Emory Report
July 21, 2008
Volume 60, Number 35

 

   

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July 21, 2008
Soundbites

Rushdie reading travels time
The crowd gathered to hear Salman Rushdie read from “The Enchantress of Florence” — some of which was written as Emory’s Distinguished Writer in Residence — were treated to the tale of its creation.

“This novel came about in a strange way,” Rushdie said.

The Italian Renaissance and Mughal India had always interested him. “Here you have two cultures, both at a kind of pinnacle — both in highly literary, artistic musical, artistic renaissances — who barely knew each other.”

There is no evidence of travel from India to Europe at the turn of the 15th century, he said. “The moment I realized it hadn’t happened, I immediately became obsessed with the idea of making it happen.”

Part of Rushdie’s national book tour, the event was presented by Emory, A Cappella Books and the Carter Presidential Library. — Kim Urquhart

Higgins’ photos illuminate Nubia
“Light is my mistress. She and I have a very good relationship, I pay attention to her, she pays attention to me,” said Chester Higgins, referring to his photos on view until Aug. 15 at the Schatten Gallery.

In “Nubian Dreams: Images of the Sudan,” Higgins’ presents a documentation of three ancient Nile societies — the Axumites, Nubians and Kemetians. “These images capture the imagination of an ancient people. Here we see the human mind focused on issues of divinity and the scared life,” said the famed photographer. “We see what these ancient people constructed to their faith, believing in a God greater than themselves, with the power of life and death.” — Christi Gray

Ghana works to go global
The view of the business community in the small African nation of Ghana on globalization “is based on negatives and we have to break through that,” Robert Lindsay, executive director of the Ghana Investment Promotion Center, told participants at the First Annual Globalization Conference hosted at Emory.

Lindsay said increased protectionism is “being exhibited more and more by local businesses, who feel that globalization is killing their livelihood.”

The former Coca-Cola executive said: “The idea of trade presupposes you have something to sell. We have a supply problem. We don’t have something to sell.”

Instead he tells the trade ministry “…to focus on industrial strategy.”

“Our aspiration is that someday people won’t be talking about Singapore, they’ll be talking about Ghana.” — Leslie King