Free University Speaker Series

The free series strives to create an open forum that is relaxed and encourages the discussion of ideas on a broad range of topics. This particular project is modeled after 'Research Unplugged,' a similar program held at the University Park campus.

All programs are held at 7 p.m. at the Devorris Downtown Center.

1431 Twelfth Avenue, Altoona

OCTOBER 16: Ken Womack

In his research devoted to the Beatles, Kenneth Womack maps the group’s development as an artistic fusion, tracing the band’s creative arc from their first, primitive recordings through Abbey Road and the twilight of their career. Womack devotes particular attention to the deeply felt nostalgia that developed along with Lennon and McCartney’s abilities as songwriters, their growing reverence for the awesome weight of the past, and their recognition of the creative possibilities and rewards of authorship. In addition to considering the band’s increasing self-consciousness about the overall production, design, and presentation of their art, Womack explores the Beatles’ albums as a collection of musical and lyrical impressions that finds them working towards a sense of aesthetic unity. In so doing, he reveals the myriad ways in which the Beatles gave life to a musical synthesis that would change the world.

Kenneth Womack is Professor of English and Interim Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Penn State Altoona. He has published widely on twentieth-century literary and popular culture. His most recent book is Long and Winding Roads: The Evolving Artistry of the Beatles. He also edited the anthologies Reading the Beatles: Cultural Studies, Literary Criticism, and the Fab Four and The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles.

December 4: LAURA PALMER

FEBRUARY 12: HARRIET GASTON

APRIL 9: LEE ANN DE REUS