By Dan Hinchen

It seems that summer is trying to reassert itself here in September but it is quiet and cool at the MHS. There is but one public program on the calendar this week in the form of a Brown Bag lunch talk on Wednesday, 10 September. Come by at noon for “Sculpting the Citizen Soldier: Civil War Memory and the Life Cycle of Monuments,” presented by short-term research fellow Sarah Beetham, University of Delaware. In this talk, Dr. Beetham will explore how Civil War citizen soldier monuments have factored into community life in the century and a half since the war’s end. Soldier monuments have been interpreted and interpreted, vandalized and hit by cars, amended and moved to new locations. How do these interventions affect our understanding of post-Civil War memory? This talk is open to the public free of charge. 

There is also a free tour this week on Saturday, 13 September, starting at 10:00AM. “The History and Collections of the MHS” is a 90-minute, docent-led tour that allows visitors to see all of the public spaces at the Society while learning about the art, architecture, history, and collections in the building at 1154 Boylston. The tour is free and open to the public with no reservations required for individuals or small groups. However, groups of 8 or more should contact the MHS before attending the tour. For more information, please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org. 

And while this September is pretty quiet here at the MHS, seminar season is nearly upon us. Be sure to keep an eye on the online events calendar to see all of the public events on tap later this month and into October.