The American Studies Resource Center Organizes a Lecture on Columbus Day
21 October 2010
On October 21st 2010, the American Studies Resource Center in cooperation with the Public Relations Department at the University organized a lecture on Columbus Day which was delivered by Esperanza Tilghman, Public Diplomacy Officer at the US Consulate General in Jerusalem. Ms. Tilghman works on programs related to women. She has previously worked at the US Government in 2006 and worked as a lawyer in California on issues related to family and racial discrimination.
The lecture was organized at the Conferences Room at the Old Campus Library. Attendees included Dr. Ayman Nazzal, Instructor at the English Department and the Director of the American Studies Resource Center as well as a number of students and representatives from the Consulate General.
At the beginning of the lecture, Dr. Nazzal welcomed Ms. Tilghman and presented a summary in which he familiarized the audience with the American Studies Resource Center which focuses on introducing the American culture and civilization to the Palestinian people and bringing locals closer to understanding the history of the United States.
The lecture focused on discussing the historical voyage that the well-known explorer and navigator, Christopher Columbus, made which led to the discovery of the American continents. Over five centuries ago, Columbus set sail from Italy across the Atlantic Ocean in search of a new trade route to India. His voyages and expeditions have changed the map of the world and altered the course of history. They have encouraged and inspired generations of explorers to search for new frontiers and new horizons.
After this discovery, more expeditions were made to the new continents where men and women from every place, some sought refugee from religious or political oppression, others from poverty or war, and many others who left in search of new opportunities and to improve their standard of living. Columbus is regarded as the one who brought the Americas into the forefront of Western attention.
The lecture also explained that in commemoration of Christopher Columbus's historical voyage 518 years ago, the United States Congress has declared the second Monday of October of each year as "Columbus Day".
