The Scripps College Humanities Institute March lectures will continue to explore “Life Stories” under the leadership of Institute Director Julia E. Liss. On Thursday, April 14 at 7:00 p.m., Mai Elliott will lecture on “Family and Memories” in the Hampton Room of the Malott Commons on the Scripps College campus. For more information and a complete schedule of events, please call the Humanities Institute at (909) 621-8326.
“Life Stories” lectures and events explore the nature and creation of memoirs and delve into the life histories and stories of some of the lecturers.
After a long career in corporate banking, Elliott left the field to write her family story, The Sacred Willow: Four Generations in the Life of a Vietnamese Family. Published in 1999, the memoir was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and was a finalist for the Asian-America literary award in 2000. Born and raised in Vietnam, Elliott graduated from Georgetown University and subsequently returned to Saigon, where she worked for the Rand Corporation interviewing Viet Cong prisoners of war and defectors before moving to corporate banking.
Also as part of the “Life Stories” program, a Luncheon Series will feature Scripps professors, T. Kim-Trang Tran and Sheila Walker. On Tuesday, March 23 at noon in the Hampton Room of the Malott Commons Tran will present “Call Me Sugar.” Then, on Tuesday, March 30 also at noon in the Hampton Room of the Malott Commons, Sheila Walker will present “Hoochie Mamas and Chicken Heads: ‘Life Stories’ of African American Adolescent Girls.” Guests to these lectures may bring their own lunch or purchase a lunch at the Malott Commons Dining Hall, which opens at 11:15 a.m. Doors to the Hampton Room open at 11:45 a.m. Coffee and dessert are provided.
The “Life Stories” program continues throughout April. For a full schedule of events, please contact the Humanities Institute at (909) 621-8326 or visit the Humanities website.