PAMLA 2010 - Honolulu

Long considered the stepchild of architecture, the garden proposes a rich terrain for interdisciplinary inquiry when framed within the multiple contexts of art, design, literature, politics, social history, and science. Formalist agendas constitute the common bond between Versailles and Brécy. However, decoding these landscape “texts” reveals significantly dissimilar messages and thus suggests novel modes of aesthetic underpinnings so central to our inquiry.

Eric T. Haskell, Professor of French Studies and Humanities at Scripps College and Director of the Clark Humanities Museum, received his Ph.D. in French Literature from the University of California, Irvine and studied art history and architecture at the École du Louvre in Paris. At Scripps College, he has been the recipient of nine Outstanding Faculty Achievement Awards. Over fifty publications cover a wide range of topics from nineteenth-century poetry and image-text inquiry to garden history. His most recent book Les Jardins de Brécy: Le Paradis Retrouvé / The Gardens of Brécy: A Lasting Landscape, was published in Paris by Les Editions du Huitième Jour in both French and English editions. He has curated over a dozen exhibitions and authored numerous catalogues. A frequent guest lecturer, Dr. Haskell has delivered over 450 lectures in twenty-three states and in eleven foreign countries. Last spring, he inaugurated the spring lecture series at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

In order to attend the Plenary Address Luncheon, members must pay an additional fee, making reservations ahead of time.