Audio and Video of Homecoming 2014

Conversation with President Biddy Martin

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Homecoming, November 8, 2014

President Martin was introduced by Kerry Brennan '77, chair of the Executive Committee of the Alumni Council, who will also present the Distinguished Service Awards.

Reflections on 40 Years of Teaching: A Conversation with Austin Sarat about Continuity and Change at Amherst College

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Homecoming, November 8, 2014

Austin Sarat, the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science and associate dean of the faculty, has taught at Amherst for 40 years. He will reflect on what has remained constant and what has been altered in the way Amherst educates its students since he began teaching here. Are the experiences of Amherst students of today radically different from those of their predecessors? How, if at all, have the aspirations of Amherst's faculty changed? How has the life of the classroom changed? What inferences can we draw about the situation of American higher education from Amherst's experience? His latest book, Gruesome Spectacles: Botched Executions and America's Death Penalty, was co-authored with four Amherst students, a rather unique collaboration in the annals of academic book publishing. What about Amherst made this collaboration possible, and what does it tell us about the kind of education Amherst will provide to future generations of students?

Lord Jeff: The Accidental Mascot

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Homecoming, November 8, 2014

Mike Kelly, head of the Archives and Special Collections in Frost Library, will present the story of Lord Jeff from the birth of the original Lord Jeffery Amherst in 1717 through his first appearance on campus down to the recent controversies on campus. This presentation is based on extensive historical documents held in the Archives, including the Lord Jeffery Amherst Collection, the Plimpton Collection of French and Indian War Materials, and the Music at Amherst Collection. This program is presented by the Native American Students Association and the Multicultural Resource Center.