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 Captain Christopher Newport statue at Jamestown. |
Meeting the Captain
CNU’s Jamestown 2007 events help bring University’s namesake to life
By Karen L. Gill
A question for history buffs: Who commanded the settlers’ voyage to Jamestown, Virginia?
Because many might incorrectly answer John Smith, Dr. Phillip Hamilton hopes that Jamestown 2007 events at Christopher Newport University will teach many more that the correct answer is the University’s namesake.
Dr. Hamilton, associate professor of history and chair of CNU’s Jamestown 2007 organizing committee, and his team have planned a year-long series of events to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first permanent English settlement in America.
As an official Virginia 2007 Community, CNU’s events are part of the state-wide commemoration of Jamestown 2007 that is being coordinated by the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation.
The CNU series, “Points of Contact and Culture: Jamestown, 1607-2007,” was designed to educate scholars, students, Alumni and interested residents about the important events and legacies of the Jamestown colony.
“The goal is for those who attend to see how Jamestown and Christopher Newport fit into the bigger picture of the Age of Exploration,” Dr. Hamilton said. “What were the expectations of the men who came to the New World and how were those expectations met or not met?”
The series kicked off on Oct. 4 with a discussion by leading historians of Virginia Indians of the Chesapeake Region. An exhibit at the Falk Gallery in the Ferguson Center for the Arts highlighted Virginia Indian artwork.
Upcoming on Jan. 25 is a portrayal of Thomas Jefferson by Clay Jenkinson, humanities scholar, author and the voice of Thomas Jefferson in the syndicated radio program “The Thomas Jefferson Hour.”
 Steven Breese wrote a play for the Jamestown 2007 celebration. |
Other events include the world premiere of an original play of historical fiction by TheaterCNU Professor Steven Breese, which will be presented March 30-April 7 at the Ferguson Center for the Arts. His play, “Actus Fideí” (Acts of Faith), was inspired by the life and times of Christopher Newport. It explores the era’s triumphs and tragedies through the eyes and experiences of Captain Newport, a master of the Royal Navy who was responsible for the success of the English expedition that landed on Jamestown Island in 1607. Captain Newport also was in charge of the “box” that revealed the names of the members of the first Council in Virginia, of which he was one.
“More than just an historical re-enactment, ‘Actus Fideí’ addresses the maritime world of the 17th century, while resonating with contemporary ideas and dilemmas that face us in the 21st century,” Professor Breese said.
To commemorate Jamestown 2007, the University also will sponsor a film series highlighting European-Indian relations during the age of colonization. The movie will be screened, then CNU faculty members will lead discussions highlighting contemporary attitudes, stereotypes and misunderstandings about American Indian culture in the period before the American Revolution.
“They will understand that this age was more complex than people realize,” Dr. Hamilton said. “Jamestown represents the beginning of democracy and an Anglo-centric civilization in North America. But it was also an extraordinarily diverse civilization with different races and different cultures coming together to influence and shape things.”
CNU also will host two major conferences on its campus over the next year that will focus on the Jamestown colony and its important legacies.
Christopher Newport University’s Jamestown 2007 events
Please note: Events, dates and times are subject to change. Please visit http://jamestown2007.cnu.edu for more updated information closer to event date or contact Dr. Phillip Hamilton, CNU Department of History,
(757) 594-7251. To order tickets through the Ferguson Center for the Arts ticket office, go to http://fergusoncenter.org or call (757) 594-8752.
Clay Jenkinson as Thomas Jefferson, 7:30 p.m., Jan. 25, 2007, Ferguson Center for the Arts Concert Hall. Tickets, $25-$35, through the Ferguson Center for the Arts ticket office.
Humanities scholar and author Clay Jenkinson will present a Chautauqua-style evening in the persona of the United States’ third president, Thomas Jefferson.
An Evening with the King’s Singers, 7 p.m., Feb. 11, 2007, Ferguson Center for the Arts Concert Hall. Tickets $27, $37, through the Ferguson Center for the Arts ticket office.
World famous for its ability to present music from the 1200s to the 21st century, the six-member choral group will present a wide variety of English and British tunes, including music of the Elizabethan age, written at the time when English colonization efforts in the New World were beginning.
James McPherson and David Hackett Fischer – “Jamestown as a Pivotal Moment (and at a Pivotal Location) in American History,” 7 p.m., March 29, 2007, Ferguson Center for the Arts Music and Theatre Hall. Tickets $10 through the Ferguson Center for the Arts ticket office.
Two Pulitzer-Prize winning historians – David Hackett Fisher of Brandeis University and James McPherson of Princeton University (emeritus), who co-edited the monograph series “Pivotal Moments in American History” for Oxford University Press – will explore not only how Jamestown represented a pivotal moment in America’s past, but also how it fundamentally changed the course of global history.
Virginia Humanities Conference, March 30-31, 2007
The Virginia Humanities Conference will hold its annual conference at CNU with papers focusing on the theme “Jamestown 2007 and the Invention of America: Reality and Fiction.” For more information, contact George Hillow, Department of Theater
and Dance, hillow@cnu.edu,
(757) 594-8897.
World premiere of “Actus Fideí” (Acts of Faith), A New Play with Music in Two Acts by Steven Breese, March 30, April 1, 5, 6 and 7, 2007, Ferguson Center for the Arts Music and Theatre Hall.
The world premiere of a new play of historical fiction, “Actus Fideí,” inspired by the life and times of the University’s namesake, Captain Christopher Newport, will fire the imagination. The drama by TheaterCNU Professor Steven Breese explores the era’s triumphs and tragedies through the eyes and experiences of Newport – a very unlikely maritime hero.
Peninsula Heritage and Founders Tour, April 2007
An all-day Peninsula-area bus tour will take participants to the original Jamestown Settlement and other key 17th-century historical sites.
Children’s Literature Association, June 2007
The Children’s Literature Association will hold its national annual conference at CNU, with the theme “Anniversaries, Histories, and Colonialisms.” For more information, contact Kara Keeling, Department of English, kkeeling@cnu.edu, (757) 594-7952.
William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” October 2007, Ferguson Center for the Arts Concert Hall.
William Shakespeare’s final play, “The Tempest,” is widely believed to be historically based upon the 1609 shipwreck of the Sea Venture, a vessel commanded by Captain Christopher Newport and headed toward Virginia with supplies as well as a new Deputy Governor, Sir Thomas Gates.
Film Series
All films and discussions are free and shown at 7 p.m. in Gaines Theater.