This Week @ MHS

With the first full week of July the MHS events calendar is filled with public programs for the month. So, without further ado, here is what is on tap.

Starting things off on Wednesday, 9 July, come in for a Brown Bag lunch talk presented by Jordan Watkins of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. "Slavery, Sacred Texts, and the Antebellum Confrontation with History" explores biblical and constitutional debates over slavery in the antebellum era and argues that the developing slavery crisis fueled the move to understand both the Bible and the Constitution as historical texts. Watkins also contends that the emphasis on contextual interpretation among biblical scholars in the first few decades of the nineteenth century informed a similar reading of the Constitution in the decades before the Civil War. The project demonstrates that these overlapping developoments cultivated an awarenedss of the historical distances that divided Americans from their favored biblical and Revolutionary pasts. This talk is free and open to the public and begins at noon. 

Then, beginning on Thursday, 10 July, is a two-day teacher workshop. "Symbols of Liberty: The Magna Carta, the Liberty Bowl, and the American Revolution" takes place in conjuction with the exhibition Magna Carta: Cornerstone of Liberty at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. This professional development workshop, offered by the MFA and the MHS, is aimed at teachers in grades K-12 and provides an introduction to the rich collections of 18th century documents and objects at both institutions. The workshop will include lectures, hands-on activities in the classroom, and gallery explorations using primary source documents and original art objects related to the founding of the United States. Registration is required for this event at a cost of $100. Registration covers admission to the MFA, lunch both days, and materials. Participants can earn one graduate credit from Framingham State University for an additional fee. Visit the MFA website to register. Contact education@masshist.org for more information. 

And on Friday, 11 July, there is another Brown Bag lunch talk scheduled. This time, Rachel Trocchio, University of California, Berkely, presents "Form and Failure: American Puritanism, Quantification, and the Way of All Grace." From its foundations in the diagrammatic habits of sixteenth-century England to its intercourse with the new science of infinity, Puritanism applied a series of quantitative strategies for understanding an arbitrary God and the perfection of his decrees. This program argues that, simultaneously as these quantifications failed, their very failure inspired the imaginative leap between sensory and intelligible things that Puritanism made requisite for knowledge of God and one’s grace.

Finally, on Saturday, 12 July, there is a free building tour at 10:00AM. The History and Collections of the MHS is a 90-minute, docent-led tour that explores all of the public space in the Society's home at 1154 Boylston Street and touches on the history, collections, art, and architecture of the building. This tour is free and open to the public. No reservations required for individuals and small groups. However, groups of 8 or more should contact art curator Anne Bentley in advance at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

This Week @ MHS

It is a shortened week here at the MHS as we enter July and the humidity rises, with only a single public program on offer. So, before you settle into your celebrations, why not take in some history? 

On Wednesday, 2 July, stop by at noon for a Brown Bag lunch talk. This week, Matthew Amato from the University of Southern California presents "The Camera and the Community: How Photography Changed American Abolitionism." With this project, Amato examines the production, exchange, and visuality of photographs of abolitionists to show how radical activists harnessed the medium as a way to build their movement in the decades prior to the Civil War. This program is free and open to the public. 

And as always, remember to come in and see our current exhibition, "Letters and Photographs from the Battle Country: Massachusetts Women in World War I." The galleries are open Monday-Saturday, 10:00AM-4:00PM.

Finally, please note that the Society is closed Friday, 4 July and Saturday, 5 July, in observance of Independence Day. Normal hours resume on Monday, 7 July. Enjoy the long weekend!

This Week @ MHS

This week is the great calm at the MHS as there are no public programs scheduled. However, keep in mind that our exhibitions space is open to the public at no cost, Monday-Saturday, 10:00AM-4:00PM. Currently on display is "Letters and Photographs from the Battle Country: Massachusetts Women in the First World War," an exhibition which celebrates the forthcoming MHS publication Letters and Photographs from the Battle Country: The World War I Memoir of Margaret Hall.

And on Saturday, 28 June, come by at 10:00AM for The History and Collections of the MHS, a 90-minute docent-led tour of the public spaces in the Society's home at 1154 Boylston Street. The tour, free and open to the public, touches on the history, collections, art, and architecture of the Society. 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 or abentley@masshist.org.

This Week @ MHS

As we ease into the latter days of June there is a lull in activity here at the Society with only two programs on offer this week. 

First up, on Thursday, 19 June, stop in at 12:00PM for "At the Point of a Cutlass: The Pirate Capture, Bold Escape, and Lonely Exile of Philip Ashton." In this talk, author Gregory N. Flemming (www.gregflemming.com) discusses his latest work, based largely on a rare copy of Ashton's 1725 account. Flemming also drew on a wealth of other materials from the collections of the MHS, including hundred of colonial newspaper reports, trial recrods, and the hand-written logbooks and correspondence from the British warships that patrolled the Bay of Honduras and fought with the pirates of Captain Edward Low. Flemming is a former jounralist who holds a Ph.D. from the Unviersity of Wisconsin-Madison. This event is free and open to the public. 

And on Saturday, 21 June, come on by at 10:00AM for a free tour of the Society's building at 1154 Boylston St. The History and Collections of the MHS is a 90-minute docent-led tour that explores all of the public space in the building, touching on the art, architecture, history, and collections of the MHS. 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 or abentley@masshist.org.

Finally, while there are only these two public programs on the calendar this week, please remember that our newest exhibition is now on display! "Letters and Photographs from the Battle Country: Massachusetts Women in the First World War" is free and open to the public Monday-Saturday, 10:00AM-4:00PM.