This week, our very own Dr. Janet M. Davis will be lecturing as part of a circus festival sponsored by the Department of Drama at the University of Virginia. Her topics will include circus history and animal welfare--a combination of work already published and her current book project, The Gospel of Kindness: Animal Welfare and the Making of Modern America (under contract with Oxford University Press). Specifically, Dr. Davis will be talking to theater audiences after three performances of George Brant's play, "Elephant's Graveyard." The veteran clown, Steve Smith, and the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus will also be performing as part of the festival. Audiences at UVA are in for a treat!