Lenox Library's Distinguished Lecture Series: History of US-China Relations

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LENOX, Mass. — The Lenox Library's 15th Annual Distinguished Lecture Series will continue on Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021 at 4:00 p.m.
 
Dr. Eugenio Menegon, Associate Professor of History at Boston University, will discuss the history of US-China relations from 1776 to today.
 
Due to recent COVID directives, this event will take place via Zoom. Meeting details may be found on the Library's website at https://lenoxlib.org or the Library's Facebook page.
 
According to a press release:
 
In order to understand today's complex relations between the US and China, we need to know the deep roots of the relationship between our two countries. This lecture will explore in creative ways how both sides, Chinese and American, have seen the other, and how the people (leaders and commoners alike), religions, educational, and medical systems, economies, and the militaries, have interacted with each other over the span of the last three centuries. The lecture will also explain, in historical perspective, why the China-US relationship is so important for the world today, even if it is often fraught with misunderstandings and competition. 
 
Professor Eugenio Menegon has published extensively on the history of Chinese-Western relations, and is the author of two books: "One Single Sky: Geography, Art," "Science, and Religion in Europe and China and Ancestors," "Virgins, and Friars: Christianity as a Local Religion in Late Imperial China," which was the recipient of the 2011 Joseph Levenson Book Prize in Chinese Studies. 
 
Dr. Menegon has been Research Fellow in Chinese Studies at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium), Junior and Senior Fellow at the BU Humanities Foundation, and the An Wang Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, Harvard University. He has held appointments as visiting scholar at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (Beijing), the Beijing Center for Chinese Studies, the Ricci Institute at the University of San Francisco, the University "L'Orientale" in Naples, the University of Padua, and the Cini Foundation, Venice. He was Director of the Boston University Center for the Study of Asia in 2012-15, and has been a research fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton and a Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies at Boston College, as well as the recipient of the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation Scholar Grant.  
 
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Berkshire Natural Resources Council Receives Grant To Improve Trailheads

LENOX, Mass. — Berkshire Natural Resources Council (BNRC) has been awarded $180,000 from the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism's (MOTT) Destination Development Capital (DDC) Grant Program to enhance the visitor access and wayfinding at several of the most-visited BNRC reserves across the Berkshires. 
 
The MOTT award requires a 1:1 match, and the Jane and Jack Fitzpatrick Trust recently provided BNRC with a $75,000 grant to support the project and help meet the match. 
 
The project will upgrade trailhead infrastructure, improve accessibility at selected sites and enhance wayfinding so residents and visitors can more easily and comfortably enjoy the region's conserved lands year-round. 
 
"This project reflects exactly what the Destination Development Capital Grant Program is designed to do, which is to strengthen the places that matter most to our communities while preparing them for the future," said Kate Fox, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism. "BNRC's thoughtful approach enhances access to some of the Berkshires' most beloved trails while incorporating climate-resilient features that protect these landscapes for years to come. Investments like this help ensure that residents and visitors can enjoy safe, welcoming, and sustainable outdoor experiences across the region." 
 
The grant funds will support targeted improvements: 
  • More welcoming and informative trailhead kiosks and signage 
  • Accessibility improvements at selected trail entrances 
  • Parking changes at busy trailheads 
  • Incorporating climate-smart features like permeable parking surfaces, native plant rain gardens, and usage of durable, sustainable materials 
"In the Berkshires, outdoor recreation is increasingly a key reason people come, and a key reason they stay," said Jenny Hansell, BNRC president. "We are grateful to the Healey-Driscoll administration and the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism for recognizing that conserved lands are central to the Berkshires' visitor experience and our local quality of life." 
 
The award is part of a broader investment by the Healey-Driscoll administration to strengthen tourism infrastructure across Massachusetts. Through the DDC program, MOTT funds capital projects that expand, restore, or enhance destinations such as museums, historic sites, and outdoor recreation areas that support local economies. 
 
"With this funding, we can make it easier for people to get outside, whether they're seasoned hikers, families with young kids, or someone visiting the Berkshires for the first time," said Doug Brown, BNRC's Director of Stewardship. "Improved parking, clearer signage, and accessibility improvements may seem like small details, but they can be the difference between someone turning around or feeling confident enough to explore." 
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