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Mississippi State University is sponsoring a fall-semester series of fun, educational events to commemorate the Magnolia State’s bicentennial.

Jim Giesen–MSU History professor environmental portrait

With support from the Mississippi Humanities Council through the Mississippi Development Authority, the official bicentennial project kicks off Sept. 6 with a 5 p.m. presentation in Mitchell Memorial Library’s third-floor John Grisham Room. Organized by the university’s Museums and Galleries Committee, the free talk “Farming in Mississippi: A Brief History” will be given by MSU Associate Professor of History Jim Giesen.

Also free to all is a Sept. 13 talk titled “Writing Across the Color Line: Conversations, Intersections and Chance Encounters in Mississippi Literary History.” Given by MSU Associate Professor of English and African American Studies Donald Shaffer, the presentation will begin at 5 p.m. in the Grisham Room.

 “The Museums and Galleries Committee is really excited to be putting together this series of events to celebrate the history of Mississippi,” said event coordinator Amy Moe-Hoffman, an instructor in MSU’s Department of Geosciences.

“We began with the idea of showcasing university specimens in a collaborative exhibit,” she continued, “but with the help of a grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council, we were able to expand our programming to include speakers, music, receptions and exhibits that will allow attendees to have a deeper level of engagement with the history of our state.”

Donald Shaffer environmental portrait (photo by Megan Bean / © Mississippi State University)

Other upcoming bicentennial events that are free and open to the public include:

–Sept. 22, 5-7 p.m., opening reception for the exhibit “Symbols of our State: A Walk Through Mississippi Culture and Industry.” Refreshments will be served. The exhibit will be on display through Nov. 30 at the new Old Main Academic Center located at the intersection of Barr Avenue and George Perry Street. Those interested in scheduling a tour may contact the MSU Welcome Center at 662-325-5198.

–Sept. 30, 10 a.m.-noon, a family-friendly Scan-a-Thon event at the Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum in Starkville. Attendees can bring their historic photos depicting Oktibbeha County and Mississippi State to be scanned and digitized. Music and refreshments will be available in the museum’s outdoor pavilion, and the museum also will be open for tours.

–Oct. 19, 6-8 p.m., “Myth-issippi: How Art Makes Place” talk presented by longtime MSU Professor of Art Brent Funderburk in the Colvard Student Union’s first-floor Dawg House. Musicians Caleb Childs and Richard Brown will give live blues performances, and light refreshments will be served. The backdrop for this event will be the Dawg House’s new wall mural highlighting blues music and musicians from Mississippi.

–Oct. 26, 7 p.m., Jeff Harris, MSU assistant Extension research professor with the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, will give a talk about the history of beekeeping in Mississippi. His presentation will take place in the Clay Lyle Entomology Building, home to the Mississippi State Bug Zoo that will be open for visitors starting at 6:30 p.m.

–Nov. 3, MSU Professor of Geosciences Darrel Schmitz, author of “Roadside Geology of Mississippi,” and George Phillips, curator of paleontology at the Museum of Natural Science in Jackson, will discuss economic geology and important fossil finds in Mississippi. All are welcome to bring a bag lunch for the noon talk “Discoveries in Mississippi Geology and Paleontology,” which will be held in Hilbun Hall, Room 304.

For more event information, contact Amy Moe-Hoffman at 662-325-3915 or amhoffman@geosci.msstate.edu.

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