We understand that many classes around campus have done projects using Cion, and as we hear about them we would be happy to post them online for a wider audience in the hopes that they provide some inspiration for other classes.

Our first project comes to us from a class that Anne Sparks taught for Masters of Social Work students.   MSW students on the Cambridge and Athens campuses read Cion for their class on Human Behavior in the Social Environment (SW 502) in Winter, 2009.

After the jump, you’ll find more details about the project and some excerpts from student papers. Read the rest of this entry »

In chapter 8, Toloki and Orpah go hunting for wild mushrooms, including morels.  Since it’s the time of year for mushroom hunting, here are some articles from Academic Search Complete about morels.  Here is an article about a man who hunts wild mushrooms professionally for New York restaurants.  This is one about hunting morels and what to do with them when you find them.  This one gives hunting tips, a recipe, and some websites to try.

In case you’re interested in something more scholarly, here is one about how morels came back in British Columbia following a devastating forest fire.   And our last one is about where and when morels grow each year.

Alden Library has just added a new book on African American quilters, Crafted Lives, by Patricia A. Turner. Quoting from the dust jacket blurb:

Patricia A. Turner explores the culture and recent history of African Americans through the creations and wisdom of nine quilters. Turner profiles quilters who exemplify the range of black women and men dedicated to the making of quilts, and she shows how their craft work establishes order and meaning in their lives. The artists comprise eight women and one man, ranging fro teenagers to octogenarians, representing an array of education and income levels, and living across the United States, including Alaska.

Here is the record in ALICE which will show the location and current status of this book.

In chapter 6, we learn that after Abednego got to Tabler Town, he started to grow pawpaws.  Academic Search Complete has some articles that tell us more about this native Ohio fruit.  This one is a good introduction and even has pictures.  Here’s another good one that talks about how to grow the trees.  And here’s one about how pawpaws are becoming more popular for the commercial market.

Next Tuesday, February 10th, at noon in Alden room 251, we will present our workshop on doing research on Cion, which set a new record for workshop attendance last quarter. This time it promises to be even better, as librarian Marne Grinolds walks you through some of the best places to start when doing research on Cion. Not only can you learn more about the history behind this fascinating book, but you also might learn some tips and tricks that can help you in researching other historical novels. See you on Tuesday!

Tuesday, February 3, Alden Friends of the Libraries Room, 7-9 p.m.

Zakes Mda, Cion author and Ohio University English Department Professor of Creative Writing, will read from his book and answer audience questions about the story, its history, its symbolism, and its meaning.

So where is Abyssinia anyway?  The World Book Encyclopedia can tell us!  And once you know that, if you’re interested in learning more, doing a keyword search in ALICE, the library catalog, for Abyssinia will bring up a range of interesting travelogues written by people who visited the country in vastly different time periods.

Alden Library has just added a new two-volume encyclopedia on the Underground Railroad, entitled The Underground Railroad : an encyclopedia of people, places, and operations.

In addition to the articles themselves, there are several other useful features in these volumes:

• maps (near the front of each volume)
• a detailed timeline (at the end of vol. 2)
• lists of notable passengers and conductors (at the end of vol. 2)
• a comprehensive bibliography (at the end of vol. 2)

The second volume ends with a detailed index, which allows you to pinpoint Ohio-based activities of the Underground Railroad.

These volumes may be found in the Reference Collection in the Learning Commons on the 2nd floor of Alden Library. The call number is: E450 .S65 2008. Although these volumes may not be taken out of the building, we encourage you to make photocopies of articles you’re interested in.

For more resources on the Underground Railroad, see this page in the Cion Blog.

Dr. Glen Jackson of OU’s Chemistry Department will do another presentation about his scientific analysis of the famous “Stain” at The Ridges on Wednesday, November 5 from  7-9 pm in Walter Hall Rotunda. An earlier post gave some background on his research. Here’s a little more:

In March 2007, a production company in California who was filming a new pilot for the History Channel contacted Dr. Jackson.  They were following the story of Margaret Schilling, which lead them to the “stain” at the former Athens Insane Asylum, now the Ridges, a place that takes on the role of a major character in Cion.  They wanted to know whether or not the stain on the floor—where her body was apparently discovered—was authentic.  Glen led the investigation: “We used several analytical techniques and instruments in our lab to analyze the residue found in the stain.”  Glen will discuss the results of his investigation.

If you’re at all interested in the quilting theme in Cion, be sure to visit OU’s Multicultural Center to see the exhibit entitled “The Quilter’s Eye.” It features quilts from this region, including some from Kilvert, and connects with Cion’s rich symbolic history and features Mda’s book in one of its cases. You can preview several more quilts in this exhibit on this page from the Multicultural Center.

On Friday, October 24 from 5-7 pm  there will be a Gallery reception for the quilt exhibition; it will be free and open to the campus and Athens community.

The Multicultural Center is in 205 Baker Center, and is open from 8 am-10 pm Monday through Friday, and noon to 5 pm on Saturday. You can preview several more quilts from this exhibition on this page from the Multicultural Center. Please note: the exhibit ends on November 20.