Athens, Ga. – Joanne B. Eicher, editor-in-chief of the Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion, will deliver the 17th annual Darl Snyder Lecture on Thursday, March 5, at 10 a.m. in the University of Georgia Chapel. The event is open free to the public.
Eicher is emeritus regents professor in the College of Design at the University of Minnesota. She is an expert on non-verbal communication, cultural dress and African textiles, among many areas she has studied.
The Berg Encyclopedia, which is now being written, will appear in a 10-volume online edition in 2010. According to its web site, it will “provide comprehensive and in-depth coverage of all aspects of dress and fashion globally-from pre-history to the present day.”
Eicher is the author or editor of a number of books, and in April 2007 she was the Bill Blass Lecturer at Indiana University.
Darl Snyder first became affiliated with the University of Georgia in July 1969 as a program specialist at the Rural Development Center in Tifton. He became director in July 1972 and remained at RDC until 1974.
In September 1975, Snyder was appointed director of International Programs in Agriculture on campus at UGA in Athens.In 1977, he was named the university’s director of International Development.He became director of the Office of International Development at UGA in 1989.He retired in June 1992.
After retirement, Snyder and his wife, Florence, who has since passed away, remained actively involved with the African Studies Institute and various international offices. The lecture series was established in 1992 in honor of Snyder for his dedication, research and service to learning programs in Africa.
The event is an annual opportunity to bring accomplished scholars in African Studies to the University of Georgia campus. The lecture series has featured distinguished Africanists who lectured on prevalent topics regarding Africa.
It is sponsored by the African Studies Institute, which is part of the UGA Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.