Nerd Nite at the Museum: In the Company of Women
Nerd Nite is coming to First Friday at Phoenix Art Museum!
July 6, 2018
7:30 – 9pm
RESERVE YOUR SEAT (It’s free, but seats are limited!)
“Woman, I can hardly explain,” said the smartest Beatle at a rare loss for words, but there will be no man-splaining tonight!
Nerd Nite celebrates the opening of the newest exhibition at Phoenix Art Museum, “In the Company of Women” by showcasing three super smart madame speakers, empowered by PowerPoint and years of collective knowledge on their topics of expertise, presenting such femme-tastic topics as Jane Austen, the smokey seductresses of David Lynch films and how technology is making things icky for men and women alike.
We’ve been gone awhile so to remind you of what Nerd Nite is, think learning at bar, and in this case, the bar happens to be the Phoenix Art Museum. One thing Nerd Nite always is though is fun. And free. Nerd Nite is free because we do it for love.
And without further ado, our presentations!
*Presentations may not be listed in the order in which they will appear
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The Making of Jane Austen
by Devoney Looser
Whether you think of her as quaint, twee Jane Austen or name-in-lights, disco ball Jane! Austen!, you may not need an introduction to this nineteenth-century British novelist. She’s one of the few writers who manages to keep one foot in great literature and the other in chick lit. Today she’s also a political lightning rod, claimed as the rightful property of conservatives, moderates, liberals, and progressives. How did she come to mean so much to so many, and to whom ought she really to belong?
ASU English Professor Devoney Looser (author of the book, The Making of Jane Austen, a 2017 Publishers Weekly Best Summer Book Nonfiction) will present a lightning-fast, humor-filled history of how this beloved author became an icon. Join us to think through which Jane Austen is your Jane Austen, your mother’s or father’s Jane Austen, or your son’s or daughter’s Jane Austen, and why.
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The Unruly, Disruptive and Utterly Grotesque Women of David Lynch
by Jenna Duncan
Auteur David Lynch is known for packing his work with sensational, supernatural and downright bizarre characters. In this Nerd Nite talk, local writer Jenna Duncan will take a closer examination of the women characters in Lynch’s major film and TV works. From the murdered prom queen to the mysterious two-sided love interests, to the wise old witches and psychic dreamers, Lynch’s women often show us a side of humanity that is dark, seedy and alluring. Some of these women are hopeless victims. On the other hand, many of them are empowered with gifts of the supernatural, and are strong or natural leaders. Let’s talk about the women in Lynch’s major works including Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, Lost Highway, Twin Peaks, Mulholland Drive and more.
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A long, groovy, and slightly discomfiting history of technology that counts human life
by Jacqueline Wernimont
Counting steps, people, life seems to be all the rage these days – a shiny new tech domain to help optimize our lives. While the “quantified self” movement dates from the early 2000’s, the tech is old. Really old. As old as Shakespeare and the rise of scientific technology. Does it change our love for our shiny new tech when we know that it’s both old and deeply entangled in colonial practices? Does your wristband feel different in the context of debutante balls and the early republic? Come find out!
Jacqueline Wernimont is an anti-racist, feminist scholar working toward greater justice in digital cultures. She writes about long histories of media and technology – particularly those that count and commemorate — and entanglements with archives and historiographic ways of knowing. Numbered Lives: Life and Death in Quantum Media will be out with the MIT Press in the fall of 2018. She is a network weaver across humanities, arts, and sciences. This work includes co-directing HASTAC and ASU’s Human Security Collaboratory. She also runs Nexus: A digital research co-op and is a fellow of the Global Security Institute.
Posted in Upcoming Nerd Nite Events