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It’s a busy week here at the Society with programs galore for your enjoyment! Here is what’s coming in the week ahead:
– Monday, 16 October, 12:00PM : The first Brown Bag talk this week features Hannah Anderson of the University of Pennsylvania and is called “‘Lived Botany’ : Settler Colonialism and Natural History in British North America.” Anderson contends that natural historians in early America frequently benefited from information and plants provided by non-elite colonists who relied upon a form of knowledge that she calls “lived botany.” Using methods inspired by material culture, household production, and more, “lived botany” shaped early American natural history, and facilitated settler colonialism by allowing colonists to adapt to new environments in the Atlantic world. This talk is free and open to the public.
– Tuesday, 17 October, 5:30PM : The first seminar this week is part of the History of Women and Gender series. “Gender, Sexuality, and the New Labor History” is a panel discussion with Anne G. Balay of Haverford College, Aimee Loiselle of the University of Connecticut, and Traci L. Parker of Umass-Amherst, and moderated by Seth Rockman of Brown University. The “New Labor History” is highly gendered, global, and often situated in spaces that are transitory or obscured. This session will consider the new directions that the path-breaking work of these three scholars indicates. Please note that there are no pre-circulated essays for this session which takes place at Fay House, Radcliffe Institute. To RSVP, e-mail seminars@masshist.org or call 617-646-0579.
– Wednesday, 18 October, 12:00PM : The second Brown Bag talk of the week is about a project by Heather Sanford of Brown University. “Palatable Slavery: Food, Race, and Freedom in the British Atlantic, 1620-1838” uses food in the British Atlantic to understand ideas about the body, race, and freedom. This talk is free and open to the public.
– Thursday, 19 October, 5:30PM : “Chasing Your Subject: Traveling Biographers, Traveling Subjects,” part of the New England Biography series of seminars, is another panel discussion. This session features a discussion with Paul Fisher of Wellesley College, Charlotte Gordon of Endicott College, and author Sue Quinn, moderated by Civil War biographer Carol Bundy. What do biographers learn when they travel to distant parts and foreign countries in pursuit of their subjects? Is travel a necessary component to writing biography? And what challenges does a traveling subject present to a biographer? Come listen to these biographers talk about their experiences with such questions. To RSVP, e-mail seminars@masshist.org or call 617-646-0579.
– Friday, 20 October, 2:00PM : “Looking West from the East” is a biographical sketch of Chiang Yee, artist, poet, lecturer, and best-selling author best known for his Silent Traveler books. Chiang was also good friends with historian, author, and Boston Athenaeum librarian Walt Whitehil, whose papers are at the MHS. This program offers a unique perspective on America and the immigrant experience as well as a glimpse into the life of the Silent Traveler through one of his closest friendships. Registration is required for this program at no cost.
– Saturday, 21 October, 9:00AM : K-12 educators are invited “The Material Culture of Death.” In this workshop, participants will use documents and photographs from the Society’s collections to investigate spirit photography, the spiritualist movement, and other fascinating intersections of technology, faith, and grief. Registration is required for this event with a fee of $25.
– Saturday, 21 October, 2:00PM : Join us for a talk with Peter Manseau, author of The Apparitionists: A Tale of Phantoms, Fraud, Photography, & the Man Who Captured Lincoln’s Ghost. The stories recounted by Manseau offer a view of our nation’s obsession with the afterlife and our reluctance to choose science over fantasy. This talk is open to the public free of charge, though registration is required.
Finally, don’t forget to come in and check out our current exhibition! Yankees in the West is open to the public, free of charge.