Wednesday, November 14, 2007

'The Two Worlds of Captain John Smith,' Nov. 29

Chestertown, MD — Dr. John L. Seidel will explore the ways in which environment shaped the colonization of the New World in the early 1600s and the surprising links between John Smith, Virginia, Bermuda and Shakespeare in "The Two Worlds of Captain John Smith" at Litrenta Lecture Hall on Thursday, November 29, at 5:30 p.m.

Drawing on documents, environmental clues and the latest archaeological excavations at Jamestown, the lecture will investigate the ways in which two English colonies diverged due to dramatically different environments. Jamestown, settled 400 years ago in 1607, became the first permanent English colony in North America.

Bermuda was brought to the attention of the English shortly thereafter, with a disastrous shipwreck in 1609. A remarkably similar cast of characters was involved in both colonization efforts, which had similar objectives. The ultimate fates of the two colonies were quite different, however, despite their similar aims.

Washington College has active programs in environmental research and archaeology in the Chesapeake, led by Dr. Seidel, who is the Director of the Washington College Center for Environment & Society. The College also has an active presence in Bermuda, with student trips and summer courses to the island led by Professor Donald Munson, Director of theJoseph H. McLain Program in Environmental Studies.

The event is sponsored by the Center for Environment & Society and the McLain Program in Environmental Studies. Admission is free and open to the public. Litrenta Lecture Hall is located in the John S. Toll Science Center. For more information, please contactjfairchild2@washcoll.edu or 410/778-7295.

November 13, 2007

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