Boston, MA: Fall Talk & Reception with OxCam NE

"Fraud and falsehood only dread examination. Truth invites it." - Samuel Johnson

From Relics to Reality

Fake News, Fact Checks, & Why We Want to Believe in Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary Desk
Professor Lynda Mugglestone, Oxford University

We are pleased to welcome Professor Lynda Mugglestone to speak. She is Professor of the History of English at Oxford University, and a Fellow of Pembroke College. Professor Mugglestone has published widely on the history of English, with reference to historical phonology as well as lexicography and lexical history.

She has recently been awarded a Knowledge Exchange Fellowship in association with Johnson’s House in London, and curated a new interpretative exhibition (‘Desks, Drudgery, and the Dictionary’) in the dictionary garret which opened on July 3rd, 2024. She has been awarded a Houghton Library Fellowship at Harvard for 2024-25 to continue her work on Samuel Johnson and the writing of a new book on Samuel Johnson’s garret lexicography.

Dr. Samuel Johnson is a distinguished alumnus of Pembroke and renowned lexicographer. Professor Mugglestone has uncovered various misconceptions surrounding his legacy.
Publications include Lost for Words: The Hidden History of the Oxford English Dictionary, Dictionaries: A Very Short Introduction, The Oxford History of English, Samuel Johnson: the Arc of the Pendulum OUP. Her most recent book was Writing a War of Words. Andrew Clark and the Search for Meaning in WWI.

7:00pm Dessert Reception
7:30pm Lecture and Q&A
Dress: Business Casual

There will also be a full cash (only) bar.

Date: Thursday, November 14, 2024

Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm

Location: Union Club of Boston, 8 Park Street, 02108

The club is a one-block walk from the Green and Red Line stop “Park Street”. Parking is available at evening rates at the nearby Boston Common Garage, entrance at 0 Charles Street.