Similarity of Funeral Rites Among English Settlers and the Carolina Algonquin Is Topic of October "Scholars at Muse" Lecture

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- "Scholars at Muse," the popular new lecture series presented by the University at Buffalo Humanities Institute and the Buffalo arts group riverrun, will continue on Oct. 10 at 4 p.m. in the Muse Restaurant of the Albright Knox Art Gallery.

This month's lecture, part of Gusto at the Gallery, is "Death in the New World: Cross-Cultural Encounters, 1492-1800," by Erik Seeman, associate professor of history at UB.

Seeman will examine the intense cross-cultural encounters of Europeans, Africans and American Indians in the New World, through the lens of death.

When encountering unfamiliar "others," all three groups were struck by the similarities between their deathways and those of the strangers.

These parallels facilitated cross-cultural communication although that knowledge was ironically used toward exploitative ends. Focusing on the "Lost Colony" of Roanoke, Va., the lecture will explore the surprising similarities between English and Carolina Algonquian funerals.

"Scholars at Muse," is a series of eight unusual lectures by award winning research fellows of the UB Humanities Institute. They will be presented through April. Lectures are free and open to the public.

The Muse restaurant will be open after the lecture for dinner. Full program information is available at http://humanitiesinstitute.buffalo.edu and http://riverrunbuffalo.org. Seating is limited.