The first lecture, 鈥淪pooky Season: Monsters in History,鈥� will begin with refreshments at 7 p.m. and the lecture at 7:30 p.m. in the Ottenheimer Auditorium. 

Four 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock professors will discuss spooky tales from around the world and introduce the audience to some scary monsters and the impact they’ve had on today鈥檚 culture.

Dr. Katrina Yeaw, associate professor of history, will explore how jinn crept into history and imagination as beings both feared and fascinating, reminding us that the scariest monsters aren鈥檛 always lurking in the shadows; they might be sitting right beside us. 

鈥淔or centuries, they鈥檝e haunted desert landscapes, whispered temptations, and explained eerie happenings that defied easy answers,鈥� Yeaw said. 鈥淛inn are said to be born of smokeless fire in the Qur鈥檃n, these shape-shifting spirits slip between the human and supernatural worlds, sometimes as tricksters, tormentors and sometimes surprisingly helpful.鈥�

Yi Ren, assistant professor of history, will explain how in Chinese folklore, oral traditions, and literary works, stories about fox spirits are especially rich and varied. Fox spirits sometimes appear as seductive women, as ghosts bringing illness and death, and sometimes as deities or ancestors offering blessings, fertility or moral lessons. 

鈥淚 will discuss why these tales flourished in the late imperial period and, through two fox-spirit stories, show what they reveal about popular religion, the ways Confucian values were both challenged and reinforced, and the position of women in late imperial China,鈥� Ren said. 

Michael Heil, associate professor of history, will be speaking about the undead in medieval England, focusing on revenants, the dead who return to their physical bodies and walk the earth, as described by writers in 12th-century England.

鈥淭hese writers spend as much time describing the community responses to such terrors as they do the actions of the undead themselves. I’ll discuss these responses, some sanctioned by ecclesiastical authorities and others not, as well as recent archeological discoveries that may confirm these accounts,鈥� Heil said.

Hannah Anderson, assistant professor of history, will be speaking about the Jersey Devil. Originally called the Leeds Devil, this creature has frequently been described as having an equine head, a serpentine tail, and bat wings. Reportedly the 13th child of an 18th-century witch named Mother Leeds, the Jersey Devil is said to run through the Jersey pine barren forests at night, screeching wildly. Anderson will discuss recent scholarly findings on the real history of the Leeds family, using their story to illuminate faith, politics, family, and science in early America, and explore the Jersey Devil鈥檚 place in 20th century folklore and popular culture. 

For more information, visit the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Evenings with History website.

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The lecture will take place April 2 in the Ottenheimer Auditorium at the Historic Arkansas Museum at 200 E. Third Street in Little Rock. Refreshments will be served at 7 p.m. and the lecture will begin at 7:30 p.m.

鈥淭he goal of this talk is to get us thinking about how we remember our 鈥楩rench鈥� heritage in Arkansas,鈥� stated Marvin. 鈥淚鈥檒l dig beneath the surface of place names and examine the stories we think we know about them: Petit Jean, Shinall Mountain, Thibault Road, Bayou Bartholomew, to name a few.鈥�

The Legend of Petit Jean, which inspired the name of a popular state park in Arkansas, follows the legend of an 18th-century French woman who disguised herself as a soldier to accompany her lover on an expedition to North America. This lecture will explore the insights that this story offers on the cultural influence of the French-colonial roots in Arkansas communities.

鈥淚 will discuss the historical figures behind the placenames, whose lives and backgrounds have largely been obscured by layers of mythmaking and selective historical commemoration,鈥� Marvin said. 鈥淚n the case of Petit Jean, in particular, I will reveal discoveries from my recent archival work in France that shed new light on the truth behind the famous legend.鈥�

Marvin鈥檚 lecture will address the ways that Arkansas鈥檚 French and Spanish colonial history impact the culture today. He hopes that exploring these topics can deepen a sense of belonging for Arkansans.

鈥淎rkansas was once an integral part of what scholars call North America鈥檚 ‘Creole Corridor,鈥� a swath of French-speaking homesteads and communities stretching from the Great Lakes to New Orleans,鈥� Marvin explained. 鈥淚t was a cosmopolitan world, composed in large part of people of mixed European and African or indigenous ancestry. The main takeaway is that a more accurate understanding of Arkansas’s past is also a more inclusive one; can understanding Arkansas’s Creole heritage help foster a more meaningful sense of place for residents of the state today.鈥�

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糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Downtown, located at 333 President Clinton Ave., will be open from 5-8 p.m. Dec. 8.

The event, held in partnership with the Central Arkansas Library System, will feature photos with Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus, cookies provided by Dempsey Bakery, hot cocoa, coloring with the Arkansas Humanities Council鈥檚 mascot Hugh Manatee, and caroling by members of the Wilbur D. Mills University Studies Choir beginning at 6 p.m.

Other locations participating in Second Friday Art Night include: Downtown Little Rock Partnership, Bella Vita Jewelry, Old State House Museum, Historic Arkansas Museum, Nexus Coffee & Creative, and Sergio Valdivia Art as well as Central Arkansas Library System through the Bookstore at Library Square and the Galleries at Library Square.

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The lecture, 鈥淎 Conversation with Ruth Coker Burks, the 鈥楢rkansas Cemetery Angel鈥�: AIDS Activism & New Archives in Arkansas,鈥� will take place from 7-8:30 p.m. Nov. 7, at the Historic Arkansas Museum in Little Rock. Refreshments will be served at 7 p.m., and the talk will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Burks was a caregiver and AIDS activist in Arkansas from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s who provided a final resting place in the Files Cemetery in Hot Springs for some of the men she cared for. In turn, the Files Cemetery has become an important and contested site of LGBTQ+ memory. In recent years, renewed newspaper coverage and the publication of Burks鈥� memoir, 鈥淎ll the Young Men,” has brought both wider acclaim and criticism to Burks鈥� work.

Amstutz, who is now an assistant professor of history at Queens College, will discuss the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture鈥檚 ongoing efforts to collect Burks鈥� archive along with the archival materials of other AIDS caregivers and activists in Arkansas. Following this, he will interview Burks to discuss her life and work.

The Evenings with History series, sponsored by the University History Institute, features presentations by 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock faculty and guest speakers sharing their research and teaching interests. Admission to the series is by subscription, but visitors are welcome to attend individual talks for free. 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock students may attend free of charge.

For more information about the History Institute and its Evenings with History lecture series, contact Dr. Michael Heil, associate professor of history at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, at mwheil@ualr.edu or visit /history/history- institute/.

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Dr. Kristin Dutcher Mann, professor of history and social studies education coordinator at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, will present, 鈥淭eaching History in Polarized Times,鈥� from 7-8:30 p.m. March 7, at the Historic Arkansas Museum in Little Rock. Refreshments will be served at 7 p.m., and the talk will begin at 7:30 p.m.

The talk will discuss the contentious nature of history and social studies education, in light of recent legislation surrounding  the 1619 Project, critical race theory, and the teaching of divisive concepts.

Mann will also examine how history educators approach teaching the next generation of citizens. She will situate the challenges of teaching history today within the context of other politically-charged times and places.

The Evenings with History series, sponsored by the University History Institute, features presentations by 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock faculty and guest speakers sharing their research and teaching interests. Admission to the series is by subscription, but visitors are welcome to attend individual talks for free. 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock students may attend free of charge.

For more information about the History institute and its Evenings with History lecture series, people may contact Dr. Michael Heil, associate professor of history at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, at mwheil@ualr.edu or visit /history/history- institute/.

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