The Archives of Babel
September 25, 2009 – January 22, 2010
Reception on October 30, 2009; 4:00-6:00 p.m. in the Pitts Room
Introduction to the exhibition presented at 4:30 p.m.
“The Archives of Babel” at Furman University’s Special Collections and Archives cannot, obviously, house a complete collection of works in every language. However, Special Collections and Archives does contain a surprising array of materials written both in and about a variety of languages. With this exhibition, we hope to display a small and diverse sampling of materials featuring different languages and with varying dates of origin. Understanding language to be an effort at communication or articulation that is bound by context, we aim to broaden notions of language to include non-traditional forms, including music, film, and visual media. If humankind failed to attain infinitude in height or in a universal discourse, we have very nearly achieved it through the breadth, depth, and diversity of language.