Author Jacqueline Tobin reexamines the history of the Underground Railroad, looking at the extension of the Railroad into Canada and the escape of fugitive slaves into Canada. She also examines the life of ex-slaves as free people in Canada.
Video and audio versions are available.
Musicologist Steven Ledbetter talks about his research into Boston's music life between 1875 and 1925, focusing on individuals who are now buried in Boston's historic Mount Auburn Cemetery. His presentation includes some recorded performances of works by composers buried at Mount Auburn.
A downloadable mp3 version of this lecture is also available.
Boston Public Library president Bernard Margolis and Athenaeum librarian and program director Richard Wendorf discuss ownership of cultural property and the question of whether the Boston Athenaeum should have become the Boston Public Library. The presentation outlines the early history of the Athenaeum and the history of the debate over whether the institution should become a public library.
An mp3 version of the lecture is also available for download.
Author Zoe Trodd follows the history of protest literature in the United States, looking at its use in movements ranging from pre-Revolutionary War to the present day. The presentation also includes Adoyo Owuor reading the Emancipation Proclamation, Timothy Patrick McCarthy reading Eugene v. Debs Statement to the Court, John Stauffer displaying a collection of 20th-century protest photography, and Doric Wilson presenting excerpts from his play Street Theater.
An mp3 of the presentation may be downloaded.
Professor David Wilson introduces the life and times of Thomas D'Arcy McGee (1826-1868), an Irish-Canadian journalist, poet, politician, and critic of Irish republicanism. McGee lived in the United States from 1842 to 1845 and from 1848 to 1857.
A panel discusses the documentary television series American Experience: Eyes on the Prize, which uses contemporary interviews and historical footage to follow the civil rights movement from 1954 to 1985, following a preview screening. The discussion focuses on the creation of the series and what its creators hoped to achieve.
An mp3 of the discussion audio is available for download.
Author and professor Howard Zinn and professor James Green look at the Chicago Haymarket Riot of May 1886, in which a bomb killed several policeman at a Chicago labor rally, and the resulting trial and executions. They also discuss the history of the working class in the U.S. generally.
National Portrait Gallery curator Ellen Miles looks at painter Gilbert Stuart's 1796 portraits of George and Martha Washington, covering their creation by Stuart, Stuart's relationship with the presidential couple, and the impact and reception of the portraits since their creation. The presentation includes slides.
Audio and video options are available.
Professor Joyce E. Chaplin covers Benjamin Franklin's creation of one of the first accurate charts of the Atlantic Gulf Stream in 1768 and the history of scientific research in the British colonies, both by Franklin and other scientists, that allowed the creation of such a chart.
Curator and conservator Grant Romer talks about the formation and work of the Boston photography partners Albert Sands Southworth and Josiah Johnson Hawes and their studio on Tremont Row. Romer looks at the architecture of Tremont Row and how it impacted the work of the partners. His presentation includes slides.
Audio and video options are available.