“It is a woman” – Discovering Nettie Stevens

To celebrate Women’s History Month we turn to a little known pioneer in cytology,  Nettie Maria Stevens, one of the first scientists to discover that sex is determined by a particular configuration of chromosomes. Born in Vermont in 1861, she excelled in school with her sights set on studying science.  Although she got a late…

The First “King of Jazz”: James Reese Europe

“People don’t realize yet today what we lost when we lost Jim Europe. He was the savior of Negro musicians. He was in a class with Booker T. Washington and Martin Luther King. I met all three of them. Before Europe, Negro musicians were just like wandering minstrels. Play in a saloon and pass the…

Spotlight on the Campus Tour of Saint John’s Bible Heritage Edition

The campus tour of The Saint Johns Bible Heritage Edition shines as a highlight of Fall 2023.  The Heritage Edition is a fine art replica of The Saint John’s Bible, which is a modernly created complete text of the Bible, handwritten and illuminated using medieval techniques and tools. In celebration of the 25th anniversary of…

Navajo Blankets: A Collection from The Laboratory of Anthropology

By: Hannah Payne In celebration of Native American History Month, the Arts and Special Collections Research Center would like to highlight Navajo Blankets: a collection comprised of 15 prints pulled from the 400+ remarkable examples of Navajo textiles located at The Laboratory of Anthropology in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Created with the intent to demonstrate…

Hispanic and Latin American Artists’ Books

Baylor University’s academic strategic plan includes special emphases on transformational education and the arts. One of the five main initiatives of the strategic plan focuses on human flourishing, that includes being “image-bearers of God working creatively and interacting with others for the individual and common good” – a concept richly reflected in the arts. The…

Opening a composer’s manuscripts collection: A rare opportunity for research

After years of research and travel, Dr. Alfredo Colman curated and arranged for a donation to the Baylor Libraries of a digital collection of composer manuscripts belonging to Florentín Giménez Martínez. Dr. Colman visited Florentín Giménez in Paraguay many times to digitize original manuscript scores to provide broader awareness of this music. As a professor…

Manicule Exhibit

The Arts and Special Collections Research Center has opened their latest exhibit — Pointing Out the (Not Always) Obvious: Manicules Through History from Latin, manicula (little hand) a hand-drawn or typographic mark representing a hand with its index finger extending in a pointing gesture Humans have used the image of a pointing hand for much…

“Black Swan” : a story of courage and talent

Join us during Black History Month and Women’s History Month as we follow Elisabeth Taylor Greenfield‘s singing career through mid-19th century newspapers.  There are a number of inspirational resources available to the public to listen, read, learn, and share stories of African Americans, celebrating their journeys and contributions to society.   The Library of Congress, Smithsonian…

Research in Music with Christopher Thompson – If I Ever Get a Job Again

What does music research look like?  This is the eighth post in a series that highlights music research by students in a Baylor School of Music class taught by Dr. Laurel Zeiss, a recipient of the 2022 Special Collections Teaching Fellowship.  These students worked beyond traditional research and learned how to engage with primary sources…

Research in Music with Jessica Rumsey – Oily Blues

What does music research look like?  This is the seventh post in a series that highlights music research by students in a Baylor School of Music class taught by Dr. Laurel Zeiss, a recipient of the 2022 Special Collections Teaching Fellowship.  These students worked beyond traditional research and learned how to engage with primary sources…