This Friday, October 6, marked the inaugural lecture of the talk series "Smells, Sounds, and Textures of Iberian Modernity", organized by Renee Congdon (G-4) and Lucia Filipova (G-5). With co-sponsorships from over 10 departments and programs on campus, the series invites a reconsideration of Iberian modernity from an interdisciplinary lens focused on the senses.

Bob Davidson, Professor of Spanish and Catalan at the University of Toronto, kicked off the series this Friday with his talk entitled "Spain's Perfumed Modernity", a fascinating dive into the rise and fall of the perfume industry in Spain from the 1920s to 2000. The talk invited us to question the hierarchy of the senses in the ivory tower, as he passed around historic perfume samples and asked audience members to understand and analyze them as olfactory texts capable of reflecting Spain's own culture, history, and struggles. With attendees from various departments across campus, the talk was a great success. The next talk in the series will take place on November 17. Stay tuned for more information.