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The Remnant Trust Exhibit 2017
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Interactive Exhibit of Rare Documents at Henderson Library

The Remnant Trust

An Echo of the Past in the Present                                                    Written by Jenny Starling Foss

 

     If you had the opportunity, would you be interested in examining a first edition copy (c. 1729) of Sir Isaac Newton’s The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy? What about Machiavelli’s The Prince (c. 1640)? Would you be interested in finding out what it feels like to hold a Sumerian cuneiform tablet from 2200 B.C.?

     If you are a lover of history, literature or science, then you will have the opportunity to examine first and second edition written treasures from the past when the Zach S. Henderson Library at Georgia Southern exhibits a coveted collection of rare manuscripts on loan from the Remnant Trust.

     Friends of the Henderson Library, through fundraising efforts like the annual Farm-to-Table dinner, are able to help build the excellent information resources and services for students and faculty at Georgia Southern. The money raised also allows the Friends to procure special exhibits, like the Remnant Trust’s rare books and documents, for the benefit of the wider community.

     “The Friends also actively seek opportunities to bring unique and exciting educational programming to the University and the Statesboro-Bulloch County communities. The money raised by the Friends enabled us to contract with The Remnant Trust at Texas Tech University for an exhibit during Spring Semester 2017 of some of the rarest and important manuscripts, first editions, and early edition works dealing with individual liberty and human dignity,” stated Chief Librarian Bede Mitchell, Ed.D.

     The Remnant Trust is a public educational foundation that collects the manuscripts to share with colleges, universities and other organizations for use by students, faculty, scholars and the general public.

      Visitors to the exhibit are encouraged to touch, feel and read the rare books and documents. The Friends will hold a special event when the manuscripts arrive to aid in unpacking the extraordinary works. The Remnant Trust sends a curator along with the exhibit to assure the materials arrive in perfect condition for display.

     The treasure trove of literary works will be on display at the Library and made available for faculty to use in teaching classes.

     “Further, we are partnering with the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences to co-sponsor six spring lectures in the Great Minds Series. In delivering the lectures, Georgia Southern faculty members will help us to understand the significance and influence of these great works in the evolution of human thought and understanding. The exhibits and lectures are being developed with both the University and the Statesboro-Bulloch County communities in mind, and will be free and open to everyone,” said Mitchell.

     Several of the lectures have already been scheduled with a location yet to be determined. All of the lectures will all begin at 5:30 p.m.:

 

January 31      Wanton Wenches and Nasty Women: Vindicating Women’s Rights from 1792

                         – 2016                      by Anastatia Sims

 

March 7          Plantation Dreams: Locke, Confucius and The Making of the Low Country

                        by Robert Batchelor 

 

April 5            Tocqueville and American Liberty      by Johnathan O’Neill

 

April 19          Jonathan Edwards, Andrew Fuller, and the Recasting of Calvinism in Fuller's

                        The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptance (1785)      by Timothy Whelan  

 

One or two other lectures may be added to the list. To get an updated schedule of events, visit www.class.georgiasouthern.edu or www.library.georgiasouthern.edu. Public school teachers who would like to plan a trip to the Library for students may email Dr. Mitchell at wbmitch@georgiasouthern.edu.