Karal Ann Marling, the visiting Phi Beta Kappa scholar and professor of art history and American studies
at the University of Minnesota, will speak on the architecture of Celebration, Florida, on Thursday,
Jan. 11, at 7 p.m. in the Nott Memorial.
Her talk is titled “Theme Parks and Utopias: How Disneyland Challenged Urban Design of the 1950's and
Continues to Promote an Idyllic Version of Front Porch America in the Architecture of Celebration, Florida.”
The lecture is sponsored by the Union College chapter of Phi Beta Kappa and the Visual Arts Department.
A specialist in popular culture, she has written a number of books including A Merry Christmas!; Building Disney's
Theme Parks: The Architecture of Reassurance; Norman Rockwell; Graceland: Going Home With Elvis; and George Washington
Slept Here.
She also has served as visiting professor at Carleton College, the Buffalo Bill Center, Cornell University, the University
of Wyoming, Harvard University, the University of Kansas and Catholic University of Lublin (Poland).