WHAT: The University of Rochester Institute for Popular Music presents an inaugural lecture series to celebrate the founding of the Institute. The series kicks off on Jan. 23 with the talk "Ladies Love Country Boys: Gendered Narratives and the Meaning of Country Music."

Jocelyn Neal, associate professor of music at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and director of the UNC Center for the Study of the American South, investigates images of gender and class in country and western music, exploring how the characteristic portrayals of men and women in many songs suggests a larger social commentary. The lecture is cosponsored by the Susan B. Anthony Institute for Gender and Women's Studies at the University of Rochester.

TIME, DATE, PLACE: 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 23 in the Hawkins-Carlson Room at Rush Rhees Library on the University of Rochester's River Campus. A reception will follow. The lecture is free and open to the public. A live stream of the lecture will be available at www.rochester.edu/news/live.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Elaine Stroh at (585) 275-9397 or visit the Institute for Popular Music at the University of Rochester on the web at www.rochester.edu/popmusic.

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