Undying Hope for this Dangerous World

Bertrand Russell in perspective
Curated by the William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections, McMaster University Library
McMaster Museum of Art | Levy Gallery
May 26 – December 21, 2018

Bertrand Russell, one of the foremost public intellectuals of the 20th century, lived a life that defied easy categorization. At various times an aristocrat, philosopher, mathematician, criminal, prisoner, activist, author, and Nobel laureate, he possessed a remarkably active mind and a vivid inner life that informed a public presence spanning seven decades. Perhaps best remembered for his unwavering commitment to world peace, he was a prolific writer and corresponded with an astonishingly wide range of politicians and celebrities—Nikita Khrushchev, P.G. Wodehouse, John Foster Dulles, Muhammad Ali, John Lennon, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Zhou Enlai were among them.

This exhibit will explore Russell’s life through artwork, artefacts, photographs, and his own personal papers—the first of which came to McMaster University exactly 50 years ago—with a particular focus on his political activism and personal relationships.

Related news on Bertrand Russell and McMaster University:

• This spring, the McMaster Library celebrates the opening of the new home of the Bertrand Russell Archives and Research Centre. The newly renovated space is located on the east edge of campus at 88 Forsythe Avenue North, Hamilton.
   
  
   
• The McMaster Library will also mark the 50th anniversary of the acquisition of the archives through a special edition of the Hamilton Arts and Letters Magazine, edited by McMaster librarian Rick Stapleton.
• In 1918, Bertrand Russell was imprisoned for opposing World War I. To mark this centenary, The Bertrand Russell Research Centre is publishing a new edition of all 104 letters he wrote from prison; each will go live on its 100th anniversary: http://russell-letters.mcmaster.ca/
• 45th Annual Meeting of The Bertrand Russell Society will be held at Master University, June 22–24, 2018.