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July & August 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.
Boston Historical Reception Wendy Rouse, San Jose University
There is no “Boston Historical Society,” but the metro area does have a wealth of history organizations. Boston and surrounding towns are steeped in local history and the inhabitants are proud of their local identity. Following a brief pause during the pandemic, the MHS is pleased to hold the sixth annual reception for history buffs and representatives of local organizations to mingle, share recent accomplishments, and talk about the great projects on which they are working. This is an in-person event. Reception begins at 5:30 PM.
To reserve: Please register at www.masshist.org/events.
JULY 9 SATURDAY | 12:00-4:30 | SPECIAL EVENT
Fenway Porchfest
Join us outside the MHS for 3 musical acts at Fenway Porchfest! Porchfest is an afternoon of free music performed outside of people’s homes and in public spaces. A collaborative partnership among: Fenway Community Development Organization, Fenway Civic Association, and the Fenway Alliance, Fenway Porchfest has a variety of sites and provides a great reach of music. Learn more at www.fenwayporchfest.org. This event will take place outside near the front doors of the MHS.
JULY 7 THURSDAY | 6:30 | IN-PERSON EVENT
JULY 13 WEDNESDAY | 6:00 | HYBRID PROGRAM The Politics of Massachusetts Exceptionalism Erin O’Brien, University of Massachusetts, and Jerold Duquette, Central Connecticut University
Alternately described as a “city upon a hill” and “an organized system of hatreds,” Massachusetts politics has indisputably exerted an outsized pull on the national stage. The Commonwealth’s leaders often argue for the state’s distinct position within the union, citing its proud abolitionist history and its status as a policy leader on health care, gay marriage, and transgender rights, not to mention its fertile soil for budding national politicians. Detractors point to the state’s busing crisis, sky-high levels of economic inequality, and mixed support for undocumented immigrants. The Politics of Massachusetts Exceptionalism tackles these tensions, offering a collection of essays from public policy experts that address the state’s noteworthy contributions to the nation’s political history. This is a hybrid event. The in-person reception begins at 5:30 PM.
To reserve: Please register at www.masshist.org/events.
JULY 14 TO 16 THURSDAY-SATURDAY | CONFERENCE
In recent decades, scholars have unearthed and revived stories of a diverse and wide-ranging cast of characters who lived through America’s political formation. This much-needed corrective has unraveled a traditional narrative of wealthy, white- male revolutionaries rebelling against a white, male-dominated imperial government. The lead up to the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence offers an opportunity to highlight and share the latest scholarship on the topic of underrepresented voices of the American Revolution whether that be from the perspective of Native Americans, women, African Americans, loyalists, ethnic and religious minorities, children, or neutrals in a global war that put the question of representation at its core. This conference will bring together scholars to explore the broad themes associated with historic individuals or groups not traditionally considered in discussing the American Revolutionary era.
To reserve: Please register at www.masshist.org/research/conferences.
July 14 to 16, 2022
THURSDAY, JULY 14 | 3:00 pm to 6:45 pm
Location: MHS, 1154 Boylston Street, Boston
Registration is required. No fee.
3:00 pm Panel 1: Underrepresented Voices in the Archives 4:15 pm Reception 5:30 pm Keynote Panel: Underrepresented Voices of the American Revolution
FRIDAY, JULY 15 | 9:00 am to 4:30 pm
Location: Suffolk University, Sargent Hall
There is a $30 per person fee.
9:00 am Panel 1: New Perspectives on Loyalism Panel 2: The Non-Human Revolution 10:30 am Panel 3: Gendered Loyalists Panel 4: Imperial Borderlands 1:30 pm Panel 5: Southern Revolutionary Worlds Panel 6: Claiming Exodus: Jews, Black Protestants & Revolutionary Freedom 3:00 pm Panel 7: Indian Sovereignty & the Revolution Panel 8: Reconsidering Revolutionary New England
SATURDAY, JULY 16 | 9:00 am to 4:30 pm
Location: MHS, 1154 Boylston Street, Boston
There is a $30 per person fee (includes access to Day 1 and Day 2).
9:00 am Teacher Workshop: Examining 18th-Century Understandings of Citizenship, Freedom & Representation through the Life and Legacy of Prince Hall
MHS Film Club: Between the Lines Ned Hinkle and Ivy Moylan, Brattle Film Foundation
Join Ned Hinkle and Ivy Moylan from the Brattle Theatre as we discuss 1977’s Between the Lines, starring John Heard, Lindsay Crouse, and Jeff Goldblum. The movie follows an underground newspaper in Boston on the verge of corporate takeover. Watch the film at home and discuss your thoughts with us! Between the Lines is available through Tubi, Kanopy, Amazon Prime, YouTube, and other streaming sites. This is an online event.
To reserve: Please register at www.masshist.org/events.
JULY 20 WEDNESDAY | 6:00 | HYBRID PROGRAM
Trading Freedom: How Trade with China Defined Early America Dael Norwood, University of Delaware
Dael Norwood details US trade with China from the late 18th through the 19th centuries—a critical period in America’s selfdefinition as a capitalist nation—and shows how global commerce was central to the articulation of that national identity. Trading Freedom illuminates how debates over political economy and trade policy, the building of the transcontinental railroad, and the looming sectional struggle over slavery were all influenced by Sino American relations. Deftly weaving together interdisciplinary threads from the worlds of commerce, foreign policy, and immigration, Trading Freedom thoroughly dismantles the idea that American engagement with China is anything new. This is a hybrid event. The in-person reception will begin at 5:30 PM.
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.
Trains, Planes & Automobiles: Boston Transit Trivia Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library
Join the Leventhal Map and Education Center with the Massachusetts Historical Society for a trivia night on Boston’s transit history. Trivia rounds will feature a geographic scavenger hunt using Atlascope, knowledge about the city’s rails, routes, streets, stations, and more. Prizes of maps will be awarded to winning teams! This is an in-person event at the Newsfeed Café at the Central Library in Copley Square.
To reserve: Registration is encouraged. More information at www.masshist.org/events.
AUGUST 3 WEDNESDAY | 6:00 | HYBRID PROGRAM Shores of Bohemia John Taylor Williams
Their names are iconic: Eugene O’Neill, Willem de Kooning, Josef and Annie Albers, Emma Goldman, Mary McCarthy, Edward Hopper, Walter Gropius—and the list goes on and on. Scorning the devastation that industrialization had wrought on the nation’s economy and culture in the early decades of the 20th century, these artists gathered in the streets of Greenwich Village and on the beachfronts of Cape Cod. They began as progressives but soon turned to socialism, then communism. They founded theaters, periodicals, and art schools. The Shores of Bohemia records a great set of shifts in American culture, of ideas and arguments fueled by drink, infidelity, and competition that made for a 50-year conversation among intellectual leaders and creative revolutionaries—those who found a community as they created some of the great works of the American century. 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.
