Are you curious how it feels to meticulously sift and sort through the personal and professional ephemera of a long-dead Dartmouth alum? In Kira Parrish-Penny’s ‘24 evocative article for Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, she offers a peek inside the experience. Kira describes, with candor and the intimacy of a would-be friend or relative, the hypnotic experience of getting to know a stranger (though, never really knowing them).

Have you ever wondered how some of the most bespoke, highly specific, and poignant sessions come to be taught at Rauner Special Collections Library? Curiosity and collaboration. Another factor is just how many people contribute to the process — even when separated by distance and time. How?

Picture this: motorbikes rumble past, diesel fumes waft in their wake. The sun’s heat penetrates your clothes. Humidity cloaks you in an extra layer. It’s 9am in a Ho Chi Minh City market. Hawkers splash water across their fruits and vegetables to make them sparkle in the sunshine. Brilliant variations of green, yellow, orange, and red cluster in front of you. You recognize some produce, but not all. The air is thick, vibrant, alive. You have three weeks to make a 10-15 minute documentary about food culture and the urban experience. There’s so much to see, do.

One of the many pivotal (and wonderful) roles the Libraries fill is providing access to resources and materials that elevate research, spark new knowledge, and deepen understanding of our world - as it was and how it might be. Our part in the teaching, learning, and research experience enriches Dartmouth's liberal arts experience: the interdisciplinary exploration of the arts, sciences, and humanities. The result is often a lifelong love of learning in pursuit of curiosities, inspiration, and new discoveries.

When you think of the word “design,” what do you imagine? City planners choosing the layout of a city or roadway network? Maybe it’s trying to figure out the best shape and material for the ultimate water bottle? For some people, when they think of design, they think of project-based collaborations and human-centered co-design, and human-centered design thinking.

But what is human-centered co-design and design thinking?

For Noelia Cirnigliaro, Associate Professor of Spanish, to teach language is to teach culture. “Language isn’t the end point, it’s a tool and a means for culture.” Since her arrival at Dartmouth in 2009, Noelia has embodied the institution’s renowned teacher-scholar model. 

Join us on Monday, September 30, to celebrate and honor Reverend Edward Mitchell’s life and work! A graduate of the class of 1828, he was the first person of African descent to graduate from any school now identified as part of the Ivy League, and the third self-identified man of color to graduate from any American college. This day-long event series brings together international collaborators, the Libraries, Mitchell’s biographer, and more to highlight Mitchell’s unique story and legacy.

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