Penn Libraries News

Penn Libraries Announces the 2019 Lorraine Beitler Collection Lecture, “The Politics of Paranoia and Nationalism in the Age of Trump”

Composite image of type from broadside Dreyfus est innocent (France, 1898), Lorraine Beitler Collection of the Dreyfus Affair, Kislak Center

The Penn Libraries is proud to announce the 2019 Lorraine Beitler Collection Lecture by former Chief Washington Correspondent for Politico and current staff writer at The Atlantic, Edward-Isaac Dovere. The lecture, “The Politics of Paranoia and Nationalism in the Age of Trump,” will take place on Wednesday, April 17 at 5:30 pm at the Penn Libraries’ Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books, and Manuscripts.

Dovere started his career covering New York politics, and he has reported on US and international politics from Riyadh to Cedar Rapids, and from New Hampshire to Hiroshima. He was the founding editor of City Hall and The Capitol, two news magazines that covered New York City and State politics. The New York Press Club and Society of Professional Journalists have recognized his work, and he is the winner of the 2017 Merriman Smith Award from the White House Correspondents Association.

“Edward-Isaac Dovere’s 2019 Beitler Lecture is timely and relevant,” observed David McKnight, Director of Penn Libraries’ Annenberg Rare Book and Manuscript Library. McKnight notes that in the words of the collector Lorraine Beitler, “’The Dreyfus Affair demonstrates the dangers and potentials of journalism in the public arena as a means of expressing various agendas and open debate.’” McKnight rightfully sees this as apropos. “This is particularly true in an age of social media, fake news and instant judgements,” he adds.

In 2002, Dr. Lorraine Beitler donated a collection of over 1,000 items documenting the history of the Alfred Dreyfus affair and its impact on the art, society, and politics of France and the modern world to the Penn Libraries. The collection provides a context for international learning and debate through a program of touring exhibitions, publications, and conferences. After donating the collection, Dr. Beitler and her husband, Martin, established the Lorraine Beitler Lecture Fund to serve as a catalyst for the examination of the issues of prejudice and intolerance. Dovere’s lecture is free and open to the public, but registration is requested.