North By Southwest: Home

Back to the Future: Hamilton’s 19th Century Time Capsules 

April 7, 2022 

11 a.m.

Burke Library, Stryker All Night Reading Room

Take a step back in history with Jeremy Katz, Hamilton College’s new College Archivist in LITS. You will examine Hamilton’s 19th century time capsules, metal boxes in which Hamilton students preserved their everyday artifacts and included messages for today’s students. Learn about the significance of a time capsule and what it means to save history for future generations. In anticipation of the 50th anniversary of Burke Library (2022), Jeremy and LITS staff will guide you on how to create your own time capsule. Please bring ideas and small items to add to a Burke Library time capsule.

A Reading by Gordon Ball

April 14, 2022

4:10 p.m.

Stryker All Night Reading Room

Independent filmmaker and photographer Gordon Ball, a longtime friend of Allen Ginsberg and editor of some of his journals, managed the poet’s farm in Cherry Valley, NY from the late 1960s through the early 1970s. There, he lived and worked with Ginsberg, Peter Orlovsky, Barbara Rubin, Gregory Corso, Ray Bremser, Herbert Huncke, Stephen Bornstein, and others. He will be reading from his memoir of those times: East Hill Farm: Seasons with Allen Ginsberg. Copies will also be available for purchase. 

LIT 250 “Intro to the History of the Book” Exhibit 

December 2021 - May 2022

First floor, Burke Library

Learn about book history by viewing items from LITS Special Collections. Explanation and overview provided by students in History/Literature 250.

Prof. Margie Thickstun, Jane Watson Irwin Professor of Literature and Christian Goodwillie, Director and Curator of Special Collections and Archives

Makerspaces and the 1st year Adventure Trip: Games and the Human Equation.

TBD, Fall 2022

Open panel presentation/discussion.

MAKE(YOU)RSPACE _FINAL_COPY_EDIT

Wednesday, April 6, 2022 7:00 p.m.

Stryker All Night Reading Room, Burke Library

Ruminations on making, identity, and Hamilton

Suggesting a revision of the ethos “Know Thy Self” to “Make Your Space,” in this talk-performance hybrid Kylie Terra Burnham ‘15 will explore the iterative process of “making” as reflective not only of her artistic practice but also the forging of the self in relation to society, identity and boundaries. Drawing connections between her interest in objects, materiality, and technology and her passion for understanding the self, other, and relationships, Kylie presents a discourse both philosophical and rooted in lived experience, including reflections on her time at Hamilton as a transgender student (and then employee) in the mid-2010s.

Kylie Terra Burnham ’15 crafts experiences for joy and learning, exploring gender, relation, and liberation. An eclectic artist and out-of-classroom educator, her current projects include managing the Digital Design Studio at Tisch Library at Tufts University, curating a painting exhibition at the Nave Gallery, wearing multiple hats as a founding member of the Queer Theatre Project (currently choreographing for a genderless version of Twelfth Night; up next, directing Macbeth), and an upcoming book chapter on gender inclusivity trainings in Trans and Gender Diverse Voices in Libraries. Throughout her work, she seeks to position museums, galleries, and libraries as sites for well-being, exploring the benefits of art and object interpretation for mental health and self-discovery. In addition to her B.A. in Comparative Literature from Hamilton College, she holds a graduate certificate in Learning Design and Technology from Harvard Extension School and anticipates finishing a M.A. in Museum Education this spring.

Letterpress Solstice Card Workshop

Friday, December 3, 2021, 1-4pm
Basement, Dunham Residence Hall

Join Seth Gottlieb, LITS Education & Outreach Librarian for Special Collections, as we hand print cards in the letterpress studio! Part of the Interdisciplinary Collaborations Project, North by Southwest Makerspace: Book Culture From Print to Digital events sponsored by the Humanities Center.

Please wear closed-toed shoes, tie your hair back if it is long, and wear clothes you don't might getting a bit dirty. We look forward to printing with you!

Please register in advance. 

Couper Phi Beta Kappa Lecture Series

April 13, 2022

4:15 p.m.

SCCT G027 (Science Auditorium)

Artist and graphic designer Stephen Bornstein will present the Richard W. Couper Lecture for 2022. Bornstein's journey took him from the Kerista commune of New York's lower east side, into close friendships with Allen Ginsberg and Peter Orlovsky, as well as considerable interaction with Neal Cassady, Ken Kesey, and Gregory Corso. Bornstein's masterwork, a 160 foot long scroll painting illustrating the Tibetan Book of the Dead, is now in the special collections of Burke Library. Bornstein will discuss his life, work, art, and time spent at Ginsberg's commune East Hill Farm in Cherry Valley, New York. Come enjoy an afternoon with one of the Beats!

This annual lecture honors Hamilton alumnus and trustee Richard “Dick” Couper ’44 for his commitment and contributions to Hamilton College and the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the oldest academic honorary society in America. Sponsored by LITS and Phi Beta Kappa.

Bookbinding Workshop

November 4, 2021, 10-12 p.m., Stryker All Night Reading Room, Burke Library.

Bookbinder Fred Jordan will demonstrate the process of traditional bookbinding. Participants will create a stab-stitched pamphlet bound in marbled wrappers with gilt stamped decoration. Limited to 10 registrants.

Registration limited to 10 people. 

Research and Instructional Design Team “Tech on Tap"

TBD, Spring 2022

Burke Library All Night Reading Room

Open to the Hamilton community.