By Elaine Grublin

Mark your calendars and plan to attend one of our events offered this week: 

Tuesday, 18 January, at 12:00 PM the lunch hour mini-course series What does Massachusetts have to do with … continues with What does Massachusetts have to do with … the French Revolution?  presented by Sara Martin and Sara Sikes, members of the Adams Papers Staff at the MHS. THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED.  CHECK OUR EVENTS CALENDAR FOR NEW DATE WHEN ANNOUNCED. 

Saturday, 22 January, at 10:00 AM join us for our Saturday building tour The History and Collections of the MHS.  This is a regularly scheduled tour, so if you cannot make it this week, plan for a future Saturday visit.

Please note that on Wednesday, 19 January, the library will be closing at 4:00 PM. 

By Elaine Grublin

Please join us at this week’s event:

Tuesday, 11 January at 5:15 PM the Boston Environmental History Seminar series continues with “City as Change: Design and Science Collaborations for Sustainable Urban Life,” a talk presented by Ninian Stein of Wheaton College, Philip Loheed of Boston Architectural College, and Sarah Howard-McHugh of Tufts University. The comment will be given by Joan Fitzgerald of Northeastern University. You can find more information about the seminar series here.

And remember that our current exhibition “Josiah Quincy: A Lost Hero of the Revolution” is open Monday through Saturday 1:00 PM through 4:00 PM.  This exhibition is open through the 22nd of January.

By Elaine Grublin and Carol Knauff

Happy New Year! We hope you’ll join us on Wednesday, 5 January at 12 noon for a brown bag lunch. Alexander Kluger of Universitat Wurzburg will discuss his ideas and research concerning the topic What Is “Influence”? German Literature and American Transcendentalism. For more information, click here.

By Jeremy Dibbell

– We hope you’ll join us for the second of our of mini-courses, “What does Massachusetts have to do with …?”, on Tuesday, 14 December at 12 noon. Jayne Gordon and Kathleen Barker of the Education Department will discuss “What does Massachusetts have to do with … the California Gold Rush?” The cost for these courses (which includes lunch) is $20 for non-members, $10 for members. Space is limited and reservations are required; you can register online here or call 617-646-0519 to reserve a space. Watch this space for information on upcoming mini-course dates and topics.

– And we’ll have the last two seminars of 2010 this week:

On Tuesday, 14 December at 5:15 p.m. the Boston Environmental History Seminar continues with a talk by Steve Moga of MIT, “Flattening the City: Zoning, Topography, and Nature in the American City.” Karl Haglund of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation will give the comment.

On Thursday, 16 December at 5:15 p.m., the Boston Seminar on the History of Women and Gender series continues with a talk by Molly Geidel of Boston University, “Breaking the Bonds? Domesticity, Decolonization, and the Peace Corps Girls in the 1960s.” Alexander Bloom of Wheaton College will give the comment.

Please read the Seminar Series 2010 post for informaton on attending MHS seminars.

By Jeremy Dibbell

We’ll hope you’ll join us this week for our last evening program of 2010: on Tuesday, 7 December we’ll host a conversation with Rebecca Eaton, executive producer of PBS Masterpiece for WGBH in Boston, as part of our “Creating the Past” conversation series. Refreshments will be served at 5:30 p.m., with the conversation beginning at 6 p.m. Registration for this event is required; more info here.

And on Thursday, 9 December the Boston Early American History Seminar series continues with a paper by Sharon Ann Murphy of Providence College, “Banking on the Public’s Trust: The Image of Commercial Banks in Pennsylvania around the Panic of 1819.” Bruce Mann of Harvard Law School will give the comment. The seminar will begin at 5:15 p.m. Please read the Seminar Series 2010 post for information on attending MHS seminars.

By Jeremy Dibbell

– We hope you’ll join us for the first of a new series of mini-courses, “What does Massachusetts have to do with …?”, which kicks off tomorrow, Tuesday, 16 November at 12 noon. For the opening course Librarian Peter Drummey and Curator of Art Anne Bentley will discuss “What does Massachusetts have to do with … THOMAS JEFFERSON?” The cost for these courses (which includes lunch) is $20 for non-members, $10 for members. Space is limited and reservations are required; you can register online here or call 617-646-0519 to reserve a space. Watch this space for information on upcoming mini-course dates and topics.

– On Thursday, 18 November at 5:15 p.m., the Boston Immigration and Urban History Seminar series continues with a talk by Yael Schacher of Harvard University, “Discrimination, Persecution, and Alien Seamen in U.S. Ports, 1930s to 1960s.” Vivek Bald of MIT will give the comment. Please read the Seminar Series 2010 post for informaton on attending MHS seminars.

By Jeremy Dibbell

– We hope you’ll join us tonight, Monday, 8 November, for a talk by Nick Bunker, “The Mayflower Compact: Where It Came From and What It Meant.” This even is co-sponsored by the British Consulate-General in Boston and Plimouth Plantation. A reception will begin at 5:30 p.m., with the talk at 6 p.m. Reservations for this event are requested; more info here.

– On Tuesday, 9 November, at 5:15 p.m., the Boston Environmental History Seminar series continues with a paper by Richard Judd of the University of Maine at Orono: “Rethinking Environmental History: The View from New England.” Wyatt Oswald of Emerson College will give the comment. Please read the Seminar Series 2010 post for information on MHS Seminars.

By Jeremy Dibbell

Please join us tonight, Monday, 1 November at Brookline Booksmith in Coolidge Corner for an author talk with Joseph Ellis on his new book First Family: Abigail and John Adams. The event will begin at 6 p.m., with seating opening at 5:30 p.m. Please note: this event is now being held at the Booksmith, not at the Coolidge Corner Theatre as originally announced.

On Wednesday, 3 November we’ll have a brown-bag lunch at 12 noon with Peter Wirzbicki of Adelphi University. Peter will talk about his research project, “The Adelphic Union: The Creation of a Black Intellectual Community in Antebellum Boston.”

Our Cocktails with Clio event will be held on Thursday, 4 November beginning with a cocktail reception at MHS at 6 p.m. Registration is required for this event; information here. Please note that due to setup for the evening event, the library will be closing at 3:30 p.m.

By Jeremy Dibbell

– We hope you’ll join us on Wednesday, 27 October for an author talk with Pauline Maier about her new book Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788. The reception will begin at 5:30 p.m., with the talk getting underway at 6 p.m. Registration for this event is required; more info here. [Personal note: I’m reading Ratification now, and am finding it absolutely excellent].

– On Thursday, 28 October, the Boston Immigration and Urban History Seminar series continues with a paper by Michael Ebner of Lake Forest College: “Motives, Interests, and Mapmakers: Storylines about the Drawing of Boundaries in Metropolitan America.” Sam Bass Warner of MIT will give the comment. Please read the Seminar Series 2010 post for information on MHS Seminars.

By Jeremy Dibbell

On Wednesday, 20 October Members and Fellows of the Society are invited to a reception marking the opening of our fall exhibit, “Josiah Quincy: A Lost Hero of the Revolution.” The reception will begin at 6 p.m., with a presentation by Daniel R. Coquillette of Boston College Law School at 7 p.m. The exhibit will showcase manuscripts at the Society related to the final two volumes of Portrait of a Patriot: the Major Political and Legal Papers of Josiah Quincy Junior, the first modern edition of his writings, recently published by the Colonial Society of Massachusetts. The materials on display appear in the context of the Society’s enormous archive of Quincy family papers, letters, diaries, drawings, artifacts, and paintings that document eight generations of this extraordinary family. Registration is required for this event; information here.

On Thursday, 21 October we’ll host an author talk with Eric Jaffe on his book The King’s Best Highway: The Lost History of the Boston Post Road, the Route that Made America, as part of our “On the Move” lecture series. The lecture will begin at 6 p.m., with refreshments served at 5:30 p.m. An RSVP is required; information here.