For Immediate Release: February 21, 2007
Seton Hall University to host Ruth Abram,
President of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum,
Seton Hall University’s Graduate Program in Museum Professions is pleased
to announce its annual museum lecture on Wednesday, March 21, 7:30 – 9:00
PM. This year’s speaker is Ruth J. Abram, President and Founder of the
Lower East Side Tenement Museum. Abram is one of the pioneers and
advocates of the concept that museums have a social function in the
community they serve - a function that she sees as primarily educational
and consciousness-raising. One of her main interests is the promotion of
tolerance, which, she feels, is best achieved by presenting a historical
perspective on the best and worst of human relations. The topic of the
lecture at Seton Hall is “Museums and Social Conscience.” It will be
followed by a question and answer period. The lecture is free and open to
the public.
The Tenement Museum, founded in 1988, has the mission “to promote tolerance
and historical perspective through the presentation and interpretation of
the variety of immigrant and migrant experiences on Manhattan’s Lower East
Side, a gateway to America.” The museum is undertaking the nation’s first
effort to preserve and interpret a 19th Century tenement building. Its
building at 97 Orchard Street is the first tenement to be designated a
National Historic Landmark. Using the building and its Lower East Side
neighborhood, the Museum has pioneered the interpretation of the home and
community life of urban, immigrant, working class, and poor peoples, and it
has set precedent in using history as a tool for addressing contemporary
social issues. Visitors to the museum gain an appreciation of an aspect of
the immigrant experience, which has been shared by numerous ethnic groups
in the past and is shared by others to this day.
In recent years, Abram has been instrumental in the formation of the
International Coalition of Historic Site Museums of Consciousness, a
growing network of organizations and individuals dedicated to teaching and
learning how historic sites and museums can inspire social consciousness
and action. The work of the coalition takes the ideas of the Tenement
Museum one step further in that its goal is not merely to promote tolerance
and understanding but also to spur museum visitors on to social action.
For additional information on this lecture, please contact the Museum
Professions Department at Seton Hall University at 973-761-7966 or e-mail
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For 150 years, Seton Hall University has been a catalyst for leadership,
developing the whole student, mind, heart and spirit. Seton Hall combines
the resources of a large university with the personal attention of a small
liberal arts college. Its attractive suburban campus is only 14 miles by
train, bus or car to New York City, with the wealth of employment,
internship, cultural and entertainment opportunities the city offers. Seton
Hall is a Catholic university that embraces students of all races and
religions, challenging each to better the world with integrity, compassion
and a commitment to serving others. For more information, see www.shu.edu.
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