APRIL CALENDAR
2022
Our mission is to promote understanding of the history of Massachusetts and the nation by collecting and communicating materials and resources that foster historical knowledge.
LOCATION 1154 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02215 CONTACT Tel: 617.536.1608 Fax: 617.859.0074 VISITOR INFORMATION MHS galleries are open Monday through Friday, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Learn more about our virtual and in-person offerings at www.masshist.org/visit. The library is open by appointment only Monday through Friday, from 10:00 AM to 4:45 PM. Learn more about our library policies and how to make an appointment at www.masshist.org/library.
SOCIAL AND WEB @MHS1791 @MassachusettsHistoricalSociety www.masshist.org 2
Cover Image: Robert M. Grey, Mr. Brooks, and Thomas Barbour Gathering Papayas at the Harvard Botanical Garden, Soledad, Cuba. Photograph by David Fairchild, 31 March 1924.
RSVP Information
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April Programs at a Glance
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Program Descriptions
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A Look Ahead: May and June Programs
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APRIL PROGRAMS
The MHS offers an engaging roster of events, author talks, panel discussions, brown-bag lunches, and seminars. For a complete schedule and up-to-date information, visit www.masshist.org/events.
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Generous support provided by
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RSVP Information
Past Programs
Visit www.masshist.org/events for additional event information, updates, cancellations, and registration.
If you missed a program, would like to revisit the material presented, or are interested in viewing past programs, visit www.masshist.org/video. A selection of past programs is just a click away.
Hybrid programs and seminars occur in person and virtually, so be sure to register how you will attend. Please note that events listed as “hybrid program” have a reception that begins thirty minutes prior to the program start time. To attend events in person, the MHS requires proof of vaccination to be presented at time of entry. Face masks are required inside the building. Please visit www.masshist.org/COVID-protocols to find the most up-to-date information. EVENTS, AUTHOR TALKS, AND SERIES For more information or to register visit www.masshist.org/events. WORKSHOPS Visit www.masshist.org/teaching-history for more information. Register online at www.masshist.org/events. BROWN-BAG LUNCH PROGRAMS Brown-bags provide an informal opportunity for visiting researchers to discuss their work, field questions, and receive new ideas. Please visit www.masshist.org/events for more information or to register for an online brown-bag. SEMINARS Seminars bring together a diverse group of scholars and members of the public to workshop a precirculated paper. After brief remarks from the author and an assigned commentator, the discussion is opened to the floor. There is a subscription fee for advance access to supporting materials. For more information, please visit www.masshist.org/research/seminars; register online at www.masshist.org/events.
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Join with a Gift The MHS Fund is your gateway to Membership at the MHS with its vast intellectual and social opportunities. Join the community of history lovers to enjoy free or discounted admission to public programs, exclusive invitations to special events, an annual Members Week, popup perks, and more! Give now to help tell the stories at www.masshist.org/support.
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WEDNESDAY |
5:30/6:00 |
RECEPTION/PROGRAM
Female Genius: Eliza Harriot & George Washington at the Dawning of the Constitution Mary Bilder, Boston College Law School In person: $10 per person fee. No charge for virtual, MHS Members or EBT cardholders.
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5:15 | VIRTUAL SEMINAR
THURSDAY |
Black Abolitionists & the Meaning of Higher Learning Michael Jirik, Carleton College
THURSDAY |
5:30/6:00 |
RECEPTION/PROGRAM
Narrative History John Demos, in conversation with Catherine Allgor In person: $10 per person fee. Virtual: $5 fee. No charge for MHS Members or EBT cardholders.
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MONDAY |
6:00 | HYBRID PROGRAM
Benjamin Franklin’s Last Bet: The Favorite Founder’s Divisive Death, Enduring Afterlife, & Blueprint for American Prosperity Michael Meyer
Comment: Craig Steven Wilder, MIT
In person: $10 per person fee. Virtual: $5 fee. No charge for MHS Members or EBT cardholders.
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MONDAY |
5:30/6:00 |
RECEPTION/PROGRAM
The Hated Cage: An American Tragedy in Britain’s Most Terrifying Prison Nicholas Guyatt, University of Cambridge In person: $10 per person fee. No charge for virtual, MHS Members or EBT cardholders.
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TUESDAY |
5:15 | VIRTUAL SEMINAR
Pipe Dreams: The Pursuit of Desalination & the Promise of a Water-Abundant Future in the 1950s & 1960s Elizabeth Hameeteman, Boston University Comment: Megan Black, MIT
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WEDNESDAY |
5:30/6:00 |
RECEPTION/PROGRAM
Ill-Fated Frontier: Peril & Possibilities in the Early American West Samuel Foreman, MD In person: $10 per person fee. No charge for virtual, MHS Members or EBT cardholders.
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THURSDAY |
5:15 | VIRTUAL SEMINAR
Queer Abbey: Newspaper Advice Columnists as Allies for Gays & Lesbians, 1960 -1980 David Ferrara, University of Alabama Comment: Lauren Gutterman, University of Texas at Austin
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WEDNESDAY |
6:00 | HYBRID PROGRAM
TUESDAY |
5:15 | HYBRID SEMINAR
A Decent Home: The 1950s Suburban Boom on Long Island Michael Glass, Boston College Comment: Rebecca K. Marchiel, University of Mississippi
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WEDNESDAY |
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THURSDAY |
6:00 | VIRTUAL PROGRAM
Film Club: The Bostonians Jim Vrabel and Susan Wilson
5:15 | HYBRID SEMINAR
The Dartmouth Digital History Initiative: Digital Humanities, Data Visualization & Oral History Archives Edward Miller and Bryan Winston, Dartmouth College
APRIL PROGRAMS AT A GLANCE
April 6
Comment: Janneken Smucker, West Chester University
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THURSDAY |
6:00 | VIRTUAL PROGRAM
Confronting Economic Injustice: The Story of Parcel C Michael Liu, Author; David Moy, Hyams Foundation; Lydia Lowe, Chinatown Community Land Trust; and Carolyn Chou, Asian American Resource Workshop Moderator: Margaret Woo, Northeastern School of Law
54th Unmarked Dead in Olustee, Florida Barbara Gannon, University of Central Florida In person: $10 per person fee. Virtual: $5 fee. No charge for MHS Members or EBT cardholders. 5
O N E M O N T H AWAY !
M AY 2 , 2 0 2 2 featuring
HEATHER COX RICHARDSON in conversation with
JARED BOWEN, GBH honorary chairs Gover nor Charlie Baker & First Lady Lauren Baker H e n r y L o u i s G a t e s J r. Attorney General Maura Healey R e n é F. J o n e s a n d B r i g i d D o h e r t y
John Codman Ropes Award p r e s e n t e d b y D i a n e & D e va l Pa t r i c k Hon. Levin H. Campbell Huber t (Hubie) E. Jones musical tribute Boston Children’s Chorus attend
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W W W. M A S S H I S T. O R G / G A L A 6
APRIL
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WEDNESDAY |
6:00 | HYBRID PROGRAM
Female Genius: Eliza Harriot & George Washington at the Dawn of the Constitution Mary Bilder, Boston College Law School The perfect exemplar of a radical new idea in the Englishspeaking world during the 1780s—the Age of the Constitution—was Eliza Harriot Barons O’Connor’s position on the female genius. She was a pathbreaking educator who delivered a University of Pennsylvania lecture attended by George Washington, in which she argued that women had equal capacity and deserved an equal education and political representation. In recovering this pioneering life, Female Genius makes clear that America’s framing moment did not belong solely to white men. This is a hybrid event. To reserve: There is a $10 per person fee (in person). There is no charge for MHS Members, EBT cardholders, or virtual guests. Please register at www.masshist.org/events.
APRIL
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THURSDAY |
5:15 | VIRTUAL SEMINAR
African American History Seminar
Black Abolitionists & the Meaning of Higher Learning Micahel Jirik, Carleton College
APRIL PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS
Founded in 1791, the MHS is an invaluable resource for American history, life, and culture. Our extraordinary collections tell the story of America through millions of rare and unique documents, artifacts, and irreplaceable national treasures. Please check the website for updates and, once registered, your e-mail before attending the program.
Comment by Craig Steven Wilder, MIT How did Black abolitionists engage with the meaning of higher learning at a time when American colleges were financially and intellectually tied to the political economy of Atlantic slavery? This paper focuses on Black abolitionist thought on higher learning and its implications for the colleges of antebellum United States. Using Black abolitionist writings and records of their organizations, the paper demonstrates that understandings of college education were contested as higher education developed in the early United States, and that Black abolitionists conceptualized an alternative vision for higher learning and its purpose. This is an online event. To reserve: Please register at www.masshist.org/events.
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APRIL
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MONDAY |
6:00 | HYBRID PROGRAM
The Hated Cage: An American Tragedy in Britain’s Most Terrifying Prison Nicholas Guyatt, University of Cambridge After the War of 1812, more than five thousand American sailors were marooned in Dartmoor Prison on a barren English plain; the conflict was over, but they had been left to rot by their government. Although they shared a common nationality, the men were divided by race: nearly a thousand of them were Black, and at the behest of the white prisoners, Dartmoor became the first racially segregated prison in US history. The Hated Cage documents the extraordinary but separate communities these men built within the prison—and the terrible massacre of nine Americans by prison guards that destroyed these worlds. This is a hybrid event. To reserve: There is a $10 per person fee (in person). There is no charge for MHS Members, EBT cardholders, or virtual guests. Please register at www.masshist.org/ events.
APRIL
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TUESDAY |
5:15 | VIRTUAL SEMINAR
Environmental History Seminar
Pipe Dreams: The Pursuit of Desalination & the Promise of a Water-Abundant Future in the 1950s & 1960s Elizabeth Hameeteman, Boston University Comment by Megan Black, MIT Driven by the strong conviction that water resources needed to be managed, controlled, and used in a rational manner, and fears about not being able to meet present triggered and justified the proliferation of large water infrastructure projects in the post-WWII period—and also, as the author proposes, the pursuit of desalination. Its potential as a new, untapped source of fresh water carried promises of modernization and development, and especially appealed to governments looking to develop, diversify, and decentralize sources of supply. By uncovering how several countries and international organizations imagined the potential of desalination and tried to jumpstart its widespread adoption, this story of desalination adds new layers to our understanding of this postwar development era. This is an online event. To reserve: Please register at www.masshist.org/events.
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Objects that Fascinate, Interest & Inspire
APRIL PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS
Our Favorite Things
Visit in Person Monday through Friday, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Explore the virtual exhibition at
www.masshist.org/ourfavoritethings 9
APRIL
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WEDNESDAY |
6:00 | HYBRID PROGRAM
Ill-Fated Frontier: Peril & Possibilities in the Early American West Samuel Foreman, MD Ill-Fated Frontier is a pioneer adventure with a compelling narrative about the frictions that emerged among entrepreneurial pioneers on a planned expedition between sixty enslaved people, Native Americans fighting to preserve their land, and Spanish colonials with their own agenda. It is a turbulent and visceral portrait of the wild American frontier in 1789 that begins with an optimistic plan and ends with the body of one of the expedition’s leaders returning to New Jersey pickled in a barrel of rum. What happened in between lies at the center of this fascinating account. This is a hybrid event. To reserve: There is a $10 per person fee (in person). There is no charge for MHS Members, EBT cardholders, or virtual guests. Please register at www.masshist.org/events.
APRIL
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THURSDAY |
5:15 | VIRTUAL SEMINAR
Queer Abby: Newspaper Advice Columnists as Allies for Gays & Lesbians, 1960-1980 History of Women, Gender & Sexuality Seminar
David Ferrara, University of Alabama Comment by Lauren Gutterman, University of Texas at Austin This dissertation chapter examines newspaper advice columnists as resources for queer Americans. From the early 1960s onward, columnists like Abigail Van Buren, Ann Landers, and Helen Bottel elevated queer voices to millions of readers. Within the context of the nascent homophile movement, nationally syndicated columnists created alternative platforms for mediated discussions about queer sexualities. They proliferated information that could be otherwise difficult to obtain, and occasionally provided counsel intended to destigmatize queer desire. Advice columns, by their interactive nature, provided queer people a forum to discuss their identities, articulate their desires, and contradict misconceptions about homosexuality before mainstream audiences. This is an online event. To reserve: Please register at www.masshist.org/events.
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WEDNESDAY |
6:00 | HYBRID PROGRAM
54th Unmarked Dead in Olustee, Florida Barbara Gannon, University of Central Florida Professor Gannon, working with her students, has documented that the remains of over one hundred Black and white Union soldiers, including members of the Massachusetts 54th, lie in an unmarked grave within Florida’s Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park. The battlefield contains Confederate monuments but no memorial to Union soldiers. Union soldiers’ remains from other Southern battlefields have been brought to national cemeteries. However, it appears that local opposition, remnants of a Jim Crow racialized landscape, and celebrations of a Confederate victory has led to these soldiers remaining in a mass grave. Professor Gannon will discuss her work to give dignified graves to these Union soldiers. This is a hybrid event. To reserve: There is a $10 per person in-person fee; $5 virtual fee. There is no charge for MHS Members or EBT cardholders. Please register at www.masshist.org/events.
APRIL
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THURSDAY |
6:00 | HYBRID PROGRAM
Narrative History John Demos, in conversation with Catherine Allgor, MHS John Demos has won the Bancroft Prize and the Francis Parkman Prize, as well as being a finalist for the National Book Award. He began his career as a historian deeply steeped in the methods of social sciences. However, he shifted his work to focus more on the stories of human life and brought the discipline with him toward a narrative history. He has moved many people and galvanized others with his books and was an inspiring teacher at Yale who helped shape many of the next generation of leading scholars. Professor Demos will speak with his former student, Catherine Allgor, about his work, his influences, and the scholars who are continuing his legacy. This is a hybrid event. To reserve: There is a $10 per person in-person fee; $5 virtual fee. There is no charge for MHS Members or EBT cardholders. Please register at www.masshist.org/events.
APRIL
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MONDAY |
APRIL PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS
APRIL
6:00 | HYBRID PROGRAM
Benjamin Franklin’s Last Bet: The Favorite Founder’s Divisive Death, Enduring Afterlife, & Blueprint for American Prosperity Michael Meyer Benjamin Franklin was not a gambling man; however, at the end of his life he allowed himself a wager on the survival of the United States: a gift of two thousand pounds to Boston and Philadelphia, to be lent out to tradesmen over the next two centuries to jump start their careers. Benjamin Franklin’s Last Bet traces the 11
evolution of these twin funds as they age alongside America itself, bankrolling woodworkers to space-age races. Franklin’s stake in the “leather-apron” class remains in play to this day and offers an inspiring blueprint for our modern era. This is a hybrid event. To reserve: There is a $10 per person in-person fee; $5 virtual fee. There is no charge for MHS Members or EBT cardholders. Please register at www.masshist.org/events.
APRIL
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TUESDAY |
5:15 | HYBRID SEMINAR
Dina G. Malgeri Modern American Society & Culture Seminar
A Decent Home: The 1950s Suburban Boom on Long Island Michael Glass, Boston College Comment by Rebecca K. Marchiel, University of Mississippi The House Act of 1949 famously promised “a decent home…for every American family.” But this was just a goal, not a right of citizenship. This paper revisits the debates that culminated in the 1949 Act to argue that it was the piecemeal liberalization of mortgage credit, more than anything else, that led to the explosion of mass-produced suburbs in the 1950s. From the perspective of new subdivisions on Long Island, the public-private partnership at the heart of federal housing policy led to chaotic construction, financing scandals, and systemic racial exclusion, which together established durable patterns of race and class inequality. This is a hybrid event. To reserve: Please register at www.masshist.org/events.
APRIL
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WEDNESDAY |
6:00 | VIRTUAL PROGRAM
Film Club: The Bostonians Jim Vrabel and Susan Wilson Join historians Jim Vrabel and Susan Wilson, as they discuss 1984’s The Bostonians, starring Vanessa Redgrave, Christopher Reeve, and Madeleine Potter. It is the film adaptation of the 1886 novel by Henry James and tells the story of a Boston feminist and a conservative Southern lawyer as they contend for the heart and mind of a girl unsure of her future. Watch the film at home and discuss your thoughts with us! The Bostonians is available through Tubi, Amazon Video, Google Video, iTunes, YouTube, and other streaming sites. This is an online event. To reserve: Please register at www.masshist.org/events.
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THURSDAY |
5:15 | HYBRID SEMINAR
Digital History Seminar
The Dartmouth Digital History Initiative: Digital Humanities, Data Visualization & Oral History Archives Edward Miller and Bryan Winston, Dartmouth College Comment by Janneken Smucker, West Chester University The Dartmouth Digital History Initiative (DDHI) is an open-source digital humanities project developing new ways of exploring oral history archives. In this paper, we discuss tools and methods developed since the project’s launch in 2019. We present the “DDHI Viewer,” a web-based application that allows users to easily produce maps, timelines, and other visualizations of data contained in oral history interviews. We then demonstrate the research utility of the viewer with encoded interview data drawn from the Dartmouth Vietnam Project, a collection of over one hundred oral history interviews about the Vietnam War era. We also discuss the potential application of the DDHI to other digital oral history collections. This is a hybrid event. To reserve: Please register at www.masshist.org/events.
APRIL
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THURSDAY |
6:00 | VIRTUAL PROGRAM
Confronting Economic Injustice: The Story of Parcel C Michael Liu, Author of Forever Struggle: Activism, Identity and Survival in Boston’s Chinatown; David Moy, Hyams Foundation; Lydia Lowe, Chinatown Community Land Trust; and Carolyn Chou, Asian American Resource Workshop Moderated by Margaret Woo, Northeastern University School of Law Boston’s Chinatown has long been the physical, economic, and cultural center for Chinese immigrants in Boston. Chinatown’s residents have also long fought for community control of affordable housing and economic justice. Join us for a conversation about the story of Parcel C, the people of Chinatown’s success in fighting against institutional expansion and reclaiming this parcel for community use. This is an online event.
APRIL PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS
APRIL
In collaboration with the Northeastern University School of Law Criminal Task Force and sponsored by a number of Boston-area organizations. To reserve: Please register at www.masshist.org/events.
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Take a look at our upcoming slate of author talks, panel discussions, workshops, seminars, and brown-bag lunch programs. Please visit www.masshist.org/events for updates and to register; once registered, your e-mail before attending the program.
May Monday, May 2, at 6:00 PM: Sponsor Reception at 5:30 PM, Making History Gala, with Heather Cox Richardson and GBH’s Jared Bowen. Tuesday, May 3, at 5:15 PM: Pauline Maier Early American History Seminar, Honoring Daniel K. Richter: McNeil Center Alumni Discuss Their Research & Experiences, with William Huntting Howell, Boston University; Elizabeth N. Ellis, New York University; Chris Parsons, Boston University; Alicia DeMaio, Horace Mann School; Sari Altschuler, Boston University; Joseph Rezek, Boston University. Wednesday, May 4, at 6:00 PM: Filming First Ladies, with Aaron Cooley and Mark Farkas, in conversaton with Catherine Allgor, MHS. Thursday, May 5, at 5:30 PM: Peter J. Gomes Memorial Book Prize Ceremony, with Abram Van Engen, Washington University—St. Louis, and Adrian Weimer, Providence College. Monday, May 9, at 5:30 PM: Boston at 200: Where We Were, Where We Are & Where We’re Going, with Robert Allison, Suffolk University; Karilyn Crockett, MIT; Kerri Greenidge, Tufts University; Peter Drummey, MHS; and Luc Schuster, Boston Indicators; with remarks by Councilor Ed Flynn, District 2. Thursday, May 12, at 5:15 PM: Dina G. Malgeri Modern American Society & Culture Seminar, The Reinvention of Tradition: Conformist Nationalism in the United States, 1923-1931, with Kelly Lyons, Boston College, and comment by Jonathan Hansen, Harvard University. Monday through Friday, May 16–21: Member’s Week. Thursday, May 19, at 6:00 PM: Writing on Juneteenth, with Annette Gordon Reed, in conversation with Catherine Allgor. Tuesday, May 24, at 6:00 PM: Film Club: The Friends of Eddie Coyle, with Ty Burr, Ty Burr’s Watchlist. Thursday, May 26, at 6:00 PM: Confronting Racial Injustice: Rising Asian American Voices, with Paul Lee, former partner at Goodwin, Proctor & Hoar; Phil Nash, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund; Representative Tram Nguyen, 18th Essex District; and moderated by Margaret Woo, Northeastern University School of Law. Pre-recorded remarks by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.
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Wednesday, June 1, at 6:00 PM: Public Faces, Secret Lives: A Queer History of the Women’s Suffrage Movement, with Wendy Rouse, San Jose State University. Monday, June 6, at 6:00 PM: Hidden in Plain Sight: Remembering Queer Nighlife, with Danny Harris, Elite’s Gay Club; Jackson Davidow, Tufts University; Georden West, Emerson College; and Indee Mitchell, artist and activist. Saturday, June 11, at 2:00 PM: Old Institutions, New Things, with Anthea Hartig, Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History; Louise Mirrer, New York Historical Society; and Catherine Allgor, MHS. Monday, June 13, at 6:00 PM: Only the Clothes on Her Back: Clothing & the Hidden History of Power in the Nineteenth-Century United States, with Laura F. Edwards, Princeton University. Tuesday, June 14, at 6:00 PM: The Imposter’s War: The Press, Propaganda, & the Newsman Who Battled for the Minds of America, with Mark Arsenault, The Boston Globe. Monday, June 20, at 6:00 PM: Reflecting on the Work of Robert Gross, with Robert Gross, University of Connecticut; John Brooke, Ohio State University; David Waldstreicher, City University of New York; and Christine Heyrman, University of Delaware. Wednesday, June 22, at 6:00 PM: Film Club: The Thomas Crowne Affair, with Peter Drummey, MHS. Wednesday, June 29, at 6:00 PM: Hidden in Plain Sight: Documenting Queer Stories in Archives, with Tripp Evans, Wheaton College; Heather White, Harvard Divinity School; and Jen Manion, Amherst College.
A LOOK AHEAD SPRING PROGRAMS
June
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