Stay engaged with the MHS this year! |
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“From here I went to the Polytechnic in Regent street to witness the entertainment there. It consists principally of dioptric effects produced by concentrating rays of light on a single object, which is thus made to appear out of a film or curtain. This has made much noise of late as it is called evoking ghosts. Two or three illustrations of stories of Dickens and Walter Scott were made. But the ghosts were such decided examples of flesh and blood as to make no illusion. All that could be said was that it was neatly done. I remember when a boy seeing the phantasmagoria which imposed on my imagination then far more.”
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In the Cornfield, the morning of Halloween, detail
Amateur artist Franklin B. Gardner drew this image of a Halloween morning in 1874. Halloween has been celebrated in various ways and continues to evolve, but here is an idyllic view of a New England morning in autumn with children frolicking in a cornfield, chasing each other and animals. In this drawing, Halloween is a joyous occasion, celebrating autumn.
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From 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM on Wednesday, 13 October, MHS archivists will take to our Twitter account to answer your questions. Remember to use the hashtag #AskAnArchivist. You can also submit questions beforehand by e-mailing communications@masshist.org.
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MHS’s online programs are held on the video conference platform Zoom. Registrants will receive an e-mail with a link to join the program.
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Developmental Disorder, Racial Dissolution: Racial Typologies of Developmental Normalcy in Early Child Medicine, 1830–1870
On Tuesday, 12 October, at 5:15 PM, Kelsey Henry, Yale University, presents Developmental Disorder, Racial Dissolution: Racial Typologies of Developmental Normalcy in Early Child Medicine, 1830–1870, with comment by Evelynn Hammonds, Harvard University, a History of Women, Gender & Sexuality Seminar.
This paper investigates “developmental asynchrony,” the mismatch between a sexually overdeveloped body and an underdeveloped mind, as a sign of racial degeneration fueled by sexual disorder in early child medicine. While developmental asynchrony was considered a hallmark characteristic of the Black race, similar developmental timing and patterning in white children inspired professional panic about developmental disorder and the dissolution of racial types. This paper proposes that medical theories of developmental normalcy and aberrancy are integral to telling stories about the co-constitution of race, gender, and sexuality and their conceptual and material entanglements in the antebellum U.S.
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Disability and the History of Medicine
On Wednesday, 13 October, at 5:30 PM, Deirdre Cooper Owens, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Jaipreet Virdi, University of Delaware; Michael Rembis, University at Buffalo, present Disability and the History of Medicine.
Medicine and technology impact the lived experiences of disabled people in many ways. Advances improve people’s lives, however many of these have come at the cost of invasive diagnostic technologies, the medicalization of human conditions, and endless quests for cures. Doctors have performed experiments on the poor and disempowered, especially enslaved Black and institutionalized people who had a limited public voice. Writing medical history must include disabled people and use their experiences as analytical lenses for understanding historical events. Taking inspiration from the disability rights movement and the interdisciplinary field of disability studies, our discussion will delve into what has been written as traditional medical history and how we can tell a more complete story.
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Her Socialist Smile: A Film Screening
On Saturday, 16 October, at 1:00 PM, John Gianvito, Emerson College; Carolyn Forché, Georgetown University, present Her Socialist Smile: A Film Screening, moderated by Megan Marshall, a Biography Seminar.
In his new film, John Gianvito, known for passion projects of expansive shape and political ambition, meditates on a particular moment in early 20th-century history in his new film: when Helen Keller began speaking out on behalf of progressive causes. Beginning in 1913, when, at age 32, Keller gave her first public talk before a general audience, Her Socialist Smile is constructed of onscreen text taken from Keller’s speeches, impressionistic images of nature, and newly recorded voiceover by poet Carolyn Forché. The film is a rousing reminder that Keller’s undaunted activism for labor rights, pacifism, and women’s suffrage was inseparable from her battles for the rights of the disabled. The film screening will be followed by a panel discussion and a reception.
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Disability in Early America
On Monday, 18 October, at 5:30 PM, Sari Altschuler, Northeastern University; Nicole Belolan, Rutgers University; Laurel Daen, University of Notre Dame, present Disability in Early America, moderated by Kanisorn Wongsrichanalai, MHS.
Our panel will explore how disability functioned in early America from personal, political, and cultural perspectives. What did disability mean in the early United States and how does it differ from our ideas about disability today? How did disability operate as a political and legal category in the colonial period, and how did it change in the early republic? What can material culture tell us about the lived experience of persons with disabilities in the era? This conversation will situate disability as a framework through which we can better understand the early lives of Americans and their often contested national and cultural identity.
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Announcing Our First Hybrid Event
We are thrilled to welcome guests back to 1154 Boylston Street for a hybrid—in person and virtual— event. Join us on Saturday, 23 October, at 3:00 PM, as Gordon Wood, Brown University, and Woody Holton, University of South Carolina, present The American Revolution from Two Perspectives: A Debate. The program will be moderated by Catherine Allgor, MHS. Please choose which option you prefer below.
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On Thursday, 28 October, at 5:15 PM, Vivian Delchamps, University of California, Los Angeles, presents "The Virus of Slavery and Injustice": Analogy and Disabled Life in African American Writings, 1856 – 1892, with comment by Sari Altschuler, Northeastern University, a Malgeri Modern American Society and Culture Seminar.
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Interested in Viewing Past Programs? |
If you missed a program or would like to revisit the material presented, please visit www.masshist.org/video or our YouTube channel. A selection of past programs is just a click away.
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Our Members are the heart of the MHS community and an integral part of the MHS story. Become a Member to help make possible the Society’s mission to promote the study of American history. Receive benefits including invitations to enhanced Member-only events; free or discounted admission to special programs; and access to publications such as our calendar of events, newsletter, and Annual Report.
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