The Wynds of History: 4/4/10

Friday, April 9, 2010

Lecture at the AAS in Worcester, Mass

The American Antiquarian Society has announced a lecture on Uncivil Discourse. Jim Leach (President of the NEH) and Jill Lepore (historian and author of several works including New York Burning) speaking together should be a *good* discussion. Highly recommended if you are within easy traveling distance of Worcester, Mass.

Also highly recommended is Annette Gordon-Reed's book The Hemings of Monticello (also mentioned in the article.)

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From the age of seven, when I first "met" Elizabeth Blackwell, my fascination with people and places has led me to ask questions - who were they? where did they live? what did they think? how did they feel? how was she different from me?

I read every biography about a woman my elementary school had to offer, searching for those answers. I wasn't satisfied with the books that started with what someone had accomplished - her "famous moment" so to speak. I loved one specific series that started with a heroine's childhood and told a narrative story about her entire life.

While I now look first to primary documents and objects for answers, I'm still asking questions. While I still search to place an individual within a specific context and deduce motivations, I also now search for answers on how to share that information with others, in ways that spark spark imaginations and trigger more questions. I am simultaneously committed to preserving the stories, objects, and locations that give me and others a tangible, direct link to the lives we study.