'All About Oscar' and the history of the Academy Awards, Feb. 27

Andrew Douglas Ph.D., director of education at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute, will speak at Penn State Brandywine on Thursday, Feb. 27, at 6 p.m. in the Main Building Auditorium, room 101. His presentation, titled "All About Oscar," is a timely discussion about the upcoming Academy Awards ceremony. Students, faculty, staff and community members are welcome at this event, which is part of the campus' Spring Speaker Series.

With the Oscars occurring in March, Douglas will show clips from this year's nominees while helping guests understand what the different award categories represent and how the award process works. Attendees will also learn about the history of the Oscars and how they have impacted American culture.

"Early on, the Academy was an important element of shifting Hollywood's reputation from that of a marginal and disreputable business-of-last-resort to that of a substantial, respectable, and desirable enterprise," Douglas explained. 

Douglas' experience will come to the forefront in his presentation, as his knowledge and experience in the film industry are vast. Along with previously working as a film critic in New York City, he has presented at conferences at the International Association of Media and History and the Society of Cinema and Media Studies and has written for the Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, published by Harvard Business School.

This event is free and light refreshments will be served. Due to limited space, please RSVP to [email protected] or by calling 610-892-1484.

Penn State Brandywine will also welcome Glenn E. Williams and the Jazz Trio to campus as part of its Spring Speaker Series on Thursday, April 10, at 6 p.m. Visit Brandywine's Speaker Series webpage for more information about these and other upcoming speakers.

All presentations are held on the Penn State Brandywine campus, 25 Yearsley Mill Road in Media.