Laurence Roth, “Unpacking My Father’s Bookstore”

Monday, March 2

McBride Gathering Space, Numen Lumen Pavilion | 12:30 p.m.

During its nearly thirty years in business, J. Roth / Bookseller of Fine & Scholarly Judaica was a microcosm of the Los Angeles Jewish community and one of the premier Jewish bookstores in the United States. It thrived in the glow of the Jewish ethnic pride movements of the sixties and seventies but was unable to market its uniquely broad definition and collection of Jewish literature after the resurgence of Orthodox Judaism and the assimilation of Jewish writing into the corporate book superstores during the late eighties and early nineties. Through a combination of memoir and critical analysis in this reading/lecture, Laurence Roth will illustrate the importance of one American Jewish bookstore to its customers and to the family that helped run it, and to show how independent bookstores like J. Roth Bookseller, which mostly disappear from history, often had outsized effects on their communities.

Laurence Roth is the Charles B. Degenstein Professor of English and director of the Jewish & Israel Studies Program and the Build Collaborative (a project-based center for liberal arts, business and creativity) at Susquehanna University. He is the author of “Inspecting Jews: American Jewish Detective Stores,” coeditor, with Nadia Valman, of The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Jewish Cultures, and editor of Modern Language Studies, the scholarly journal of the Northeast Modern Language Association. Presented by Elon’s Jewish Studies Program, with generous support from an Elon Fund for Excellence in the Arts and Sciences (FIE) Grant.

Faculty Biennial Exhibition, opening reception

Monday, March 2

Gallery 406, Arts West | 5 p.m.
Exhibition continues through April 3

Studio faculty from the Department of Art will exhibit their work including photography, video, painting, sculpture and mixed media.

Purim

Monday, March 2

McBride Gathering Space | 5:30 p.m.

Participate in multicultural readings from the biblical book of Esther. The holiday celebrates diversity within the Jewish community and the Elon campus community and highlights reflections on minority experience through the lens of this Jewish holiday. Purim marks the survival and resilience of the Jewish community during a time of oppression and threat of massacre during the Persian period. Sponsored by Jewish Life and the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life

Elon Percussion Ensemble Spring Concert

Monday, March 2

Yeager Recital Hall | 7:30 p.m.

Dan Hartung, director

The Percussion Ensemble will showcase the breadth and depth of what percussion has to offer including Afro-Diasporic drumming, Western contemporary percussion and performance art/theatrical works. Sponsored by the Department of Music

Lessons from Leaders Series with Kathie Niven ’89,
President and CEO of Biscuitville

Tuesday, March 3

LaRose Digital Theatre, Koury Business Center | 4:30 p.m.

Kathie Niven ’89 joined Biscuitville in 2011 and became president in early 2018, leading the company’s growth strategy and expanding its footprint into the Fayetteville and Charlotte markets in North Carolina. Prior to becoming president, she served as the company’s chief brand officer, and earlier in her career, she held marketing leadership roles with Quiznos, RTM/Arby’s Roast Beef Corporation, Burger King and Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation. Niven is also known for championing a people-first culture, with a focus on diversity and accessibility. She graduated from Elon in 1989 with a degree in English and a minor in communications.

Elon Wind Ensemble
Carnegie Hall Preview Concert

Wednesday, March 4

Alumni Gym, Koury Athletic Center | 7:30 p.m.

Jonathan Poquette, conductor
Carey Harwood, guitar soloist

As the Elon Wind Ensemble embarks on its journey to New York City to give Elon University’s Carnegie Hall debut, we hope you will join us for an evening of exciting music. In addition to Carey Harwood on guitar, the ensemble will perform a world premiere by Associate Professor of Music Todd Coleman. Sponsored by the Department of Music

The Spring Dance Concert “Roots & Horizons”

Friday-Sunday, March 6-8

McCrary Theatre, Center for the Arts
Mar. 6, 7 at 7:30 p.m. | Mar. 7, 8 at 2 p.m.

Presented by the Department of Performing Arts
Artistic Director: Keshia Gee

The Spring Dance Concert, “Roots & Horizons,” draws inspiration from the Akan concept of Sankofa, meaning “to go back and get it,” which emphasizes the importance of learning from the past to move forward. The production features works by all women choreographers including Elon faculty and guest artists, performed by Elon students. Admission: $15 or Elon ID. Reservations are highly recommended and will be offered beginning February 13 at elonperformingarts.com. 

Brenda Dixon-Gottschild
“Challenges, Changes, Chances – My Object Lesson in Reclaiming My Time”

Monday, March 9

McCrary Theatre, Center for the Arts | 7 p.m.

Elon University Lyceum Series

A self-described anti-racist cultural worker utilizing dance as her medium, Brenda Dixon-Gottschild is an author, consultant, performer and professor emerita of dance studies at Temple University. Her Elon presentation is a retrospective about aspiration and inspiration, revisiting selected milestones from her six-decade career as a dancer, actor, writer, professor and socio-politically engaged human. A unique blend of lecture and performance, the event culminates with Dixon-Gottchild’s novel approach to audience-presenter interaction. Admission is free, but a reservation is required and will be offered beginning February 16 at elonperformingarts.com.

Tectonic Plates: Alamance County’s Science Café with Gary Sheehan, Cyber Wellness: A Trivia Contest

Tuesday, March 10

Burlington Beer Works, 103 E. Front Street, Burlington | 7 p.m.

Each month on 2nd Tuesdays, a different scientist will present an engaging topic at Burlington Beer Works in downtown Burlington, North Carolina. Expect a lively event in a relaxed atmosphere without all the technical jargon. In March, Tectonic Plates welcomes Elon’s Information Security Director Gary Sheehan. The series runs from September to May, and the presentations are free and open to the public.

Zeynep Tufekci, “Power, Protest and Algorithms:
How Technology Shapes Society and Democracy”

Thursday, March 12

McCrary Theatre, Center for the Arts | 7 p.m.

Baird Lecture

Zeynep Tufekci is an internationally renowned techno-sociologist whose work analyzes the intersections of science, technology, politics and society. As a New York Times opinion columnist and the Henry G. Bryant Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princeton University, she is known for asking hard questions about artificial intelligence, privacy and surveillance, social movements and public health, and answers in ways that defy disciplinary boundaries. A 2022 Pulitzer Prize finalist for commentary, Tufekci examines the use of social media to mobilize large numbers of people in political protest and why many modern movements lack the direction to foster real change. Admission: $15 or Elon ID. Tickets available February 19 at ElonTickets.com.

Elon Camerata Spring Recital

Sunday, March 15

Elon Community Church | 3 p.m.

Stephen A. Futrell, conductor
Christy Wisuthseriwong, piano

The Elon Camerata will perform Eric Whitacre’s Five Hebrew Songs, and John Corliano’s Fern Hill (featuring the poetry of Dylan Thomas). Sponsored by the Department of Music

Bill Adair, “Why Fact-Checking Still Matters in our Polarized Discourse”

Monday, March 16

Whitley Auditorium | 7:30 p.m.

Liberal Arts Forum Lecture with support from the Turnage Family Fund for the Study of Political Communication and Department of Journalism in the School of Communications

Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Bill Adair has been on the front lines of fact-checking for many years. He is the founder of PolitiFact and the co-founder of the International Fact-Checking Network. Last year he published  “Beyond the Big Lie,” an examination of how politicians lie and why. In his career as a Washington journalist, he has seen political dialogue degenerate into partisan acrimony. Nevertheless, he still believes checking facts is a crucial task for political journalists to provide people the information they need to make sense of our wild discourse.

Erica Moiah James, “Haptic Archives and the Critical Work of Tenderness in Global Caribbean Art”

Tuesday, March 17

LaRose Student Commons | 5:30 p.m.

Art History Speaker Series

The art historian and curator will speak on contemporary global Caribbean art that reveals in touch and tenderness.

Erica Moiah James is Associate Professor at The University of Miami and was formerly an Assistant Professor of Art History and African American Studies at Yale University as well as founding director and chief curator of the National Gallery of The Bahamas. Her research centers on indigenous, modern and contemporary art of the Caribbean, Americas, and the African diaspora. James has been awarded the Creative Time Art Writing Prize and grants from the Terra and Mellon Foundations. Her current book is entitled “After Caliban: Caribbean Art in a Global Imaginary” (Duke UP 2025), and she discusses her work identifying the subject of the 18th- century pastel Portrait of a Young Woman across Season 7 of the podcast “In the foreground: conversations on art and writing from the Clark Art Institute.”

Eid al-Fitr

Tuesday, March 31

McBride Gathering Space, Numen Lumen Pavilion | 5:30 p.m.

Following the month of fasting during Ramadan, Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the “Feast of Breaking the Fast.” Join us for an evening of food, festivities and community as we mark this joyful holiday together. Enjoy fun trivia, a henna station, and plenty of opportunities to learn, connect and celebrate. Sponsored by Muslim Life, Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life