Profs and Pints Baltimore

Profs and Pints Baltimore presents: “Ancient Sea Monsters,” an encounter with creatures that were dreaded by Greek and Roman sailors and still dwell in imaginations, with Georgia Irby, professor of Classical Studies at William and Mary.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/baltimore-sea-monsters .]

While we associate monsters with horror movies, to the people of ancient Greece and Rome they seemed very real—and often were thought to be lurking just offshore.

Join Professor Georgia Irby, a scholar of the history of Greek and Roman Science, for a fascinating and richly illustrated look at the imagined horrors that aroused dread in ancient Mediterranean sailors and continue to be feared lurking beneath the waves.

To set the stage, Dr. Irby will discuss how the watery setting is by its very physics and optics one of change and mystery. The sea changes color as light shifts, with its appearance affected by fluctuating winds and currents and light refraction distorting what we see beneath the waves. Lacking the tools that we take for granted in studying marine creatures, Greek and Roman thinkers had to go by what they could observe with their eyes.

Hearing tales of ship-wrecking whales, sailor-strangling octopods, and human-eating sharks prompted ancient Greek and Roman imaginations to create fanciful and frightening sea-beasts whose anatomy and nature were as mysterious as the cryptic environment in which they were believed to dwell. They told of Scylla and other marine foes battled by their fearless heroes. They typically thought of marine fauna as either endearing, as was the case with dolphins or seahorses, generally unpleasant, as was the case with noisome seals, or terrifying—a reaction to most other marine animals.

These imagined horrors help give the seafaring denizens of the Mediterranean an ambiguous attitude toward the sea—a bias that left its mark on later writers such as Jonathan Swift, Herman Melville, and Jules Verne. Professor Irby will pay her respects to Moby Dick, Nessie, and the dinosaurs before sending her audience out into the night to consider what might lurk beneath dark waves. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.)

Image: A sea monster depicted on a Greek vase from about 530 B.C. (Stavros S. Niarchos Collection)

Profs and Pints Baltimore presents: “An Evening with Jack the Ripper,” your chance to become familiar with a mysterious killer, with Luxx Mishou, Victorianist, scholar of Jack the Ripper, and former instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy and area community colleges.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/baltimore-jack .]

In 1888 England was gripped by an “Autumn of Terror” as a wave of shocking and brutal murders took place in Whitechapel, a district in London’s East End. In crowded streets, busy neighborhoods, and lodgings with thin walls, at least five women were ferociously – yet seemingly silently – attacked, their remains left in public spaces to be found by their neighbors. Bold headlines and gruesome illustrations covered the front pages of English newspapers, some of which received “gifts” and confessional letters from a culprit who was never caught or officially named.

For decades historians and Ripperologists have tried to pinpoint who this mysterious killer could have been. Among the curious is Luxx Mishou, a Victorian era and gender studies scholar, who has spent years scouring historical accounts and nineteenth-century newspapers that traced the movements of England’s most notorious, and mysteriously elusive, serial killer.

Join Dr. Mishou at Baltimore’s historic Guilford Hall for a trip back through time to discuss the infamous Jack the Ripper case. She’ll talk about what really happened in Whitechapel and what Victorian journalists and newspapers knew, tackling the question of whether the sensational press coverage surrounding the murders helped or actually hindered the search for a perpetrator.

She’ll also discuss what the London public thought of the monster lurking in their midst and why we’re still obsessed with this whodunit over 30 years later.

Finally, we’ll tackle the biggest question of all: Who was Jack the Ripper? Dr. Mishou believes her research has left her ready to point to the killer. ( Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Doors open at 5. The talk begins at 6:30.)

Image: A wanted poster published in connection with the Whitechapel murders.

Profs and Pints Baltimore presents: “Popes and Papal Conclaves,” a look at the funeral of Pope Francis and the secretive process for selecting his successor, with Vanessa Corcoran, medieval historian at Georgetown University and scholar of the history of Roman Catholic rituals and traditions.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/baltimore-popes .]

The April 21st passing of Pope Francis was followed by a funeral and burial offering insight on the man himself and a successor selection process shrouded in mystery. The papal conclave—the gathering of the College of Cardinals to elect a new pope—has inspired novels, films, and intense speculation, but by design remains something about which most people know little.

Learn how Pope Francis’s funeral broke with tradition and dive into the secretive world of papal elections with Vanessa Corcoran, a scholar of medieval religious history and Catholic traditions such as pilgrimage and devotion to saints.

She’ll discuss the rich history of the conclave, tracing its evolution, rituals, and political intrigue.

She’ll also look at the portrayal of papal elections in the media and pop culture, sorting fact from fiction. She’ll look at films such as The Two Popes, Angels and Demons, and, especially, the 2024 film Conclave, based on a bestselling novel. We’ll examine Conclave’s historical accuracy and creative liberties and how it reflects contemporary ideas about faith, secrecy, and leadership.

Her talk will have much for history buffs, film lovers, and anyone curious about the intersection of religion and media. You'll come away with a deeper understanding of the conclave’s mystique and its powerful presence in our cultural imagination. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Talk begins at 4:30. Attendees may arrive any time after 3 pm.)

Image: From “A Cardinal in Profile,” an 1888 painting by Jehan Georges Vibert (Morgan Library and Museum, New York City).

Profs and Pints Baltimore presents: “The History of Plastic Surgery,” with Dr. Wendy Chen, plastic, reconstructive, and hand surgeon and assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/baltimore-plastic-surgery .]

Most people misunderstand plastic surgery as vain and aesthetic, but the origins of this fascinating specialty are much deeper than that.

Come gain a rich understanding of the roots, medical impact, and current wide reach of a life-altering medical specialty with Dr. Wendy Chen, a leading educator on plastic and reconstructive surgery who has won awards for her work in clinical, basic science and education research.

She’ll talk about how reconstructive surgery has been around for thousands of years, with evidence of it having been practiced in ancient Egypt and India, and has made advancements in the course of major wars. Those who practice it have been innovators in medicine, playing a major role in breakthroughs and winning the Nobel prize for kidney transplantation.

The need for plastic and reconstructive surgery has stemmed largely from how much our appearance influences how we navigate our worlds and how others regard us. There was a time, in fact, when people in American prisons were offered plastic surgery as an intervention against recidivism. Yet reconstructive surgery also has faced opposition, such as religious bans on its practice stemming from the belief that physical differences are a manifestation of spiritual sin.

Fast forward to now when plastic surgeons treat patients of every age for every kind of ailment, from congenital differences to trauma to cancer. Yes, some plastic and reconstructive surgery is to help people conform to tabloid- and social media-driven narratives of what defines beauty, but the field involves a lot more than injecting Botox and shaping buttocks. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Talk begins at 4:30. Attendees may arrive any time after 3 pm.)

Image: Reconstructive facial surgery as illustrated by Jean Baptiste Marc Bourgery in the late 1840s (Wellcome Collection / public domain).