Yale Bulletin and Calendar

February 15, 2008|Volume 36, Number 18

Lectures explore mythmaking
in Hollywood westerns

“Political Psychology and American Myth: Violence and Order in Hollywood Westerns” will be the theme of the 2008 Castle Lectures being presented Feb. 18, 19 and 25 under the sponsorship of the Program in Ethics, Politics and Economics.

This year’s featured speaker will be Robert B. Pippin, the Evelyn Stefansson Nef Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago.

Pippin will present three lectures: “The Right to Rule in Howard Hawks’ ‘Red River,’” 5-6:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 18; “Who Cares Who Shot Liberty Valence? The Heroic and the Prosaic in John Ford’s Film,” 4-5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 19; and “The Politics and Psychology of Revenge in John Ford’s ‘The Searchers,’” 4-5:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 25. Each will be held in the Whitney Humanities Center (WHC) auditorium, 53 Wall St. All are free and open to the public.

In his lectures, Pippin will explore the ways in which certain fundamental political conceptions like legitimacy, authority and revenge find expression in the medium of contemporary American film. By looking closely at three classic Hollywood Westerns, he will examine the powerful relationship of mythical narrative to the shaping of political beliefs, attitudes and values in American culture.

This year, as a complement to the Castle Lectures, the Program on Ethics, Politics, and Economics — in conjunction with The Cinema at the Whitney and The Whitney Humanities Center — will sponsor a screening of John Ford’s “The Searchers” on Feb. 18 at 8 p.m. in the WHC auditorium. A light dinner and refreshments will be provided for those who attend the screening, which will be held after Pippin’s inaugural Castle Lecture.

Pippin, who has affiliations with both the Committee on Social Thought and the Department of Philosophy at the University of Chicago, has published articles and books on Kant, Nietzsche, Proust, Hannah Arendt, Leo Strauss and Henry James. He is perhaps best known for his work on Hegel.

The Castle Lectures were endowed by John K. Castle to honor an ancestor, the Reverend James Pierpont, one of Yale’s original founders. The lectures are intended to promote an awareness of and sensitivity to ethical issues facing individuals in modern American society. The Castle Lectures are published in book form by the Yale University Press.

For additional information, contact David Leslie at david.leslie@yale.edu.

T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Geneticist cited for research on hypertension

Researcher focuses on heredity in quest to understand . . .

Exhibit traces linkages on the ‘Tree of Life’

‘Rolling’ offers honest, sometimes shocking, look at life in a wheelchair

Study: Older women more likely to suffer depression than older men

Researchers seeking new test for detecting kidney injury . . .

Yale Rheumatic Diseases Research Center awarded $3.2 million . . .

One Law Clinic, Two Cities

Conference will look at issues surrounding nuclear disarmament

Former Yale architecture dean to give Chubb Lecture

Study gives high marks to use of bypass surgery for those in their 90s

Yale Ob-Gyn researchers discussed current work . . .

Several Yale Ob-Gyn presentations are awarded honors at meeting

Judith Resnik wins prestigious honor for her ‘outstanding scholarship’ . . .

Lectures explore mythmaking in Hollywood westerns

Panel will explore ways to promote diverse faculties

‘Images 2008’ exhibition includes works by three Yale staff members

Memorial service for Dr. Barry Goldberg

Yale affiliates to be honored guests at benefit event for LEAP

Campus Notes