The University of Illinois at Springfield will be hosting an event called “Celebration of Animals and Nature in Myth and Legend” on Tuesday, April 7. The event is presented by UIS’ College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Office of Undergraduate Education ECCE Speaker Series, along with the Lincoln Memorial Gardens and Illinois’ Nature in Legend and Story.
The event will feature seasoned storytellers, who will explore some of the ways in which cultures define themselves through unique relationships to fauna and flora. The program will look at ways in which nature and culture combine in the construction of human, as well as tribal, identity, so that social issues are inseparable from environmental concerns.
The keynote presentation, “Celebration of Animals & Nature in Legend & Myth,” will be held from 10 to 11:45 a.m. in Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library on the UIS campus. ECCE Speaker Series students will receive academic credit for their attendance at this event only.
A Nature Storytelling Workshop for Educators will take place from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., also in Brookens Auditorium.
From 7:30 to 9 p.m., a Storytelling in the Round, Author’s Reception and Book Signing event will be held at Lincoln Memorial Gardens’ Nature Center, Council Ring 3. The cost to attend the evening event is $5; students with a UIS I-card will be admitted at no cost. Due to limited seating, pre-registration is required for this event by calling the Lincoln Memorial Gardens Nature Center at 217/529-1111.
Speakers include James Bruchac, nationally-known cultural educator and author; Dr. Boria Sax, UIS adjunct professor of the course “Animals and Civilization”; Betsy Irwin, education coordinator at Lincoln Memorial Gardens; and Cathy Mosley, president of the Illinois-based Nature in Legend and Story.
For more information, go online to www.uis.edu/clas/animalsandnature.html or contact Holly McCracken at 217/206-7421 or hmccr1@uis.edu.
