Richard Lyman Bushman, hailed as one of the country’s principal proponents of material culture studies, will give a lecture/demonstration on "The Power of Things in Early America," at DePaul University Feb. 18.

Bushman’s lecture, according to Carol Cyganowski, director of DePaul’s American Studies Program, "will teach us how to ‘read’ an object–a chair, clothing, art– for its cultural content and significance." He uses slides and American art and artifacts to assist him in opening windows to cultural understanding.

The lecture will take place from 11:50 a.m. to 1:20 p.m. in DePaul’s Art Gallery, located in the Richardson Library, 2350 N. Kenmore Ave.

Bushman is a professor of history at Columbia University in New York City. He is the author of numerous books on American culture. His latest work is "The Refinement of America: Persons, Houses, Cities."

Bushman’s lecture is part of a National Humanities Center tour and is co-sponsored by DePaul’s American Studies and Anthropology programs, and the Departments of History and Religious Studies. The event is free and open to the public. For more information call 773/325-2488.