BRITISH HISTORIAN AND FILM PRODUCER TO GIVE TWO LECTURES ON CAMPUS

Michael Wood, noted British historian and film producer, will share his knowledge of Alexander the Great and the Conquistadors at lectures Nov. 29 and 30 on the Old Dominion University campus.

The Wednesday, Nov. 29, lecture, "In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great," is sponsored by Odyssey: The Hellenic Cultural Studies Program of Old Dominion. A reception will be held at 7 p.m. in the Elizabeth River Room of Webb University Center, with the lecture following at 8 p.m. in the center's Hampton/Newport News Room. Although the event is free, reservations are required by calling 683-3116 or e-mailing rsvp@odu.edu.

Wood's Thursday, Nov. 30, talk, "The Conquistadors 500 Years On: Perceptions of the Victors and the Vanquished," is the Distinguished Presidential Lecture in History, part of Old Dominion's President's Lecture Series. The free event will be at 8 p.m. in the auditorium of the Mills Godwin Jr. Life Sciences Building. Reservations are not required.

Wood is widely recognized by viewers of public television as the host of the acclaimed PBS series' "Art of the Western World," "Legacy" and "In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great." Born in Manchester, England, he holds degrees from Oxford University, where he specialized in Anglo-Saxon history. He worked in journalism before writing for television and film, and has authored more than 60 documentaires, including "Great Railway Journeys of the World," "River Journeys" and "The Sacred Way."

Focusing on history and travel, Wood's projects have taken him all over the world, from the jungles of South America to the villages of India. He recently completed "Conquistadors," a travel series that traces the epic journeys of the Spanish Conquest of the New World and will be shown on PBS in spring 2001. The editor of "The World Atlas of Archaeology," Wood has written and contributed to numerous books. This year, he published a collection of medieval essays titled "In Search of England."
For more information on either lecture, call 683-3116.