In Brief

Drew Gilpin Faust to give public lecture

Drew Gilpin Faust, Dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, and a leading historian of the Civil War and American South, will give an inaugural lecture Monday, March 5, at 4:30 p.m. at the Agassiz House Theatre, 10 Garden St. Titled “Missing in Action: Naming the Dead in the American Civil War,” the lecture is free and open to the public.

Faust will synthesize for the first time a body of work on the Civil War soldier and “the art of dying”; on the complex problems of burial; and her most recent study, which is on “the dread void of uncertainty: the legacy of soldiers missing in action.”

The author of five books, Faust won the prestigious Francis Parkman Prize for her “Mothers of Invention: Women of the Slaveholding South in the American Civil War” (1997). She holds a tenured appointment as professor of history in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

The Inaugural Lecture Series is one of a series of events marking the merger of Radcliffe College with Harvard University in October 1999 to form the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Upcoming events include lectures by Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison on April 3 and Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen on April 24.

Student drive for earthquake victims

Four Harvard University student groups raised $7,700 in a fundraising drive to provide both emergency relief and long-term rehabilitation to those who were affected by the Jan. 26 earthquake in India. The weeklong drive, which began Feb. 4, was sponsored by Bhumi, the International Relations Council, the South Asian Association, and the Woodbridge Society of International Students.

Speaking contest accepting selections

Founded in 1817, the Boylston Prize is given for the delivery of memorized selections from English, Greek, or Latin literature. The prize is open to all upper-class students in good standing at the University.

A monetary award will be presented to the first- and second- place winners. Preliminary competition will be held on Thursday, March 15, at 4 p.m., in Fong Auditorium, Boylston Hall. The finals will be held on Monday, March 19 (at the same location), at 8 p.m.

Candidates for the prizes must register in person with four copies of their selection (typed, photocopied, or printed) with Cindy Fallows at the department of English and American Literature and Language, Barker Center, 12 Quincy St. on or before Friday, March 9, by 4 p.m. Selections, which are not to exceed five minutes in delivery, should be marked clearly where they begin and end on each of the four copies.

Master class in writing short fiction

The Radcliffe Seminars Creative Writing Program presents a master class in writing short fiction with 2000-01 Radcliffe Institute writer-in-residence Sue Miller, beginning April 29. The five-day class is designed for writers with advanced skills who want to spend a week considering the art of writing short fiction, developing their craft, honing analytical skills, and generating ideas for carrying their work forward. The deadline for applications is March 5. Call the Seminars office at (617) 495-8600 for more information and application materials, or go online at http://www.radcliffe.edu/creativearts/seminar/creawriting.html.

Volunteer opportunity for youth group

Cambridge Youth Centers, a division of the Department of Human Service Programs at the City of Cambridge, seeks volunteers for a new young women’s group. The Young Women’s Political Action Group is free to all Cambridge residents from 14 to 19 years of age. The group meets every Tuesday evening from 6:30 to 8 p.m., at the Moore Youth Center on 12 Gilmore St. (off Western Avenue). Volunteers are needed to mentor the young women on event planning, politics 101, communication skills, and public speaking.

For more information, contact Maria Barajas-Roman at (617) 349-6223.

— Compiled by Andrew Brooks