Ann Harris Davidson, health researcher, lecturer, university and government administrator, and former resident of France’s southwest corner that includes the French part of Catalonia.
Thursday, February 15th, 2024 – 4:00 p.m.
Botts Hall, Albuquerque Special Collections Library
423 Central NE, Albuquerque, NM 87102 (Central & Edith)
Catalonia does not routinely top the list of regions to explore in France and Spain, but our speaker, who lived and worked in France through most of the 1980s, will give a fascinating talk about the region that will make it clear why it warrants much more attention. Its physical geography has encouraged thousands of years of invasions, political conflicts, and shifting frontiers, but the area can also point to many artistic and cultural contributions. It has a mountain range, famous seashores, wine routes, three countries (currently), a controversial 2017 Declaration of Independence, and many UNESCO World Heritage Sites, notably its walled towns and forts, which exist as legacies of its conflicts. Come out for a lively presentation that is surely to bring Catalonia to life!
Ann Harris Davidson is a health researcher, lecturer, and university and government administrator. She was born and raised in Swaziland (now the Kingdom of Eswatini) and is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Saskatchewan, Regina Campus (B.Ed.) and of the University of Sydney (MPH). She is the author of “Berwyn Heights: Then & Now,” a pictorial history of the town in Maryland where she lived from 1989 to 2009, but prior to that, spent six years working for the Australian government in France. During 2022-2023, she had the opportunity to spend almost two months in France’s southwest corner that includes the French part of Catalonia (Pays Catalan).
Preregistration is required.
$15 for AIA Members; $20 for Non-Members; Students under 30 with ID – Free.
Pay online or mail check made out to AIA by February 13th to: AIA, PO Box 92921, Albuquerque, NM 87199.
