By Dan Hinchen

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE LIBRARY IS CLOSED ON WEDNESDAY, 26 APRIL, FOR A STAFF EVENT. 

This week’s program schedule is heavy in the middle, with a seminar and a pair of public programs. Here are the specifics:

– Tuesday, 25 April, 5:15PM : Anna M. Blankenship of North Dakota State University leads a Modern American Society and Culture seminar, titled “Interreligious Responses to the Settlement House Movement, 1880-1924.” This paper analyzes how Catholic and Jewish immigrant communities in New York City responded to the Protestant origins and agenda of their benefactors prior to the 1920s, when many settlement houses secularized activities in order to receive money from the Community Chest. Kristen Petersen of the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences provides comment. Seminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required. Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.

– Wednesday, 26 April, 6:00PM : Join us for an author talk with David Waldstreicher and Matthew Mason, author/editors of a recent book titled John Quincy Adams and the Politics of Slavery: Selections from the Diary. Within, the authors offer an unusual perspective on the dramatic and shifting politics of slavery in the early republic. By juxtaposing Adams’ personal reflections of slavery with what he said – and did not say – publicly on the issue, the editors offer a nuanced portrait of how he interacted with prevailing ideologies during his consequential career and life. This talk is open to the public and registration is required with a fee of $10 (no charge for MHS Members or Fellows). Pre-talk reception begins at 5:30PM, followed by the program at 6:00PM. 

– Thursday, 27 April, 6:00PM : “Eating Other People’s Food” is the second installment of the Cooking Boston series. In this program, Alex Prud’homme, Laura Shapiro, Stephen Chen, and moderator Megan Sniffin-Marinoff discuss Americans’ re-introduction to the food of the world in the second half of the 20th century. The expansion of the American palate that began with television chefs like Julia Child in Cambridge continued with restaurants across greater Boston and helped reshape the idea of dinner. This talk is open to the public and registration is required with a fee of $20 (no charge for MHS Members or Fellows). A pre-talk reception starts at 5:30PM, followed by the program at 6:00PM. 

– Saturday, 29 April, 9:00AM : Civil Rights in America is a teacher workshop sponsored by the Ashbrook Center at Ashland University, and is made possible thanks to a grant form the Lincoln and Theresa Filene Foundation. This program is SOLD OUT and registration is closed.