Arts | Lectures | Seminars | Gatherings

Facts, Frauds and Fictions: Mapping the Top of the World

Ernst F. Tonsing

Facts, Frauds and Fictions: Mapping the Top of the World

In his lecture, Ernst F. Tonsing, PhD, will show how early map-makers, relying upon the reports of travelers and sailors, sometimes got their maps right, sometimes wrong and sometimes very wrong, putting in rivers, mountains, fjords, borders and islands where they ought to be, all populated with curly-tailed sea creatures, bull-human land creatures and even dreaded cannibals, perhaps to scare off those who would sail off to remote Scandinavia.

Professor emeritus "Fred" Tonsing taught religion, Greek and religious art at Cal Lutheran from 1974 until his retirement in 2003. He has lectured widely on the Dead Sea Scrolls, early Christian art and Martin Luther. A prolific writer on topics ranging from architecture to religion, he is the author of two 50th-anniversary books on the history of Cal Lutheran and of nearby Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, where he is a longtime member. Tonsing has traveled extensively and led Cal Lutheran study tours of Greece and the Middle East. This lecture on his map collection will be presented during homecoming weekend. Maps on loan from the Dr. Ernst F. Tonsing Collection are on exhibit in the William Rolland Gallery of Fine Art through Nov. 6.

Admission is free.

Sponsored By
William Rolland Gallery of Fine Art

Contact

Rachel T. Schmid
805-493-3697

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