UNM’s American Studies Department has announced Professor Phil Deloria as the featured speaker for this year's Joel M. Jones lecture. Deloria's lecture, titled “The Year the Stars Fell: Toward a Continental History of a Very Few Hours”, will take place on Thursday, March 21, 2024, from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Bobo Room in Hodgin Hall. A reception will follow the lecture, and the event is open to the public.
According to the announcement, Deloria will delve into the historical significance of the annual Leonid meteor shower that occurred almost two centuries ago. The lecture aims to connect various local histories among American Indian peoples by exploring the reactions and interpretations of different sociocultural groups to the celestial event.
Deloria, the Leverett Saltonstall Professor of History and Literature at Harvard University, is a renowned scholar in American Studies, Indigenous Studies, and History. His previous works have contributed significantly to the understanding of representations of Indigenous peoples and the challenges they faced in the early twentieth century.
The Joel M. Jones lecture series, named in honor of a former professor and chair of the American Studies Department, is made possible through an endowment from Jones's family, friends, and colleagues. This year's event is supported by several organizations, including UNM-CNM Humanities Now!, the Ortiz Center, the Center for the Southwest, and the Institute for American Indian Research (IFAIR).
For those seeking more information about the upcoming lecture, they are encouraged to reach out to Dr. Jennifer Denetdale, the point of contact for further details.
