This Week @ MHS

It's that time again. Here are the events coming in the week ahead:

- Monday, 11 April, 6:00PM : On Monday evening is a public program featuring former transportation secretary Frederick Salvucci, MIT, who discusses the impact and legacy of the Big Dig. Registration is required with a cost of $20 (no charge for MHS Members and Fellows). A pre-talk reception begins at 5:30PM and the talk begins at 6:00PM.

- Tuesday, 12 April, 5:15PM : Join us on Tuesday evening for an Environmental History seminar. This time, Jennifer Thomson of Bucknell University presents "Surviving the 1970s: The Case of the Friends of the Earth." The project examines environmental politics amidst de-regulation, economic crisis, and nativism in the 1970s. Chad Montrie of the University of Massachusetts - Lowell provides comment. Seminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required. Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.

- Thursday, 14 April, 5:30PM : The second seminar of the week is from the History of Women and Gender series and is presented by Katherine Marino of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, with Harvard's Kristen Weld providing comment. The talk is called "The Origins of 'Women's Rights are Human Rights' : Pan-American Feminism and the 1945 United Nations Charter" and examines what "women's rights" and "human rights" meant to a group of Latin American activists and how a movement of transnational, Pan-American feminism shaped their ideas and activism.

- Friday, 15 April, 2:00PM : Curator of Art and Artifacts, Anne Bentley, gives a gallery talk titled "The Conservation of the Notes on the State of Virginia," an item on dispaly at the Society as part of the current exhibition, The Private Jefferson. This talk is free and open to the public.  

There is no Saturday tour scheduled this week. 

Please note that the MHS is closed on Monday, 18 April, in observance of Patriot's Day. 

This Week @ MHS

This coming week is a busy one here at the MHS. Please note that the library closes at 1:00PM on Friday, 8 April. Now, here is the weekly round-up of events ahead:

- Tuesday, 5 April, 5:15PM : Join us for an Early American History seminar featuring past MHS research fellow Jared Hardesty of Western Washington University. During this session he presents "Constructing Castle William: An Intimate History of Labor and Empire in Provincial America," which explores a five-year project fraught with corruption, labor strife, ineptitude, and supply shortages. Eliga H. Gould of the University of New  Hampshire provides comment. Seminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required. Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.

- Wednesday, 6 April, 12:00PM :  "The Elusive Quest: African-American Emigration to Haiti and the Struggle for Full Citizenship in the United States, 1815-1865" is a Brown Bag lunch talk presented by MHS research fellow Westenley Alcenat of Columbia Univeristy and MIT. The project explores the exprience and radicalism of the African-American settlers who emigrated to Haiti throughout the nineteenth century and how the migration influenced African-American and Haitian political thought before and during the American Civil War. This talk is free and open to the public. 

- Wednesday, 6 April, 6:00PM : "Louisa: The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams" is an author talk featuring Louisa Thomas. The story of Louisa Catherine Adams is one of a woman who forged a sense of self. As the country her husband led found its place in the world, she found a voice. That voice resonates still. Registration is required for this event at a cost of $20 (no charge for MHS Fellows and Members). A pre-talk reception starts at 5:30PM and the talk begins at 6:00PM.

- Thursday, 7 April, 5:30PM : The latest installment of the New England Biography Seminar series is here. "BioFictions - Turning 'Real' People into Fictional Characters" is a discussion, moderated by Megan Marshall of Emerson College, among novelists Geraldine Brooks, Matthew Pearl, and Alice Hoffman, in which the participants talk about the process, where they draw the line between fact and fiction, and what inspires them to make fiction out of history.  THIS EVENT IS NOW FILLED. Email seminars@masshist.org to be placed on a wait list. You will be contacted in the event of a cancellation.

- Saturday, 9 April, 10:00AM : The History and Collections of the MHS is a docent-led walk through the public spaces in the Society's home on Boylston Street. 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. The exhibition galleries are open to the public free of charge, Monday-Friday, 10:00AM-4:00PM.

- Saturday, 9 April, 1:00PM : "Begin at the Beginning: Daniel Gookin, Praying Indians, and America's Bloodiest War." Join independent historian Dwight Mackerron and those who love 17th-century history to talk about King Philip's War. How New England descended into this violence is the subject of our conversation. Participants are invited to share their own knowledge of the war. Registration is required for this event at no cost. This event is co-hosted with the Partnership of Historic Bostons, www.historicbostons.org.

This Week @ MHS

After a lack of programming last week, we are back this week with a slew of public events to satisfy your hunger for history. Be sure to keep an eye on our monthly calendar in the coming weeks as April has a lot going on! Here's what's on as we leave March behind:

- Tuesday,  29 March, 5:15PM : The War on Butchers: San Francisco and the Making of Animal Space, 1850-1870, is a part of the Immigration and Urban History Seminar series. In this paper, Andrew Robichaud of Boston University examines some of the challenges of urban animal life (and death) in cities, while tracing the evolution of animal regulations in San Francisco between 1850 and 1870. Harriet Ritvo of MIT provides comment. Seminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required. Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.

- Wednesday, 30 March, 12:00PM : Pack a lunch and come in at noon to hear Margaret Newell, Ohio State University, talk about her current research project, "William and Ellen Craft and the Transatlantic Battle for Civil Rights in the Nineteenth Century," a dramatic story of escape from slavery in Georgia on to a life of anti-slavery activism in Boston and London. This Brown Bag talk is free and open to the public, no registration required. 

- Wednesday, 30 March, 6:00PM : Join us for a public author talk presented by Andrew Lipman of Barnard College, recipient of a 2016 Bancroft Prize. The Saltwater Frontier: Indians and the Contest for the American Coast examines the previously untold story of how the ocean became a "frontier" between colonists and Indians. Registration is required for this event with a fee of $20 (no charge for MHS Members and Fellows). A pre-talk reception begins at 5:30PM.

- Friday, 1 April, 2:00PM : Stop by the MHS at 2:00PM for a free gallery talk, "Jefferson and Slavery." Jefferson was the author of the Declaration of Independence, yet he also owned people as slaves. His experimental farm and garden and his architectural tests were made possible through the uncompensated labor of hundreds. While Jefferson and slavery is not the primary focus of our exhibition, it is present in every room. The curator of the show ,Peter Drummey, will explore this subject.

There is no public tour scheduled for Saturday, 2 April. Please check back next week!

This Week @ MHS

The calendar is empty this week with the exception of our Saturday tour:

- Saturday, 26 March, 10:00AM : The History and Collections of the MHS is a docent-led walk through the public spaces in the Society's home on Boylston Street. 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. The exhibition galleries are open to the public free of charge, Monday-Friday, 10:00AM-4:00PM.