October 7, 1996

1996-97 Humanities Lecture Series kicks off with talk on the Coyote figure by Professor Shipley

The Native American mythological figure Coyote is the focus of a talk by William Shipley, UCSC professor emeritus of linguistics. His talk, "The Nature of Coyote," takes place from 7 to 8 p.m. on October 10 at the Museum of Art and History at the McPherson Center, 705 Front St., Santa Cruz. The talk is free and open to the public. A reception follows.

Shipley's talk is the first in this year's Humanities Lecture Series, presented jointly by the Humanities Division at UCSC and the Museum of Art and History. Last year's lectures drew overflow crowds to the museum to hear from some of the university's many prominent faculty.

Shipley will share his ideas and also some of his translations from the Maidu language of the myths of one of the most prominent figures in Western Native American mythology. "Coyote is a figure with many facets--he's lecherous and gluttonous and foolish and he's also one of the creators of the world. He represents an enormous range of characteristics. I'm interested in what it meant to Native Americans to have this dominant figure in the mythology with these attributes of humor, lechery, and trickery that also connected with how the world was made."

This lecture is made possible in part by a grant from the California Council for the Humanities. For more information, call the Humanities Division at ext. 2696.