that have been enriched through cultural interaction.

The Tuesday afternoon lecture, by the museum director of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, examines creative tension between indigenous and Christian symbols and practices characteristic of Pueblo spirituality, while the Tuesday evening lecture shows how the medieval cult of the Virgin was transformed on New Mexican soil, and brings the story to date by examining the roots of two recent controversies. Other presentations discuss evidence of a crypto-Jewish tradition in New Mexico that has its roots in the late Middle Ages; the historical and ritual significance of the Matachines dance as practiced both in indigenous Pueblos and in Hispanic communities; and the tenacity and transformation of key Hispanic traditions. The series presents an informative perspective on the rich fusion resulting from the confluence of different historical traditions in New Mexico.

Lectures

Speakers

For more information, contact Timothy C. Graham, 277-1191, or tgraham@unm.edu.