April 16, 2001
Director of Media Relations
413/542-8417

AMHERST, Mass.-- Patrick Caddeau, assistant professor of Japanese Language and Literature at Amherst College, will give the annual Max and Etta Lazerowitz Lecture, on "Endless Comment and Commentary: Use and Abuse of the World's First Novel, The Tale of Genji, Over the Last Millenium," on Tuesday, April 24, at 4 p.m. in the Alumni House at Amherst College. The talk, and a reception immediately following, are free and open to the public. Caddeau's talk will focus on the ways The Tale of Genji has been interpreted and appreciated in the nearly 1,000 years since its composition.

Professor Caddeau, a scholar of Asian language and literature, came to Amherst is 1998. He holds a B.A. from Columbia University and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Yale University. His most recent works have appeared in the Edo Anthology of Japanese Literature and Shirin, published by the Faculty of Letters, Osaka University, Japan. Caddeau currently is working on a manuscript called "Aesthetic Persuasions: Higiwara Hiromichi and Literary Criticism in Edo Japan."

The Lazerowitz Lectureship is awarded each year to support and encourage members of the Amherst College faculty in their scholarly work. The Dean of the Faculty, in conjunction with the Lecture Committee, selects the recipient, a member of the faculty below the rank of a full professor, who presents a lecture on his or her research.

The Max and Etta Lazerowitz Lectureship was established in 1985 to honor the parents of the late Morris Lazerowitz, emeritus professor of philosophy at Smith College. Professor Alice Ambrose Lazerowitz, wife of the late Morris Lazerowitz and also emeritus professor of philosophy at Smith, attended the Lazerowitz Lecture each spring as an honored guest until her recent death in January.

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