Dr. Richard Kurin to present 'Legend of
the Hope Diamond' lecture

     (UPDATE: CANCELLED FEB. 26 DUE TO FAMILY MEDICAL REASONS)

Feb. 16, 2007--Arkansas State University's Heritage Studies Ph.D. Program announced a public lecture by Dr. Richard Kurin, entitled “Legend of the Hope Diamond.” The lecture will be held Thursday, March 1, at 4 p.m. in the ASU Museum, Room 157.

Dr. Kurin is the director of the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. He oversees the Smithsonian Folklife Festival held every summer on the National Mall, in addition to a variety of cultural education programs that have won Academy, Emmy and Grammy Awards and nominations.

In addition to his many activities, Dr. Kurin has also served as executive producer for major national cultural programs, presidential inaugurals, the Atlanta Olympics, the Smithsonian’s 150^th anniversary, the White House millennium celebration, the dedication of the National World War II Memorial and the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian.

Dr. Kurin is a former Fulbright fellow and earned his doctorate in cultural anthropology from the University of Chicago. He is the author of dozens of scholarly works and several popular books, including "Hope Diamond: The Legendary History of a Cursed Gem."

He has taught at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, among other institutions, and is the lead scholar for the multi-year Rockefeller Foundation humanities international fellowship program, “Theorizing Cultural Heritage.”

Heritage Studies is a department of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at ASU in Jonesboro. For more information, call Heritage Studies at (870) 972-3509.

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