EIU Media Relations

Continuing Celebration of Queen Elizabeth Begins w/ Debate Over "Who's Greater?"

Who was England 's greater queen - Elizabeth I or Anne? The answer seemingly depends on who you ask.

Visiting professors of history will share their differing opinions when they meet on the campus of Eastern Illinois University on Monday, March 22. Carole Levin, from the University of Nebraska , and Robert Bucholz of Loyola University, Chicago , will exchange views, beginning at 7 p.m. in Buzzard Auditorium, room 1501. Admission to the debate is free and open to the public.

Levin will begin the slide presentation by explaining why Elizabeth I is " England 's greatest queen." Levin will demonstrate how Elizabeth, who claimed to have "the heart and stomach of a king," used gender expectations to her advantage.

Bucholz will defend Queen Anne as the "greatest queen," by showing how Anne's traditional female qualities have often resulted in historians taking her far less seriously than she deserved.

The debate is the next in a six-week series of special events commemorating the rule of Queen Elizabeth I. The focus of the commemoration -- a traveling exhibition titled "Elizabeth I: Ruler and Legend" -- examines the queen's long and colorful life and reign. Based upon images reproduced from rare books, manuscripts, maps, letters, paintings and artifacts, the exhibition will remain on display in Eastern's Booth Library through April 16.

A second special presentation, "The Knot and the Herbal: Gardens and Plants of the First Elizabethan Era," will begin at 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 23, in the Library Conference Room, room 4440, and will feature two of EIU's own.

Larry Shobe, EIU grounds gardener, and John Whisler, professor in Booth Library, will discuss the knot garden, a familiar design element in the landscapes of Elizabethan estates. The pair will explore some of the origins, symbolism and esthetics of the knot garden.

A showing of the movie, "Shakespeare in Love," starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Geoffrey Rush, will complete the week's events. Showtime is 7 p.m. Thursday, March 25, in the Library Conference Room, room 4440.

Admission to both the garden lecture and the movie is free and open to the public.

Additional events related to Queen Elizabeth's life and reign will take place throughout the month of March and early April. See http://www.eiu.edu/booth/elizabeth/ for complete details.