Lectures/Readings/Films

LECTURES/READINGS/FILMS

Borders Books

1801 K St. NW. 202/466-4999, www.bordersstores.com

• Talk and signing: “The Greatest Gift: The Courageous Life and Martyrdom of Sister Dorothy Stang.” Author Binka Le Breton on the American nun murdered for challenging the destruction of the Amazon rain forest. 6:30 p.m. Feb. 20.

Catholic University

Spring Architecture Lecture Series: “An Exploration of Irish Design Culture and Built Heritage,” exploring Irish design in the city of Dublin, in County Mayo and in the United States. All events at Koubek Auditorium, Crough Center for Architectural Studies, 620 Michigan Ave. NE unless otherwise noted. All at 5:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Through April 14. 202/319-5188, architecture.cua.edu

• Symposium: “James Hoban, Architect of the White House.” Commemorating the 250th anniversary of the birth of the Irish-born architect. Scholars, authors, historians. Decatur House Museum, 1610 H St. NW. 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. March 13. Register through www.whitehousehistory.org/hoban.

Fifth Annual National Black History Month Film and Discussion Series

Landmark’s E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. The Urban Film Series presents films with the theme of “The Black Hand Side” 7-9 p.m. every Thursday in February. $10-$15 per day; $25-$40 per series. 202/452-7672, www.landmarktheatres.com, www.urbanfilmseries.com

• Two-Fistedness: “Brush Strokes” (6½ min.); “The Willie Lynch Letter: The Making of a Slave” (15 min.); “Revolution ’67” (83 min.). Feb. 7.

• The Strong Black Hand: “Congressman Robert Smalls: A Patriot’s Journey from Slavery to Capital Hill” (57 min.); “Soul of Justice: Thelton Henderson’s American Journey” (56 min.). Feb. 14.

• Palms of Blackness: “Drawing Angel” (19 min.); “Too Saved” (78 min.). Feb. 21.

• The Back Hand: “68 Degrees and Clear” (12 min.); “A Loud Color” (7 min.); “Back To You” (36 min.); “Chocolate City”(45 min.). Feb. 28.

Folger Shakespeare Library

201 East Capitol St. NE. 202/544-7077, www.folger.edu

• Words on Will: Teller. The magician of Penn & Teller fame talks with “Macbeth” director Aaron Posner on magic’s thematic and inspirational role in their staging of the play. Lutheran Church of the Reformation, 212 East Capitol St. NE. 6 p.m. Feb. 27. $25.

• PEN/Faulkner Reading Series: Washington Writers: Beyond the Capitol. PEN/Faulkner finalist Edward P. Jones and writer Dinaw Mengestu, both Washington residents, read from their latest works. 8 p.m. Feb. 29. $15.

• PEN/Faulkner Reading Series: An Irish American Evening: Alice McDermott, Frank McCourt, introduced by Richard McCann. 8 p.m. March 14. $15.

Goethe-Institut of Washington

812 Seventh St. NW. 202/289-1200, www.goethe.de/washington

• Multimedia Presentation: “Islam and Muslims in Germany.” Mohamed Esa, professor of German, McDaniel College, on Muslim integration into German society. 6:30 p.m. Feb. 20. Registration at 202/289-1200 ext. 163.

• Film Series: “Michael Haneke: A Cinema of Provocation.” In German with English subtitles. All films 6:30 p.m. $4.75-$6.75 through the Web site: “The Castle” (1997), Feb. 25; “Fraulein” (1984/85), March 3; “The Rebellion” (1993), March 10; “Who Was Edgar Allan?” (1984), March 13; “Three Paths to the Lake” (1976), March 17.

International Spy Museum

800 F St. NW. Unless otherwise noted, advance registration required; tickets do not include admission to the museum. Tickets through Ticketmaster at 800/551-SEAT, online at ticketmaster.com, in person at the museum or through 202/393-7798. www.spymuseum.org.

• Operation Night Spy: Espionage in the Dark. 7-9 pm. Feb. 28. Sold out.

Kennedy Center

Literature, manga and anime at the Japan! Culture + Hyperculture Festival. F Street and New Hampshire Avenue NW. All events free unless otherwise noted. 202/467-4600.

• Manga Cafe and Reading Lounge. Casual fare spiced by anime trailers, popular manga for reading and a vintage robot toy collection. South Gallery. Through Feb. 17. Manga author Robin Nishi captures festival happenings in a “Daily Manga” drawing and conducts a free public workshop for ages 10 and up, 11 a.m. Feb. 16.

• Genius Party Premieres. Original films by top anime talents Shinichiro Watanabe, Koji Morimoto and Mahiro Maeda, introduced by Genius Party Executive Producer Eiko Tanaka. Family Theater. 7:30 p.m. Feb. 15, 16. $25.

• Panel discussion: “A Thousand Years of Genji.” Jeffrey Angles of Western Michigan University and scholars Naomi Fukumori and Melissa McCormick examine the 11th-century Japanese classic “The Tale of Genji.” Family Theater. 1:30 p.m. Feb. 16. $10.

• Discussion: “Tanka: An Ancient Poetic Form in a Modern World.” Japanese poet Mutsuo Takahashi and tanka scholar Amy Heinrich discuss the role of tanka — a poetic short form — in contemporary Japanese poetry and society. Family Theater. 3:30 p.m. Feb. 16. $10.

• Spoken-word performance: Writer Yoko Tawada and jazz pianist Aki Takase. Author of more than two dozen novels, books of poetry and essays, Yoko Tawada is accompanied by Aki Takase, a Japanese-born jazz pianist and composer. KC Cafe. 9 p.m. Feb. 16. $10.

• Anime Premiere Marathon. Screening marathon featuring three new anime features: “5 Centimeters Per Second,” 11 a.m.; “The Piano Forest,” 1:15 p.m.; “Appleseed: Ex Machina,” 3:30 p.m. Feb. 17. Family Theater. $15.

The Library of Congress

202/707-4604, 202/707-5664, www.loc.gov

• Talk and book signing: “The 1932 Election of Franklin D. Roosevelt.” Donald A. Ritchie, author of “Electing FDR: The New Deal Campaign of 1932.” Pickford Theater, Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. SE. 1 p.m. Feb. 14. Free; no tickets required. 202/707-5221.

• Family program: “Food Ways and Folktales: From Africa and America and Back.” Food historian Michael Twitty and storyteller Vera Oye’Yaa Anna. Ethnic food tasting follows. African and Middle Eastern Division Reading Room, LJ 220, Jefferson Building, 10 First St. SE. Noon-1 p.m. Feb. 16. Free; no tickets required. 202/707-1979.

• Panel discussion: The National Visionary Leadership Project collection of African American oral histories. Celebrating the 200 videotaped interviews with prominent black Americans whose oral life histories will be held in the American Folklife Center. Choreographers Arthur Mitchell and Carmen De Lavallade, moderated by TV correspondent Renee Poussaint. Performance by students of the Dance Theater of Harlem. Montpelier Room, Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. SE. 11 a.m. Feb. 22. Free; no tickets required.

• Black History Month film screenings: Clips from the library’s comedy collections, including performances by Moms Mabley, Chris Rock, Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor. Pickford Theater, Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. SE. Noon-1 p.m. Feb. 29. Free; no tickets required. 202/707-5479.

National Air and Space Museum

Independence Avenue and Fourth Street SW. 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily. Metro: L’Enfant Plaza. 202/633-1000. Imax theater schedule: 877/932-4629.

• Talk: “Tuskegee Airmen’s Congressional Medal of Honor.” Museum curator Alex Spencer. Meet at the museum seal near the Mall entrance. Noon Feb. 27.

National Building Museum

401 F St. NW. Films 6:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesdays. $5, $10. Prepaid registration required, through the Web site. Walk-in registration based on availability. 202/272-2448, www.nbm.org

• “Bachelors, Secretaries and Spies: Mid-Century Style in American Film.” A series of films illustrating Hollywood’s treatment of mid-century style: “In Like Flint” (1967), is the last in the series. Feb. 20.

National Gallery of Art

East Building Auditorium, Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Events free. First come, first seated. 202/737-4215, www.nga.gov

• Film: “Duke Ellington at the White House.” Historical, 16 mm, 18-minute film shows the jazz legend observing his 70th birthday at a White House party hosted by President and Mrs. Nixon. A Black History Month program. Noon Feb. 19 and 26.

• Film series: “Istvan Szabo’s 20th Century.” Honoring the Hungarian filmmaker on his 70th birthday. “Budapest Tales” (1976), 12:30 p.m. Feb. 16; “Confidence” (1979), 2:30 p.m. Feb. 16; “Taking Sides” (2001), 4:30 p.m. Feb. 16; “Sunshine” (1999), 4 p.m. Feb. 17; “Being Julia” (2004), 4 p.m. Feb. 23; “Relatives” (2006), 4 p.m. Feb. 24.

• Special lecture series: “The Collecting of African American Art.” Illustrated programs at 2 p.m. Sundays. “Reflections on Collecting” through Andrea Barnwell Brownlee’s talk with Dr. Walter O. Evans of Savannah, Ga., Feb. 17; “A Peculiar Destiny: The Mission of the Paul R. Jones Collection,” with Mr. Jones and Amalia Amaki, Feb. 24. A Black History Month program.

National Geographic Society

NG Live! at Grosvenor Auditorium. 17th and M streets NW. Metro: Farragut North. 202/857-7588, www.nationalgeographic.com/museum. Tickets 202/857-7700, www.nationalgeographic.com/nglive

• Films: “Global Glimpses: Oscar-Nominated Foreign Language Films.” The five nominees, one week before the awards: “The Counterfeiters,” 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14; “12,” 7:30 p.m. Feb. 15; “Beaufort,” 7:30 p.m. Feb. 16; “Mongol,” 2 p.m. Feb. 17; “Katyn,” 5 p.m. Feb. 17. Individual screening $7; series pass $25. Free reception one hour before screening.

National Museum of the American Indian

Fourth Street and Independence Avenue SW. All events in Rasmuson Theater unless otherwise noted. 202/633-1000, www.nmai.si.edu

• Community Discussion: Native Women in Documentary Filmmaking. With Velma Craig (Navajo), Yolanda Cruz (Chatin), Helen Haig-Brown (Tsilhqot’in), and Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki). Resource Center, Third level. 3:30 p.m. March 15. Free.

• Vine Deloria Jr. Native Writers Series: Buffy Sainte-Marie. Reading, discussion, and CD signing with the Cree musician, songwriter and visual artist. In celebration of Women’s History Month. Noon and 6:30 p.m. March 19. Free.

Sixth & I Historic Synagogue

600 I St. NW. 202/789-0900, www.sixthandi.org

• Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer in Conversation. The justice talks with Jeffrey Rosen of the George Washington University Law School. 7 p.m. Feb. 21. $8.

• “American Gangster” Inspiration: Richie Roberts. The detective tells the story of his pursuit and capture of gangster Frank Lucas. 8 p.m. Feb. 25. $18, $25.

Woodrow Wilson International Center

One Woodrow Wilson Plaza, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. All discussions free and open to the public; advance reservations required through the Web site for some. Photo ID required for entry to all discussions. 202/691-4000, www.wilsoncenter.org

• Discussion: “Make Me a Hip, Make Me a Hop: Afro-American Music, African Migration and Class Identity in Ukraine.” Adriana Helbig, visiting assistant professor of Musicology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Noon-1 p.m. Feb. 19. No reservations required.