For fans of filmmaker Ken Burns, Nov. 16 was a banner day. Burns spent time interacting with students on the Danforth Campus, then gave an Assembly Series talk and previewed three of his films: The Dust Bowl, The Central Park Five and The Roosevelts. Above: Burns chats with one of his younger fans at a book signing. Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton presented Burns with the 2012 International Humanities Medal and accompanying $25,000 cash prize, awarded to a person whose humanistic endeavors in scholarship, journalism, literature or the arts have made a permanent impact on U.S. society. Burns rose to prominence with his 1990 debut of The Civil War. He has produced more than 20 documentaries illuminating the country’s past. Burns began collaborating with Gerald Early, PhD, the Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters in Arts & Sciences, on his 1992 film Baseball and they have now worked together on five films. The event was sponsored by the Center for the Humanities and the University Libraries.
(Credit: whitney curtis)
