By Dan Hinchen
The MHS is CLOSED on Monday, 20 February, for Presidents’ Day.
Despite the holiday-shortened week, there is quite a bit of activity at the Society. Here’s is what we have the calendar for the final full week of February:
– POSTPONED : “Harvest for War: Fruits, Nuts, Imperialism, and Gas Mask Manufacture in the United States During World War I,” originally scheduled for Tuesday, 21 February, is postponed to Tuesday, 9 May, 5:15PM.
– Wednesday, 22 February to Thursday, 23 February : “Women in the Ear of the American Revolution” is a two-day teacher workshop open to K-12 educators. Participants will explore the daily lives of revolutionary women, including those who served as soldiers and secret agents, or followed the army as cooks and laundresses. The program fee includes a visit to the Museum of Fine Arts. Please email education@masshist.org or call 617-646-0557 for more information or to register.
– Wednesday, 22 February, 12:00PM : Stop by at lunchtime for a Brown Bag talk with Emily C. Burns of Auburn University. Her talk, “Constructing American Belatedness: The Archives of American Artists in Late Nineteenth-Century Paris” culls archival materials to understand how American culture collectively became defined through internatioanl mobility as belated and innocent. This talk is free and open to the public.
– Wednesday, 22 February, 6:00PM : “MIT: History and Architecture,” is a public talk with Douglass Shand-Tucci, author of the recently published MIT: The Campus Guide. This talk focuses on the way MIT and Harvard, now universally ranked among the top five seats of higher learning in the world, reflected Boston 19th century Unitarian tradtion and framed its Brahmin Ascendancy. Registration is required for this program with a fee of $10 (no charge for MHS Fellows or Members). Pre-talk reception begins at 5:30PM followed by the speaking program at 6:00PM.
– Thursday, 23 February, 5:30PM : Please join us for a conversation with the authors of two important new books in the history of sexuality. “Sexuality of History, History of Sexuality” is part of the History of Women and Gender seminar series. This wide-ranging discussion, with Sue Lanser of Brandeis University and Jim Downs of Connecticut College, will explore the relationship between lesbian and gay male histories, literary and historical methods, representation and political mobilization of people and communities. Jen Manion of Amherst College moderates the discussion. Seminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required. Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers. Please note that there are no precirculated essays for this session. This program takes place at Radcliffe, Fay House, Sheerr Room, 10 Garden St. in Cambridge.
– Saturday, 25 February, 9:00AM : “Abraham Lincoln & Emancipation” is a teacher workshop open to K-12 educators. MHS staff and participants will use primary sources from the Society’s collection to discuss and debate Lincoln’s grounds for opposing slavery and his thoughts on colonization, abolition, and gradual emancipation. The group will be joined by Kevin M. Levin, author of Civil War Memory. Registration is required with a fee of $25. Please email education@masshist.org or call 617-646-0557 for more information or to register. This workshop was originally scheduled for Saturday, 11 February.
– Saturday, 25 February, 1:00PM : “Begin at the Beginning: Mapping New England – a visual story.” Join MHS librarian Peter Drummey in investigating the world of early New England maps: how they were created; what they included and what they omitted; the images their creators choose and the messages they conveyed. Were early maps designed to encourage emigrants, or aids to navigation? Did they chart colonial-Native American conflict or paint an idyllic garden scene? Find out how these non-textual artifacts communicated the world of 17th-century New England. Registration is required at no cost. Please RSVP
NOTE: This meeting is a discussion, not a lecture. Come prepared to examine maps, raise questions, and make your points! No expertise required, just a willingness to engage with primary material, talk to fellow attendees, and enjoy yourself.
– Saturday, 25 February, 10:00AM-4:00PM : This is your last chance to view our current exhibition, Turning Points in American History, which ends on 2/25.
There is no public tour this week.