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Thursday. April 29.1976
University Dally Kansan
Prof spouts whale tales
By BECCI BREINING
Staff Writer
Ask Elizabeth Schultz what her favorite woman and she'll immediately reply, "Mindy Doe."
When Schultz, professor of English, read the book as a college junior she was fascinated by the mystique of whales and author Herman Melville's attempt to know
Now, after several years of teaching "Moby Dick" to 19th-century English classes in the embarked and Japan, he embarked on a marvelous such that continues where Mellville left off.
"Melville really tried every possible means to understand what she," said recently. "He examined the whale metaphysically and metaphysically and sociologically."
"In view of all these aspects, the whale became a romantic reality which has been repeated for generations."
weather vanes and gigantic rock formations."
This summer Schultz will return to Japan where her fascination with whales first materialized into the research project. On a 1973-74 Fulbright Lectureship in Japan, Schultz was strongly urged to pursue a study of whales by Hennig Cohen, chairman of the Herman Melville Society, Schultz had corresponded with Cohen on this topic and the suggestion of Cohen, Schultz is now
At the suggestion of Cohen, Schultz is studying the attitudes and perceptions of the Japanese before whaling became mechanized, in about 1803.
The Japanese attitude at this time was very "the profound," she said. "It represented an enormous respect and sympathy for the people of Japan." Her body posture is in contrast to the present attitude.
A female whale captured in nets would be circled by her anguished spouse, who would cry for her, Schult said, and the Japanese same saw tears in the whale's eyes.
"The Japanese were confronted by the fact that whales were sensitive creatures in who many ways had a life very much like their own," she said. "And the wonder of it is the parallel attitudes that developed in them as best completely independent of each other."
"To know the whale is synonymous with knowing anything," she said. "To know the whale is synonymous with knowing anything."
Schultz said there were several Western accounts both contemporary and 19th-century, that suggested man had learned many things about himself from the whale.
TO LEARN more about the whale and the men whom it affected, Schultz will visit several whaling sites along the coast of Japan. She knows the country well, she is a great teacher and will teach three years after graduating from Wellesley College, in Wellesley, Mass.
Malott library allows students to bone up
When a person walks into a library, he doesn't expect to see students checking out boxes of human bones and spreading them out on the tables, but that's becoming a regular occurrence in Malot Hall science library.
Marna Young, study librarian, said Monday that students were studying skulls and vertebrae when she walked into the library at 8:30 that morning.
Sets of bones are put on reserve there by Robert Chivetti, anatomy instructor for the University of Chicago's human anatomy. Students usually study the bones in regular lab periods, Chivetti said, but the courses have become so crowded that students have the time to look at them then.
Chiovetti said studying had been much easier for anatomy students since he put the bones on reserve at the science library last summer. He now study them whenever Maltis is open.
"ANATOMY IS a very descriptive science," he said. "Students have to know the name of every bump, bruise and hole in the homes, and that takes a few hours to
The anatomy department has three collections of bones in addition to the one at the library. Each collection consists of three sets—upper extremity, lower extremity, and the scrotum in the library is changed when students begin studying a new area.
"Right now it's skull and vertebrae," he said.
Chiivoitl agreed that bones were an unusual sight in a science library.
"I guess it must be a little disturbing to chemistry students to see bones scattered in the sand."
Young said there were other unusual objects on science reserve.
A collection of 200 slides is used along with library projectors by third and fifth-year pharmacy students to teach them to identify drugs.
THE RESERVE DESR also has a drawer containing 1,600 tapes of supplemental material for the pharmacy course, Principles of Disease.
"There's a heavy demand for these around exam times," Young said.
She said 15 copies of each tape were available to the 80 students taking the course. Students can check them out for 24 hours, and if they do not want the recorders available from the reserve desk.
There's also a big demand for two scientific calculators, given to the library in March 1975 by Alpha Chi Sigma, a chemistry fraternity.
Young said these were almost constantly in use because students taking only one science course liked to have access to calculators without having to buy them.
The kind of material on science reserve reflects a change of emphasis since Young became science librarian in 1970, she said. When she was a librarian, she said, and more books than journals.
"You could call us a multimedia source now." she said.
Schultz will reminisce with old fishermen, sail with them in their small boats and visit the shore where he caught a glimpse of a whale. She will also study whaling artifacts and documents from fishing villages. She said she hoped to be able to share her experiences with people whose lives centered on the whale.
Schultz said that there were several tombstones in Japan paying tribute to the whale and that the whale had been immortalized through Shintōism.
Traditional attitudes of the Japanese toward the whale have been harmonious with nature, she said. Before whaling became mechanized, a fisherman would take on the whale and the whale would take on enormous dimensions of respect for the fisherman.
"BUT THE RECENT attitude toward whales has been strictly for exploitation," Schutz said. "Unlike Western whales, they always part of the whale; they always have
"When the Japanese developed mechanized means to kill the whale, the distance between man and beast increased."
Because more and more whales are killed each year, Schultz fears that distance will eventually cause the extinction of some types of whales.
"We can't go ahead and continue to slaughter the whale," she said. "The answer is simply to stop using modern means."
Schultz said that although meat whale was very popular in Japan, the whale didn't provide any necessary elements that can't be found elsewhere.
1. 'shudder to think about how many wales were slaughtered in the 80s just for luxury'
squares said the whale had inadmitted once then, but a recent book had exploded.
"The novel, Jaws, is a cheap imitation of Moby Dick." Schulz said. "Peter Benchard was right about it."
A carnival atmosphere will prevail at the KU libraries' annual book sale each Tuesday and Wednesday on the lawn in front of Watson Library.
Surplus books to be offered by library staff
Members of the KU Library Staff Association (KULISA) will sell balloons, soft drinks and popcorn as well as books donated to the Spencer Library will be sold in Spencer Research Library.
from 3,000 to 4,000 books on sale, covering all subjects.
"The primary purpose is to get the books we don't need into the hands of KU students who are interested in them," McDonough said.
The purpose of the sale is to sell unneeded, duplicated copies of works from the libraries. Resemble McDonough, exchange librarian, said yesterday there would be
There will be an auction on both days at p.m. A list of books included in the action will be posted in the display case in front of Watson Tuesday morning.
Funds from the book sale will given to the
schools. The funds will be used by KULSA and
will benefit the food.
for those special occasions . . . whether formal or interview or that big night on the town a 3-piece suit from Mister Guy
open thursday nights till 8:30
920 mass.