History   

Created during the golden age of manuscript illumination, this 15th-century devotional masterpiece boasts exquisitely painted miniatures, showcasing a wide array of scenes from the labors of the seasons to God dramatically casting Lucifer out of heaven. A feast for the eyes, this lecture will explore the manuscript imagery in depth, European courtly patronage, and the lives of the three brothers (who ultimately died of plague) credited with this masterwork.

 

In this lecture, Jess Velona, who was an appellate law clerk for Ruth Bader Ginsburg, will mix personal stories from his work for RBG with video clips to show how Ginsburg never fit into anyone's mold. A quiet, unassuming person, she became a pioneer for women in the legal profession and the top advocate for women's constitutional rights. And yet, while supportive of Roe v. Wade, she urged that abortion rights be anchored in something sturdier than privacy - advice that liberals ignored to their detriment. RBG was a moderate, consensus-building federal appellate judge who won near-unanimous support for the Supreme Court, but then she became "Notorious RBG," a liberal icon known for her passionate dissenting opinions. Finally, her decision not to retire early was lamented by many of those who most admired her life and career.