This Week @ MHS

With only two events on the calendar, this will be a quiet week at the MHS but there is still plenty to see if you step in from the cold!

Join us at 12:00pm on Wednesday, 9 January, for a Brown Bag lunch. Greta LaFleur of the University of Hawai'i at Manoa will present "American Insides: Popular Narrative and the Historiography of Sexuality, 1675-1815." All of our Brown Bag discussions are free and open to the public so grab a snack and come on in!

On Saturday, 12 January, stop by for a tour of the MHS. "History and Collections of the MHS" is a 90-minute, docent-lead tour which explores all of the public spaces in the MHS, with comments on the art and architecture of the building. These tours are free and open to the public and depart the lobbby promptly at 10:00AM.

And along with these two events we currently have three exhibits on display. "In Death Lamented: the tradition of Anglo-American mourning jewelry" is our main feature and will only last until 31 January so come in soon! In addition, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Procalamation, we are happy to present "Forever Free: Lincoln & the Emancipation Proclamation" as well as "Lincoln in Manuscript & Artifact." Both of these exhibits will be available until May.

This Week @ MHS

As the holidays draw near, 2012 is winding down here at the MHS.  We have one last week jam packed with quality programs.  If you have not fulfilled last year's resolution of attending a program at the MHS, be sure to visit us this week. 

Tuesday, 11 December at 5:15 PM, the final Environmental History Seminar brings Brown University's Strother Roberts to the MHS to present "Changes in the Water: Early Modern Settler Society Impacts on the Connecticut River and Long Island Sound." This paper explores how the commodity production activities of early settlers impacted the land and waterscapes of New England's longest river. John T. Cumbler, University of Louisville, will provide the comment. Please email if you you would like to attend.

Wednesday, 12 December at 6:00 PM, Fellows and Members of the MHS are invited to celebrate the season with the Trustees and staff of the MHS at the Holiday Party.  All guests must register in advance.

Thursday, 13 December at 6:00 PM, a semester long collaboration with a class of undergraduate students at Boston University commences with "Making History: King Philip's War in Documents & Artifacts," with a presentation and exhibition put on by the students. A pre-talk reception begins at 5:30 PM.  Please RSVP if you plan to attend.    

Finally, there are two more building tours remaining this year.  Join us either Saturday, 15 December or Saturday, 22 December at 10:00 AM for "The History and Collections of the MHS." This 90-minute tour departs our front lobby and explores all the public space in the building. 

Our great programming resumes early in 2013.  Be sure to check back at the Beehive, or look ahead on our online calendar.

This Week @ MHS

The weather this week is predicted to be lovely!  Why not walk down to the MHS to attend a program.  We are offering two evening seminars, two afternoon public talks, and a morning tour -- so there is a bit of something for everyone! And all events this week are free and open to the public.

Tuesday, 4 December, at 5:15 catch the final Early American History Seminar of 2012. Alejandra Dubcovsky, Yale University, will present “ 'To know if it is true': Spies, Sentinels, and Prisoners of War in the South Carolina-Florida Borderland." This seminar paper, available to series subscribers prior to the event, describes how the Spanish created a new network of information that consisted of mobile and trusted informers in the colonial South. Seminars are free and open to the public. An RSVP is required.

Wednesday, 5 December at noon enjoy listening to MHS-NEH Long-term Fellow Kristen Collins, Boston University, discuss her research "Entitling Marriage: A History of Marriage, Public Money, and the Law." After a brief presentation Collins will entertain questions from the audience.  Bring a brown-bag lunch if you wish. Coffee & softdrinks are provided.

Thursday, 6 December brings the final History of Women and Gender Seminar of the year. Beginning at 5:30 PM, Premilla Nadasen, Queens College, presents "The Origins of the Domestic Worker Rights Movement." The seminar paper is part of a book-length project that follows four women and examines how and why they launched local campaigns for the rights of domestic workers. Ruth Milkman, City University of New York and Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Stud, will provide the comment.  An RSVP  is required. And remember to subscribe to received an advance copy of the seminar paper.

Friday, 7 December at 2:00 PM, the Society's own art curator, Anne Bentley, offers her gallery talk "A Family Remembers: The Cheever, Davis, & Shattuck Memorial Jewels." This hour-long talk allows guests to take an in-depth look at the half a dozen mourning jewels that George Cheever Shattuck gifted to the Society in 1971.  The jewels are part of our ongoing exhibition In Death Lamented: The Tradition of Anglo-American Mourning Jewlery.

And finally our Saturday tour "The History and Collections of the MHS" departs the front lobby promptly at 10:00 AM.  This 90-minute tour is free and open to the public. No reservation is required for individuals or small groups. Parties of 8 or more should contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or via email. 

This Week @ MHS

Bouncing back from the November holidays, we have a very busy week ahead at the MHS.

Tuesday, 27 November at 6:00 PM, Waite Rawls, Museum of the Confederacy, presents The Confederacy in History, Myth, & Memory.  A pre-event reception begins at 5:30 PM. Reservations are requested for this free event. To RSVP call 617-646-0560 or click here.

Immediately following the program, current and prospective associate members (age 40 and under) are invited to adjorn to The Hawthorne in Kenmore Square to continue the conversation at our first historical happy hour from 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM.  A separate reservation is required for this event and can be made by calling 617-646-0560 or clicking here.

Friday, 30 November, we close out the month with our signature fundraising event.  Tickets are still available for Cocktails with Clio.  The evening begins at 6:00 PM with an elegant cocktail buffet at the Society’s building, followed by a trip to the Harvard Club for dessert and a conversation with cultural critic, Harvard scholar, host of PBS series Finding Your Roots, and MHS Overseer Henry Louis Gates, Jr.  Tickets cost $200 per person. All net proceeds from the event will support the Society's outreach efforts. For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact Carol Knauff at cknauff@masshist.org or 617-646-0554.

Please note that in order to transform our building for the event, the library and exhibition galleries will close at 2:00 PM on Friday, 30 November.