Posted on Thursday, February 13, 2003
Dr. Deborah Mitchell, assistant professor of English and public relations and Dr. Elizabeth Ford, professor of English, will speak at the Bleasby Colloquium, Thursday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m. in Hoyt Science Resources Center room 166.
Ford and Mitchell will focus on their new book, Do You Really Need Those Glasses? The book, which is published by McFarland Publishing and due out this spring, examines the evolution of the makeover genre in American film.
"We focus on the moment when the plain Jane or ugly duckling becomes a beautiful swan," said Mitchell. "Films like Now, Voyager made in 1942 and today's My Big Fat Greek Wedding, have focused on this physical transformation. Talk shows, magazines, televisions, even corporations hark the importance of making ourselves over. We explore these films and ask why we are so fascinated by this transformation, and what it means in the context of the culture."
This colloquium is the fourth in a series of five scheduled for the George Bleasby Colloquia, a series of literary events in honor of Dr. Bleasby, who chaired the Department of English at Westminster from 1954-75.
Mitchell, who has been with Westminster College since 1992, earned her undergraduate and master's degrees from Youngstown State University, and her Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University.
Ford, who has been with Westminster College since 1989, earned her undergraduate and master's degrees from Youngstown State University, and her Ph.D. from Kent State University.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Mitchell at (724) 946-7030 or e-mail dmitchel@westminster.edu; or Ford at (724) 946-7350 or e-mail bford@westminster.edu.
