Connect with History: Owls as Icons in History

Through a millennia of nightfalls, many cultures have been looking over their shoulders for owls. In some societies, owls are symbols of wisdom and fertility. In other cultures, their hoots are harbingers of death and doom. Join award-winning naturalist Mark Spreyer as he surveys centuries of contradictory traits assigned to these nocturnal hunters. Emphasis on the cultural symbolism of owls will also be presented.

Live owls will illustrate just who's who at this event!

Photo of Mark Spreyer with owl perched on his gloved left hand

Presenter, Mark Spreyer, did his graduate work in Minnesota on great gray owls and then went on to organize and direct Chicago's peregrine falcon release program. Under his leadership, Chicago hosted the first nest of peregrines in Illinois in 37 years. In 1989, he returned to Minnesota where he worked with the Minnesota National Wildlife Refuge and other conservation organizations. In 1995, after completing work on a raptor exhibit with the Science Museum of Minnesota, Mark migrated back to Illinois to become Executive Director of the Stillman Nature Center in Barrington, Illinois.

For additional information contact Michael Harkins, Associate Professor, Business and Social Sciences by emailing mharkins@harpercollege.edu or call 847.925.6431.

Presented by the Young Scholars Program of the History Department and the Harper College Cultural Arts Committee.