By Dan Hinchen

Here are the events scheduled for the week ahead:

– Tuesday, 7 February, 5:15PM : First up this week is a seminar from the Early American History series. “The Coromantee War in Jamaica: Charting the Course of an Atlantic Slave Revolt” is presented by Vincent Brown of Harvard University and discusses the African diasporic warfare in the Americas. The talk is drawn from Brown’s current book project which puts the Jamaican Revolt of 1760-1761 in the context of a dramatic series of 17th- and 18th-century revolts and conspiracies that were staged by enslaved Africans from the Gold Coast, known widely as “Coromantees.” Malick Ghachem of MIT provides comment. Seminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required. Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.

– Wednesday, 8 February, 6:00PM : Join us for a talk with Kenneth Rendell of the Museum of World War II, a noted collector and dealer of historical documents and artifacts. The collection, open to the public and dedicated to preserving and exhibiting the reality of World War II, is made up of over 7,000 artifacts and more that 500,000 documents and photographs. In this program, “Collecting the World at War, 1919-1946,” Rendell discusses the challenges he’s faced in the past 58 yeras of collection, globally, the most cataclysmic event of modern times. This talk is open to the public; registraiton is required at a fee of $20 (no charge for MHS Fellows or Members). A pre-talk reception begins at 5:30PM and the talk starts at 6:00PM.

– Saturday, 11 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.

There is no public tour this week.

Rembember to stop by to view our current exhibition, Turning Points in American History. The exhibit is free and open to the public Monday-Saturday, 10:00AM-4:00PM. Your last chance to view this exhibit is on Saturday, 25 February, its final day.

By Dan Hinchen

February starts slowly at the MHS. As we leave January behind it is a fairly quiet week here at the MHS. Here is what is to come:

– Wednesday, 1 February, 12:00PM : Pack a lunch and come by for a Brown Bag talk with Andrea Gray of George Mason University and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. “‘Leaving their callings’: Retirement in the Early Republic” looks at elderly men in the early national period who voluntarily left their public careers and permanently returned to domestic life. By examining their motives, how they spent their retired years, and the impression they made on their fellow Americans, we gain important insights into the relationship between aging, work and public service, gender, and republican civic virtue. This talk is free and open to the public. 

– Saturday, 4 February, 10:00AM : The History and Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society Tour is a 90-minute docent-led walk through our public rooms. The tour is free, open to the public, with no need for reservations. If you would like to bring a larger party (8 or more), please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

While you’re here you will also have the opportunity to view our current exhibition: Turning Points in American History. This exhibition ends on Saturday, 25 February, so don’t wait!

By Daniel Hinchen, Reader Services

It’s a pretty busy week ahead for programs at the Society. Here is what’s on tap:

– Monday, 23 January, 12:00PM : Come on in at lunchtime for a Brown Bag talk. “‘Faraway Women’ and the Atlantic Monthly” discusses Ellery Sedgwick, editor of the Atlantic Monthly from 1908-1938, and the “Faraway Women” who were viewed as a defining feature of his career: women who published in the Atlantic accounts of unusual life experiences in Europe, Asia, the American South, and, most especially, the American West. The talk is presented by Cathryn Halverson of the University of Groningen. This talk is free and open to the public. 

– Tuesday, 24 January, 5:15PM : This week’s seminar is from the Modern American Society and Culture series and is a panel discussion. “Urban History on the Digital Frontier” features Vivek Bald of MIT, Jack A. Dougherty of Trinity College, and Marilynn S. Johnson of Boston College. Bald is working on a transmedia project that includes a digital oral history website; Dougherty and his students are writing an open-access book which features interactive maps and oral history videos; Johnson’s Global Boston is a public history website combining student research, oral history, and a curated selection of digitized primary sources, images and maps documenting the local immigrant experience. The discussion is moderated by Douglas O’Reagan of MIT. Seminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required. Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.

– Thursday, 26 January, 6:00PM : Please join us for a special author talk which will feature a discussion between Stephen Kinzer of the Boston Globe, and Emmy Award-winning host of Here and Now, Robin Young. The discussion focuses on Kinzer’s latest book, The True Flag: Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and the Birth of American Empire. In asking how the United States should act in the world, Kinzer reveals a piece of forgotten history and transports us to the dawn of the 20th century, when the United States first found itself with the chance to dominate faraway lands. This talk is open to the public, registration required with a fee of $20 (No charge for MHS Fellows or Members). There is a pre-talk reception at 5:30PM and the program begins at 6:00PM. 

– Saturday, 28 January, 10:00AM : The History and Collections of the MHS is a 90-minute docent-led walk through the public rooms of the Society’s home on Boylston Street. The tour is free and open to the public with no reservations needed for individuals or small groups. Larger parties (8 or more), please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley in advance at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org. While you’re here you will also have the opportunity to view our current exhibition: Turning Points in American History.

– Saturday, 28 January, 1:00PM : The next installment of our Begin at the Beginning series looks at Medical and Surgical Care in Puritan New England. From bloodletting to powders made from roasted toads, medical care in early New England was of uncertain value to the patient. In this discussion of primary documents led by Sid Levitsky of Harvard Medical School, we’ll explore the foundations of 17^th century English medicine and surgery and the practice of medicine in New England. Please RSVP. This event is done in cooperation with the Partnership of Historic Bostons. 

By Dan Hinchen

The Society is CLOSED on Monday, 16 January, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Here are the events on the schedule this week:

– Wednesday, 18 January, 12:00PM : “The Fight for Women’s Equality in the Anti-Slavery Movement, 1833-1840” is a Brown Bag talk with Louis Knight, author of Jane Addams: Spirit in Action. The talk examines ow some early feminist abolitionists sought to integrate women into the American Antislavery Society beginning in 1833 and finally succeeding in 1840, illustrating how these women were inspired by a groundbreaking feminist vision for a genderblind democracy. This talk is free and open to the public. 

– Wednesday, 18 January, 6:00PM : Loom, a new book of poetry by Kevin Gallagher, explores the difficult relations between the northern textile mills and the cotton produced by the southern slave economy. This author talk is open to the public and registration is required with a fee of $10 (no charge for MHS Members or Fellows). There is a pre-talk reception at 5:30 with light refreshments, and the program begins at 6:00PM. 

– Thursday, 19 January, 5:30PM : “Publishing Lives: How It’s Done, and Who Does It” is part of the New England Biography Seminar series. Deanne Urmy, Senior Executive Editor at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Jill Kneerim of the Kneerim & Williams literary agency, both of whom are actively engaged in publishing biography, will be joined by Laura Claridge, author of the just-published The Lady with the Borzoi: Blanche Knopf, Literary Tastemaker Extraordinaire. Their conversation will widen out from biography itself to the workings of the literary marketplace, then and now. The discussion is moderated by Megan Marshall. Seminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required. Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.

– Saturday, 21 January, 10:00AM : The History and Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society Tour is a 90-minute docent-led walk through our public rooms. The tour is free, open to the public, with no need for reservations. If you would like to bring a larger party (8 or more), please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

While you’re here you will also have the opportunity to view our current exhibition: Turning Points in American History.

By Dan Hinchen

We’re back to business here at the MHS, heading into year 226! Our programs begin in earnest this week with a seminar, a brown bag, and a tour. Here’s the rundown:

– Tuesday, 10 January, 5:15PM : The first seminar of the year is part of the Environmental History series and is called “Sex in the Reeds: Disciplining Nature and Cultivating Virtue in the Back Bay Fens.” Zachary Nowak of Harvard University presents this essay on “invasive exotic species” as one reason for the removal of reeds planted along the Muddy River, and that label as a social construct, not a biological fact. Improving the Fens through planting and weeding has for more than a century really been a project to improve people. Independent Scholar Phyllis Andersen provides comment. Seminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required. Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.

– Wednesday, 11 January, 12:00PM : Stop by at lunch time for a Brown Bag talk with John Garcia of Boston University. “The Early American Bookseller: A Network History” explains how financial records, correspondence, and writing by booksellers can help to reconstruct print networks and geographies of books and reading. Garcia argues that the many instances of economic failure in American bookselling reveal various attempts to connect authors, readers, and publics in the face of geographic and infrastructural obstacles. This talk is free and open to the public. 

– Saturday, 14 January, 10:00AM : The History and Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society Tour is a 90-minute docent-led walk through our public rooms. The tour is free, open to the public, with no need for reservations. If you would like to bring a larger party (8 or more), please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

While you’re here you will also have the opportunity to view our current exhibition: Turning Points in American History.

Please note that the Society is CLOSED on Monday, 16 January, in observance of Martin Luther King Day. Normal hours resume on Tuesday, 17 January. 

By Dan Hinchen

There are no public programs scheduled for this week, but there are a few things to take note of:

– The library closes at 3:30PM on Monday, 19 December, and the building closes at 4:00PM.

– The library is closed from Friday, 23 December, through Monday, 2 January. Normal hours resume on Tuesday, 3 December. 

– Exhbition galleries are open Tuesday, 27 December through Friday, 30 December, 10:00AM-4:00PM. Stop by to check out Turning Points in American History. 

Please check our online calendar for a full listing of our upcoming closures. 

By Dan Hinchen

This week is your final chance to take part in some public programs here at the MHS for the year 2016. Please note that the library closes at 3:30PM on Monday, 12 December. Here are the progams ahead:

– Monday, 12 December, 6:00PM : Building Old Cambridge: Architecture and Development, is an author talk with Susan Maycock and Charles Sullivan, centered on their book Building Old Cambridge. In this talk the authors explore Old Cambridge’s architecture and development in the context of its social and economic history; the development of Harvard Square as a commercial center and regional mass transit hub; the creation of parks and open spaces; and the formation of a thriving nineteenth-century community of booksellers, authors, printers, and publishers that made Cambridge a national center of the book industry. This program is open to the public, registration required with a fee of $10 (no charge for MHS Members or Fellows). A pre-talk reception begins at 5:30PM and the talk begins at 6:00PM.

– Tuesday, 13 December, 5:15PM : The final seminar of 2016 is a panel discussion from the Environmental History series. “Recreation and Regional Planning” features Elsa Devienne of the Universite Paris Ouest Nanterre La Defense and Princeton University, and Garret Nelson of Dartmouth College. Brian Donahue of Brandeis University provides comment. Seminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required. Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers. 

– Wednesday, 14 December, 6:00PM : Join Tamara Thornton of SUNY Buffalo as she discusses her new book, Nathaniel Bowditch and the Power of Numbers. Fleshing out the multiple careers of Nathaniel Bowditch, this book is at once a lively biography, a window into the birth of bureaucracy, and a portrait of patrician life, giving us a broader, more-nuanced understanding of how powerful capitalists operated during this era and how the emerging quantitative sciences shaped the modern experience. Pre-talk reception begins at 5:30PM and the program starts at 6:00PM. This talk is open to the public free of charge, registration required. 

– Saturday, 17 December, 10:00AM : The History and Collections of the MHS is a 90-minute docent-led walk through our public rooms. The tour is free, open to the public, with no need for reservations. If you would like to bring a larger party (8 or more), please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

While you’re here you will also have the opportunity to view our current exhibition: Turning Points in American History.

By Dan Hinchen

It’s that time, once again, for our weekly round-up of programs to come. Here’s what’s happening at the Society in the week ahead:

– Monday, 5 December, 6:00PM : Join us for an author talk with Jane Kamensky of Harvard University. A Revolution in Color: The World of John Singleton Copley is a bold new history that recovers an unknown American Revolution as seen through the eyes of Boston-born painter John Singleton Copley. In her new work, Kamensky untangles the web of principles and interests that shaped the age of America’s revolution. This talk is open to the public and registration is required with a fee of $20 (no charge for MHS Members and Fellows). A pre-talk reception begins at 5:30PM, followed by the program at 6:00PM. 

– Tuesday, 6 December, 10:15AM : “Slavery and Freedom in the Cradle of Liberty: An Exhibit of Objects and Documents from the Massachusetts Historical Society” is a virtual exhibit presented by students from Boston University’s HI-190, The History of Boston. Their project presents more than 20 rare artifacts and documents from the MHS collection, and explores the contentious and powerful history of nineteenth-century Boston as its residents grappled with questions of slavery, freedom, and civil war. This event is open to the public; registration is required at no cost.

– Tuesday, 6 December, 5:15PM : This week’s first seminar, part of the Early American History series, is a panel discussion with Liam Riordan of the University of Maine at Orono and Christina Carrick of Boston University.” The discussion, “Loyalism,” will focus on Riordan’s essay “Revisiting Thomas Hutchinson: The Strengths and Weaknesses of Loyalist Biography,” and Carricks’ “‘The earlier we form good Connections the better’: David Greene’s Loyalist Merchant Network in the Revolutionary Atlantic.” Steve Bullock of Worcester Polytechnic Institute will provide comment. Seminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required. Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.

– Wednesday, 7 December, 12:00PM : Stop by at lunch time for a Brown Bag talk with Manisha Sinha of the University of Connecticut. “The Abolitionist Origins of Radical Reconstruction: Charles Sumner, Thaddeus Stevens, and Black Citizenship” examines how Radical Republicans like Sumner and Stevens helped convert a radical social movement into a program for political change. This talk is free and open to the public. 

– Wednesday, 7 December, 6:00PM : MHS Fellows and Members are invited to celebrate the season at the Society’s annual MHS Fellows and Members Holiday Party. Enjoy an evening of holiday cheer along with the annual tradition of reading the anti-Christmas laws. Registration is required. 

– Thursday, 8 December, 5:30PM : The second seminar of the week is a part of the History of Women and Gender series and is another panel discussion. “The History of Black Feminisms” is a conversation among Francoise Hamlin of Brown University, Tanisha C. Ford of the University of Delaware, and Treva Lindsey of Ohio State University and the Hutchins Center for African & African America Research. Kali Nicole Gross of Wesleyan University moderates this conversation that encompasses issues of identity, class, and culture and pays tribute to the scholarship of Leslie Brown of Williams College. Seminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required. Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.

By Dan Hinchen

Thanksgiving is in the rearview mirror and the new year looms on the horizon. But if we focus on the present, we can learn a lot about the past. Here are the public programs on offer in the week to come:

– Tuesday, 29 November, 5:15PM : Join Patrick Lacroix of the University of New Hampshire, with commentor Edward O’Donnell of the College of the Holy Cross, as they discuss “French Canadians and the Transnational Church: The Landscape of North American Catholicism, 1837-1901.” This Modern American Society and Culture seminar explores the influence of immigration on larger demates over North American Catholicism and examines the response of the New England episcopacy, whose Americanism helped to preserve the structure and ideas of the Irish-American religious establishment. Seminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required. Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.

– Wednesday, 30 November, 12:00PM : Stop by at noon for a Brown Bag talk with Louis Gerdelan of Harvard University as he presents “Calamities and the Conscience: Religion, Suffering, and Intellectual Change in the Face of Disasters in the Late Seventeenth and Early Eighteenth Centuries.” This talk is free and open to the public. [N.B.: The date of this event has changed from December 14.] 

– Thursday, 1 December, 6:00PM : In a public author talk, John Kaag of the UMass-Lowell discusses his recent book American Philosophy: A Love Story. After stumbling upon the personal library of past Harvard philosopher William Ernest Hocking, Kaag undertakes the cataloging of the collection, which includes notes from Whitman, inscriptions from Frost, and first editions of Hobbes, Descartes, and Kant. In so doing, Kaag rediscovers the very tenets of American philosophy – self-reliance, pragmatism, the transcendent – and sees them in  a twenty-first century context. This talk is open to the public for a fee of $10 (no charge for MHS Fellows or Members) and registration is required. A reception precedes the talk at 5:30PM and the program begins at 6:00PM.

– Saturday, 3 December, 10:00AM : The History and Collections of the MHS is a 90-minute docent-led walk through our public rooms. The tour is free, open to the public, with no need for reservations. If you would like to bring a larger party (8 or more), please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

While you’re here you will also have the opportunity to view our current exhibition: Turning Points in American History.

– Saturday, 3 December, 1:00PM : “A Plentiful Country – Letters from Maine’s Thomas Gorges” is the next installment of the Begin at the Beginning series of public conversations. Join Abby Chandler in exploring rare first-hand accounts contained in Gorges’ forthright, vivid, and dynamic letters that provide a unique window onto colonial New England at a time when England was moving toward civil war. This talk is open to the public, registration is required at no cost. 

By Dan Hinchen

It is a very short holiday week for us here at the Society. On Monday, 21 November, there is a public conversation with Jonathan Holloway of Yale and Adriane Lentz-Smith of Duke: “A Most Peculiar Institution: Slavery, Jim Crow, and the American University Today.” This talk looks at the the complicated legacies of American universities founded ante bellum and their relationship to slavery, and how they served as intellectual homes of defenders of slavery and advocates of the inferiority of non-white peoples while also promoting the development of important arguments about the blessings of democracy. This talk is open to the public, registration required at a fee of $20 (no charge for MHS Members or Fellows). Pre-talk reception begins at 5:30PM followed by the program at 6:00PM. 

The Society is CLOSED on Thursday, 24 November, for Thanksgiving. The library remains closed on Friday and Saturday, though the exhibition galleries are open those two days, 10:00AM-3:00PM.