This Week @ MHS

Even though March is on its way out, it seems bent on imposing its will. Escape the late-winter bluster in the week ahead with some history:

- Monday, 27 March, 6:00PM : First up this week is a public program centered on our current exhibit, The Irish Atlantic, and is the first in a series. In The Mission of the Jamestown, William Fowler, Jr., guest curator of the exhibit, leads a discussion on the relief efforts of the Jamestown on the eve of the 170th anniversary of its voyage. Joining him are Catherine Shannon, Professor Emerita of History at Westfield State University, and Christine Kinealy, Director of Ireland's Great Hunger Institute at Quinnipiac University. This talk is free and open to the public though registration is required. A pre-talk reception takes place at 5:30PM and the talk begins at 6:00PM. 

-  Tuesday, 28 March, 5:15PM : This week's Modern American Society and Culture Seminar continues the Irish theme. In "Moving News, Affecting Relief: The Irish Famine's Trans-Atlantic Circulations," Anelise H. Strout of California State University - Fullerton demonstrates that ships which carried Irish famine victims to America also brought tragic stories of those left behind; in response, North Americans sent millions of dollars to help relieve rural suffering. The paper argues that exploring the interactions between these various circulations reveals a tension between aiding strangers overseas and welcoming them in American cities. Kevin Kenny of Boston College provides comment. Seminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required. Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.

- Wednesday, 29 March, 12:00PM : This week's midday Brown Bag lunch talk is with Amy Hughes of Brooklyn College, CUNY. Join us as she presents "An Actor's Tale: Theater, Culture, and Everyday Life in Nineteenth-Century U.S. America," her monograph-in-progress inspired by the diary of U.S. actor Harry Watkins (1825-1894). This talk is free and open to the public. 

- Wednesday, 29 March, 6:00PM : Tea Sets and Tyranny: The Politics of Politeness in Early America is a recent book from Steven C. Bullock, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and is also the final program in the Politics of Taste series. The politics of politeness, he argues, helped make opposition to overbearing power central to early American thought and practice. This talk is open to the public and registration is required with a fee of $10 (no charge for MHS Members or Fellows). A pre-talk reception takes place at 5:30PM, followed by the speaking program at 6:00PM.

- Saturday, 1 April, 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: The Irish Atlantic: A Story of Famine Migration and Opportunity.