This Week @ MHS

Calling all graduate students! 

Are you studying American history or some other related subject? Are you interested in meeting fellow students and faculty members who work in your field? Then consider attending a special Graduate Student Reception at the Massachusetts Historical Society this week. Beginning at 6:00PM on Thursday, 18 September, this event is a great way to network with your peers in the area, tour our historic building at 1154 Boylston Street, and to learn about the range of resources available to support your work, including MHS fellowship programs. This event is free for graduate students and faculty members, though RSVP required by September 17. Email kviens@masshist.org or phone 617-646-0568 with your name and affiliation. Indicate whether you are a graduate student or faculty member. We hope to see you there!

Also at the Society this week, we continue our exhibition of World War I photographs, letters and memorabilia with "Letters and Photographs from the Battle Country: Massachusetts Women in World War I." As always, the exhibit is open Monday - Saturday, 10:00AM - 4:00PM, free of charge. And on Saturday, 20 September, stop by at 10:00AM for "The History and Collections of the MHS," a free 90-minute tour of the Society's building. The tour is free and open to the public. No reservation is required for individuals or small groups. Parties of 8 or more should contact the MHS prior to attending a tour. For more information please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 orabentley@masshist.org.

This Week @ MHS

It seems that summer is trying to reassert itself here in September but it is quiet and cool at the MHS. There is but one public program on the calendar this week in the form of a Brown Bag lunch talk on Wednesday, 10 September. Come by at noon for "Sculpting the Citizen Soldier: Civil War Memory and the Life Cycle of Monuments," presented by short-term research fellow Sarah Beetham, University of Delaware. In this talk, Dr. Beetham will explore how Civil War citizen soldier monuments have factored into community life in the century and a half since the war’s end. Soldier monuments have been interpreted and interpreted, vandalized and hit by cars, amended and moved to new locations. How do these interventions affect our understanding of post-Civil War memory? This talk is open to the public free of charge. 

There is also a free tour this week on Saturday, 13 September, starting at 10:00AM. "The History and Collections of the MHS" is a 90-minute, docent-led tour that allows visitors to see all of the public spaces at the Society while learning about the art, architecture, history, and collections in the building at 1154 Boylston. The tour is free and open to the public with no reservations required for individuals or small groups. However, groups of 8 or more should contact the MHS before attending the tour. For more information, please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org. 

And while this September is pretty quiet here at the MHS, seminar season is nearly upon us. Be sure to keep an eye on the online events calendar to see all of the public events on tap later this month and into October. 

This Week @ MHS

**Please note that the Society is closed on Monday, 1 September, in observance of Labor Day.**

September is upon us and it makes its appearance quietly as we begin the month with a holiday closure. The only main item of note this week on the calendar is a Brown Bag lunch talk on Wednesday, 3 September. Come by the MHS at noon for "Unspeakable Loss: North America's Invisible Throat Distemper Epidemic of 1735-1765," presented by Nicholad Bonneau, University of Notre Dame. While the New England throat distemper epidemic never achieved the notoriety acquired by other more notorious diseases of the colonial era, no single epidemic of that period proved more deadly to European settlers. This project asks why this epidemic escaped comment by contemporaries and past historians while raising interpretive questions informing our larger views of change, the priority of documentation, and the role of memory. This talk is free and open to the public so pack a lunch and come on by! 

And remember that on most Saturdays, including 6 September, you can visit the Society for a free tour. The History and Collections of the MHS is a 90-minute docent-led tour that explores all of the public spaces in the Society's home.. This event is free and open to the public and begins at 10:00AM. And while you are here for the tour you can also view our current exhibition, "Letters and Photographs from the Battle Country: Massachusetts Women in World War I," open Monday-Saturday, 10:00AM-4:00PM.

**Library Hours Changing! Effective 1 September, the library is no longer open late on Tuesday evenings. New hours for the library are Mon-Fri, 9:00AM-4:45PM, and Saturday, 9:00AM-4:00PM.**

This Week @ MHS

There are no events scheduled for this, the last week of August, but you can still come in any time, 10:00AM-4:00PM, to see our current exhibition. Please be sure to keep an eye on our online events calendar to start planning your visits for September! 

**The Society is closed on Saturday, 30 August, and Monday, 1 September, in observance of Labor Day. Normal hours resume on Tuesday, 2 September. Enjoy the long weekend!