Date: Thursday, September 17th, 2026
Location: The Newberry Library
Time: 5:30pm – 7:00 pm CT
Title: TBD
Speaker: William Green
Abstract: TBD
Bio: William Green served as archaeologist at The University of Iowa and Director of Logan Museum of Anthropology and chair of the museum studies at Beloit College. He was the founding President of Midwest Archaeological Conference, Inc. and served as Editor of
the Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology. He lives in Sante Fe New Mexico.
CHICAGO MAP SOCIETY 50th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION & MAP FAIR
Date: Thursday, October 29th – Saturday, October 31st
Location: The Newberry Library
More information to come…
Date: Thursday, November 19th, 2026
Location: The Newberry Library
Time: 5:30pm – 7:00 pm CT
Title: Canberra, Cartography and the Cold War; or, just how good was Soviet military mapping? A Ken Behrens investigation
Speaker: Brendan Whyte
Abstract: During the Cold War the Soviet military mapped, to their own detailed specifications, at least 2000 cities around the world. Yet due to the secrecy with which they were created, the maps often contain errors that show a complete lack of field-checking, that embassy staff could have fixed without even leaving their compounds. The errors range from forgivable cultural misunderstandings, and source map-reading errors, to farcical misidentifications. After brief introductions to the history of Soviet military city plans, and to Australia’s capital city of Canberra, this presentation will reveal the sources, the detail, and the (in)accuracy of the 1981 Soviet military map of Canberra, Australia, highlighting the utility of — but need for care when using — Soviet military city plans for historical research.
Bio: Brendan Whyte has had maps on his walls since his parents first let him push drawing-pins into their antipodean wallpaper. A former assistant map curator at both the University of Melbourne and the National Library of Australia in Canberra, he has published
a study of the (now erstwhile) Cooch Behar enclaves of India/Bangladesh, an atlas of the railways of Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, a critical edition of Thomas de Quincey’s essay on Judas Iscariot, a multiplayer boardgame of the decline of the Carolingian dynasty,
and a map of the rural rides of William Cobbett. He is currently Curator and Head of the Map Collection at the University of Chicago.
Date: Thursday, December 17th, 2026
Location: The Newberry Library
Time: 5:30pm – 7:00 pm CT
Title: TBD
Speaker: TBD
Abstract: TBD
Bio: TBD
Date: Thursday, January 21st, 2027
Location: The Newberry Library
Time: 5:30pm – 7:00 pm CT
Title: TBD
Speaker: TBD
Abstract: TBD
Bio: TBD
Date: Thursday, February 18th, 2027
Location: The Newberry Library
Time: 5:30pm – 7:00 pm CT
Title: TBD
Speaker: TBD
Abstract: TBD
Bio: TBD
Date: Thursday, March 18th,2027
Location: The Newberry Library
Time: 5:30pm – 7:00 pm CT
Title: TBD
Speaker: TBD
Abstract: TBD
Bio: TBD
Date: Thursday, April 15th, 2027
Location: The Newberry Library
Time: 5:30pm – 7:00 pm CT
Title: TBD
Speaker: TBD
Abstract: TBD
Bio: TBD
Date: Thursday, May , 2027
Location: The Newberry Library
Time: 5:30pm – 7:00 pm CT
Title: TBD
Speaker: TBD
Abstract: TBD
Bio: TBD