This Week @ MHS

The events schedule is full this week. Without further ado, here's a look at what's coming up.

- Monday, 14 November, 6:00PM : Kicking off the week is an author talk featuring Wendy Warren of Princeton University. She will be speaking about her recent book, New England Bound : Slavery and Colonization in Early America, a work that reclaims the lives of long-forgotten enslaved Africans and Native Americans in the seventeenth century. This talk is open to the public with a fee of $10 (no charge for MHS Members or Fellows), RSVP required. A pre-talk reception begins at 5:30PM followed by the program at 6:00PM.

- Tuesday, 15 November, 5:15PM : This week's Environmental History seminar takes the form of a panel discussion. "Native Peoples, Livestock, and the Environment" features Katrina Lacher of Unversity of Central Oklahoma and Strother Roberts of Bowdoin College, with Nancy Shoemaker of UConn providing comment. Seminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required. Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.

- Wednesday, 16 November, 6:00PM : In the second author talk of the week, Riachard Alan Ryerson discusses his book John Adams's Republic: The One, the Few, and the Many. This talk is open to the public with a fee of $10 (no charge for MHS Members or Fellows), RSVP required. A pre-talk reception begins at 5:30PM followed by the program at 6:00PM.

Please note that the library is closed on Thursday, 17 November.

- Thursday, 17 November, 6:00PM : Join us for Revolutionary Portraits from the Collections of the MHS, a fun and festive evening that spotlights portraits of Revolutionary-era figures from the Society's collection. Enjoy a reception, view terrific works of art, and learn about the artists and the people they portrayed. Erica Hirshler, MFA, Boston, will present Copley’s John Hancock and David Dearinger, Boston Athenæum, will present Lafayette: Before & After. 

Reservations are required; please call the Development Office at 617-646-0543 to register for this event.

- Friday, 18 November, 2:00PM : Stop by on Friday for an afternoon gallery talk with past MHS Director, WIlliam Fowler, Jr., of Northeastern University. In this talk, Mr. Fowler will discuss George Washington's Newburgh Address as a turning point in American History, ensuring civilian control of the government. This even is free and open to the public. 

- Saturday, 19 November, 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 Week @ MHS

It is a little bit quieter at the Society this week but we still have three public programs on offer. Here is what is happening:

- Monday, 7 November, 12:00PM : "The Church Militant: The American Loyalist Clergy and the Making of the British Counterrevolution, 1701-92" is a Brown Bag talk presented by Peter Walker of Columbia University. This project is a study of the loyalist Church of England clergy in the American Revolution, focusing on the New England and Mid-Atlantic colonies. Walker attempts to shine light on the relationship between church and empire, the role of religious pluralism and toleration in the American Revolution, and the dynamics of loyalist politics. This program is open to the public free of charge. Pack up a lunch and come on in!

- Thursday, 10 November, 5:30PM : Join us for a Conversation with Fredrik Logevall, part of our Biography Seminar series. Caroly Bundy will moderate the discussion in which Logevall, Harvard University, talks about his current book project, a biography of John F. Kennedy. Seminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required. Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.

- Saturday, 12 November, 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.

N.B.: The MHS is CLOSED on Friday, 11 November, in observance of Veteran's Day.

This Week @ MHs

Looking for a little history in your life? Here is what's on tap for public consumption at the Society this week...

- Tuesday, 1 November, 5:15PM : Join us for an Early American History seminar with John Wood Sweet of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "Rape, Recourse, and the Law of Seduction in the Early Republic" looks at the 1793 case of Henry Bedlow, tried but not convicted for the rape of Lanah Sawyer. The case offers a window into the use of civil law in sexual assault cases and prompts readers to consider how women struggling for recourse can become pawns in battles between men over money and masculine honor. Richard D. Brown, University of Connecticut, provides comment. Seminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required. Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.

- Wednesday, 2 November, 12:00PM : Research fellow Franklin Sammons, University of California, Berkeley, offers new insights into the transformation of the Southeastern borderlands and emergence of the Cotton Kingdom with his current project. Come in to hear his Brown Bag talk, "The Long Life of Yazoo: Land Speculation, Finance, and Dispossession in the Southeastern Borderlands, 1789-1840," and learn more about his research. This talk is free and open to the public. 

- Thursday, 3 November, 6:30PM : "Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College?" With the current election cycle winding down, this is a question that many Americans find themselves asking. Join us for a talk by author and historian Alexander Keyssar, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, as he traces the origins of the Electoral College. This talk is open to the public but registration is required with a fee of $20 (no charge for MHS Fellows and Members). A pre-talk reception begins at 5:30PM and the event starts at 6:30PM. 

- Saturday, 5 November, 9:00AM : Calling all educators! Explore presidential campaign propaganda from our nation's first election all the way through to twentieth-century battles for the White House. "We Need Your Vote! Election Propaganda from Adams to Roosevelt" is a teacher workshop in which participants will examine documents and artifacts from three different centuries to discuss different strategies used to appeal to voter during specific campaigns. To register, complete this registration form or contact the MHS education department: dbeardsley@masshist.org; 617-646-0570.

- Saturday, 5 November, 1:00PM : Also on Saturday is another installment of Begin at the Beginning, this time looking at the "Lord of Misrule: Thomas Morton's Battle with Puritan New England." Writer/illustrator E.J. Barnes leads the discussion through exploration of her comic story of Morton's conflct with Massachusetts and Plimoth in Colonial Comics: New England, 1620-1750. This talk is free and open to the public, registration required. 

And as always, our current exhibition, Turning Points in American History, is open to the public free of charge. The galleries are open Monday-Saturday, 10:00AM-4:00PM. Come on in!

This Week @ MHS

It's another active week here at the Society, chock full of programs to take in. Here is what we have on tap:

- Tuesday, 25 October, 5:15PM : Drawn from his forthcoming book, Welcome to Fairyland, Julio Capó of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, presents "'A Shiftless, Undesirable Class': The Sexual Policing of Miami's Bahamian Community in the Early Twentieth Century." This Modern American Society and Culture Seminar traces how urban authorities policied the perceived "suspect" sexualities of Miami's temporary and permanent settlers from the Bahamas. Michael Bronski of Harvard University provides comment. Seminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required. Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.

- Wednesday, 26 October, 12:00PM : Stop by for a Brown Bag lunch talk, this time Ross Nedervelt of Florida International University. His talk, titled "The Pull of a Revolutionary America: The British Atlantic Island in the American Revolution" focuses on a research project that examines the political, economic, and social influence the revolutionary American colonies had on the British Atlantic island of Bermuda and the Bahamas from 1763 through the 1780s. This talk is free and open to the public so pack a lunch and come on in!

- Wednesday, 26 October, 6:30PM : The Merriam-Webster Thesaurus lists “prudish,” “straightlaced,” and “puritanical” as synonyms. But historical records challenge the stereotype of Puritans’ repressive views and behaviors. In "Ravishing Affection: Myths and Realities About Puritans and Sex," author Francis J. Bremer attemps to dispel the myth and set the record straight. This program will take place at the Old South Meeting House, 310 Washington St, Boston. The program is open to the public, free of charge, but registraiton is required. 

- Thursday, 27 October, 6:00PM : Author, historian, and national speaker Jacquline Berger goes behind the scenes with pictures and stories that bring history to life and uncover a remarkable "sorority of women": First Ladies. This talk is open to the public and registration is required for a fee or $10 (no charge for MHS Members and Fellows). A pre-talk reception begins at 5:30PM and the program beings at 6:00PM. 

- Friday, 28 October, 12:00PM : The second Brown Bag talk this week is presented by Jessica Farrell of the University of Minnesota. "From 'Indespensible' to 'Demoralizing and Obstructive': Education as a Critical Site for the Assertion and Contestation of American Empire in 19th-Century Liberia" stems from a larger dissertation project which investigates what was at stake in the contestations between LIberian sovereignty and America imperial fomations in Liberia and the United States during the nineteenth century. This talk is free and open to the public.