October 5, 1995
The John Adams Institute hosted an evening with historian Simon Schama. Simon Schama was born in London in 1945, educated at Cambridge, and has taught at Oxford and Harvard. He is currently Professor of History and Art History at Columbia University in New York. Simon Schama has won international fame with his lively and immensely detailed mammoth historical works, of which the Embarrassment of Riches and his first book Patriots and Liberators: Revolution in the Netherlands 1780-1813 have particularly appealed to the Dutch public because they deal with Dutch history. Schama’s preference for the anecdotal and his free interpretation and use of historical sources appeal to a large reading public but have brought him criticism from his colleague historians. Some attack him for being too literary. Schama himself is proud of the literary quality of his work. In his richly illustrated book, Landscape & Memory, Schama mixes myths, philosophical reflections and personal memories, and links these with the development and history of the landscape that surrounds us. He examines our relationship with the landscape, the impact it has had on our culture and imaginations and the way in which we, in turn, have shaped and exploited it to serve our needs. Have we lost touch with our natural environment?
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