Dr. Jagdish Mehra was a prominent historian of modern physics who published books on physics and scientists and organized a number of scientific conferences. His interests were not limited to physics, however, and ranged across the sciences and humanities, and he routinely assembled representatives from the two worlds of science and literature.
Margaret Mead
The Jagdish Mehra Collection in Special Collections contains scores of audio interviews with scientists, literary greats, philosophers, and Nobel Laureates, along with recordings of lectures given by prominent thinkers.
Audio of eight of these lectures, from the annual humanities series presented at the Southeastern Massachusetts Technological Institute, now the Univeristy of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, is now available in the UH Digital Library. This collection features a diverse range of speakers, including anthropologist Margaret Mead, physicist and philosopher Gerald Holton, and historian Oscar Handlin.
In addition to the interviews and lectures, the Jagdish Mehra Collection contains a vast number of books, monographs and reference works on physics, mathematics, philosophy and history of science, along with thousands of reprints of original papers autographed by their authors. The manuscripts of hundreds of published and unpublished books, papers, and lectures from physicists, mathematicians, philosophers, and literati are also in the collection. See the finding aid for more details about the collection’s contents, or listen to the lectures now.
According to Urban Dictionary, awready is “slang for agreeing with something or an affirmation.”
This seems like a great name for the upcoming conference on Houston hip hop, since it’s easy to agree that AWREADY! The Houston Hip Hop Conference is going to be a great event! The conference will include an exhibit of Special Collections materials related to DJ Screw and Houston hip hop, along with panels and presentations about Houston hip hop. Take a look at the web site for dates and details, and visit the site often as the conference dates approach and more information becomes available.
The conference is presented by the University of Houston Libraries, Rice University’s HERE Project, UH’s Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts, and African American Studies in UH’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. For more information about the exhibit and conference, contact librarian Julie Grob at jgrob@uh.edu. For updates about the exhibit and the Houston hip hop collection, follow Julie on Twitter.
Two new finding aids for collections in the Carey C. Shuart Women’s Archives and Research Collection have been published in Archon.
The first finding aid is for the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence Records. This organization was founded in 1998 to provide training and consultation on domestic and sexual violence issues at the national level and has played a national role in several arenas, including participating in the passage of the Violence Against Women Act. The collection contains a wide range of materials, including correspondence, business and legal documents, publications, audiovisual materials, and ephemera.
The second finding aid is for the Houston Gorilla Girls collection. The Houston Gorilla Girls were an anonymous art collective of gorilla-masked women who demonstrated against what they perceived as sexism and racism at high-profile Houston art venues such as the Menil, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Lawndale Arts Center. They were active from 1987 to 1997, and the identities of the women involved remain a mystery. The collection contains the records, written works, collected writings, and photographs that document the development of the group.
On this day in 1960, Houston was awarded a National League expansion team. That team, first called the Colt .45s, played its first game nearly two years later, on April 10, 1962. In 1965, with the opening of the Astrodome, the team became the Astros.
A major factor in bringing major league baseball to Houston was the work of the Houston Sports Association, whose detailed plans included a scale model of the Astrodome. The association was formed in 1957 by a group of men that included sportswriter, traveler, and baseball promoter George Kirksey. Kirksey held the position of Vice President of the Houston Sports Association until 1966. During that time he was instrumental in the promotion of the team and the Astrodome.
Special Collections holds the George Kirksey Papers, which include a variety of materials dealing with Kirksey’s work as part of the Houston Sports Association. These materials include press kits, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and photographs.
Two new Houston History Archives finding aids have recently been published in Archon, both dealing with environmental subjects and activists.
Hana Ginzbarg Papers: This collection contains the papers of Hana Ginzbarg related to efforts to preserve Armand Bayou. Starting in 1970, Ginzbarg spearheaded the campaign to rename and preserve the bayou, which was then known as Middle Bayou.
Sarah and Army Emmott Environmental Papers: The Emmotts were among Houston’s preeminent environmental activists, working on the Texas Beaches Unlimited initiative, supporting the Save Buffalo Bayou campaign, and founding the Citizens’ Environmental Coalition. This collection contains Sarah Emmott’s personal papers.
In other finding aid news, the Athletic Department Records finding aid has recently been revised.