March 16, 2005 -- Folklorist Henry Glassie of Indiana University will give a keynote address at the Delta Blues Symposium XI: Imagining the Delta at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will take place on Friday, April 8, at 4:30 p.m. at the new Student Union Auditorium.

Glassie will present a slide lecture titled "Sweet Home on the Delta: Imagining the Other Side of the World," based on his field research in Bangladesh's Delta to illustrate how communities create a sense of place through their history, culture, and artistic expressions.

Glassie is a college professor of folklore at Indiana University's department of folklore and ethnomusicology. The author of award-winning studies of folklore in America, Ireland, Turkey, and Bangladesh, he has been honored for his scholarship in vernacular architecture, folk art, and the social sciences.

Glassie's research unifies the study of traditional arts with the analysis of cultural expression within its historical contexts. His recent book “Art and Life in Bangladesh” presents the artistry of potters, boatbuilders, and traditional sculptors within Hindu and Muslim communities and demonstrates how traditional culture provides vital resources for everyday life and sacred expression.

Delta Blues Symposium XI: Imagining the Delta is sponsored by ASU’s Department of English and Philosophy with assistance from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Office of Diversity Initiatives, the Heritage Studies Ph.D. Program, the Department of Art, the Department of History, the Department of Theatre, the Department of Music, and the Lecture~Concert Series.