By Peggy Conway, Bronxville Adult School
Oct. 4, 2017: Two Bronxville residents are among the faculty of the Bronxville Adult School this semester. Noted oil analyst Charles Maxwell will present a lecture about Mexico on Thursday, October 12, at 7:00 pm at The Bronxville School, and David Brashear will present a lecture about the invention of the museum as a public institution on Tuesday, October 10, at 7:00 pm at the Bronxville Public Library.
In "Mexico: Past, Present and Future," Charles Maxwell will discuss the conquest of the country by the Spanish under Hernán Cortés and will lead students through the impact this had on the history of the indigenous culture of Mexico right up to the present day. He will speak of the rise of the drug cartels and their influence on the current political state of the country. Mexico is a mineral-rich country, and Maxwell will explore how this could impact its future and the future of relations between Mexico and the United States.
Maxwell has taught at the Bronxville Adult School before, having offered two successful lecture series, The Geopolitics of Oil and Understanding Islam. Given his educational and career backgrounds, he is uniquely qualified to speak on these topics. In his previous courses, he gave in-depth lessons about the importance of oil to the political makeup of the Middle East and about the foundation of Islam as a religion and culture. He drew on his many experiences as both a student of the region and as an oil analyst, sharing many interesting vignettes with his students.
Charles Maxwell was educated at Princeton and Oxford, where he earned degrees in political science and literature and history. He is considered an expert in the energy sector. His experience includes several years working at major oil companies and investment banking firms, and he has served as a consultant to the US government on oil policy. Some of his notable speaking engagements have been before the National Defense University, the Council on Foreign Relations and, fortunately for our students, at the Bronxville Adult School.
In "The Invention of the Museum as Public Institution in the 18th and 19th Centuries: Percier and Fontaine's Louvre and Schinkel's Altes Museum," David Brashear will discuss the foundation of the modern museum in Europe from an architectural viewpoint. The two museums he will discuss, the Louvre and the Altes Museum, are the models upon which many other national museum designs were based.
Brashear has also taught at the Bronxville Adult School before. Students who attended his lecture last year heard about architect Eero Saarinen's groundbreaking design for the TWA terminal at Kennedy Airport.
David Brashear studied economics at The Wharton School and earned his MBA from Harvard. He has been studying architectural history on the graduate level at Columbia University since 2009. He is working on a book about five eminent American architects of the 20th century.
You may register for these lectures and all classes online at www.bronxvilleadultschool.org or by telephone at 914-793-4435.
Pictured here: Charles Maxwell (top) and David Brashear.
Photos courtesy the Bronxville Adult School
About the Bronxville Adult School & Contacts
The Bronxville Adult School is a not-for-profit organization incorporated in 1957 and chartered by the New York State Board of Regents. The School "offers all adults of Bronxville and surrounding communities the opportunity for personal growth through life enhancing skills and provides cultural, intellectual and recreational stimulation at a nominal cost."
The Bronxville Adult School
(914) 793-4435
email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.bronxvilleadultschool.org
Bronxville Public Library
The Bronxville Public Library traces its origins back to 1875, when it was a small lending library housed in a room attached to the “Bronxville Model School.” The Library was officially chartered in 1906 and moved into the Village Hall Building. The needs of the library grew with the town and, in 1942, a new standalone building was erected, which is where the Library is today. Over the years, the Library was renovated and expanded to meet the needs of the community.
The Library has wonderful resources for adults and children and offers a comfortable and relaxing environment. The Library also houses a fine art collection, consisting principally of Bronxville painters and sculptors.
The Library offers special events, art exhibitions, and programs for adults, young adults and children. All events are open to the public, unless otherwise indicated.
The Bronxville Public Library
914-337-7680
201 Pondfield Road (Midland Avenue & Pondfield Road)
http://bronxvillelibrary.org/
Sarah Lawrence College
914-337-0700
1 Mead Way
Bronxville, New York 10708