Deschutes Public Library is pleased to welcome University Of Oregon Professor of History and of Classics, John Nicols for two programs titled “All Things Roman” at the Sunriver and Bend Libraries. Professor Nicols' programs are part of the Know Italy series being offered during the month of February.

Saturday, February 26, 2011, 3:00 pm, Sunriver Area Public Library

Sunday, February 27, 2011, 2:00 pm, Bend Public Library

According to Nicols, who is the director of the Humanities Program at UofO, “we learn much about ourselves from studying the Roman experience.” He says that the rise and fall of Rome is a great story that “fascinated our founding fathers every bit as much as it does our generation.” The very words that our government is based on, including Senate, federal, president, justice, congress are all Latin / Roman words says Nicols.  The major misconception about ancient Rome is that many associate Rome with empire, and judge that experience on the basis of what they think about British, French, or Soviet imperialism, says Nicols.  “Where the British, French, and Soviets failed, the Romans were successful in developing a loyalty among her subjects that transcended the many ethnic and linguistics differences in the empire.”

Professor Nicols graduated from UC Berkeley, and did his PhD at UCLA. He has held regular appointments at the Universität Freiburg (Germany), at Stanford University, and at the University of Oregon. He has been a visiting professor at the Universities of Munich, Heidelberg, Cologne and Münster. He has also received  a number of grants from the DAAD, the Fulbright Commission, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

For more information about this series, please visit the library website at www.deschuteslibrary.org. People with disabilities needing accommodations (alternative formats, seating or auxiliary aides) should contact Liz at 312-1032.