American Inspiration Author Event Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar with Still Mad: American Women Writers and Feminist Imagination Live Broadcast: Thursday, September 2; 6:00–7:00 PM (EDT) In partnership with Boston Public Library, Porter Square Books, and GBH Forum Network Cost: FREE
Forty years after their first groundbreaking work of feminist literary theory, TheMadwoman in the Attic, these award-winning collaborators map the literary history of feminism’s second wave. From its stirrings in the midcentury—when Sylvia Plath, Betty Friedan, and Joan Didion found their voices and Diane di Prima, Lorraine Hansberry, and Audre Lorde discovered community in rebellion—to a resurgence in the new millennium in the writings, Susan M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar trace the evolution of feminist literature. Still Mad is their remarkable account of the contemporary women’s movement told through the lives and works of the literary women who shaped it.
Webinar Lucy Adlington with The Dressmakers of Auschwitz: The True Story of the Women Who Sewed to Survive
Live Broadcast: Tuesday, September 14; 6:00–7:00 PM (EDT) Presented by Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center at NEHGS and the Boston Public Library Cost: FREE
At the height of the Holocaust, twenty-three young inmates of the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp—mainly Jewish women and girls—were selected to design, cut, and sew clothes for elite Nazi women in a dedicated fashion workshop. This workshop—called the Upper Tailoring Studio—was established by Hedwig Höss, the camp commandant’s wife, and patronized by the wives of SS guards and officers. The women hoped that the work of producing high-quality garments for SS social functions in Auschwitz and for the women of Nazi Berlin’s upper crust would spare them from the gas chambers.
Haunting and inspirational, The Dressmakers of Auschwitz memorializes the powerful and little-known tale of these seamstresses and the way they interacted with both prisoners and Nazis in the camp.
Online Course Building Genealogical Skills Live broadcasts: Tuesdays, September 14, 21, and 28; 6:00–7:30 PM (EDT) Presented by Ann Lawthers Cost: $85
Take your research skills to the next level! With the sheer number of online resources at your fingertips, it's easy to dive into your family history research without any formal training as a genealogist. Certainly, you'll learn along the way, and devise your own methods, but it's also easy to become overwhelmed and form bad habits. Whether you are new to genealogy, want to refresh your skills, or learn best practices, this course will set you on the right path to getting the most out of your family history research. Topics include: how to record your findings, strategies for analyzing records, online research, and more.
Online Course Using Probate Records in Your Family History Research Live broadcasts: Wednesdays, September 15, 22, and 29; 6:00–7:30 PM (EDT) Presented by Katrina Fahy, David Allen Lambert, and Melanie McComb Cost: $65
Probate records are crucial—but sometimes overlooked—sources for family historians. Hiding in these legal documents may be full family groups, immediate and extended family connections, origins, and even maiden names. These sources may also be used as vital record substitutes and provide a glimpse into your ancestor’s property and worldly possessions. This three-week online course will provide an in-depth tutorial on how to understand, locate, and leverage wills, inventories, guardianships, and other probate records in your family history research.
Webinar Researching New England Planters to Nova Scotia Live Broadcast: Thursday, September 16; 3:00–4:00 PM (EDT) Presented by Sheilagh Doerfler Cost: FREE
Following the Acadian Expulsion from Nova Scotia, an estimated 2,000 families from New England settled Nova Scotia (and parts of what is today New Brunswick) between 1759 and 1768. Largely farmers and fishermen, these Planters marked the first large-scale migration of English-speaking settlers to Canada who had not come directly from England. This webinar will discuss the historical context of the migration and point you to several published and primary resources that can help you trace your New England Planter roots.
Webinar The Great Houses and Gardens of Ireland Live Broadcast: Friday, September 17; 4:00–5:15 PM (EDT) Presented by Curt DiCamillo Cost: FREE
Experience some of the most breathtaking places in Ireland this September! In this webinar—part travelogue, part virtual tour—architectural historian Curt DiCamillo takes us on a luscious, image-rich journey that showcases the 2019 American Ancestors Heritage Tour to Leinster and Munster. Just some of the highlights will be visits to Kilfane Glen, a magical 18th-century, romantic-era garden; Tourin, home of the famous Jameson Irish whiskey family; Altamont Gardens, the jewel in Ireland’s gardening crown; Curraghmore, the ancestral home of the marquesses of Waterford; Castletown, Ireland’s largest and most architecturally influential 18th-century house; and Martinstown House, a Strawberry Hill Gothic Style cottage orné.
American Inspiration Author Event Nathaniel Philbrick with Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy Live Broadcast: Thursday, September 23; 6:00–7:00 PM (EDT) Moderator: Ryan J. Woods In partnership with Boston Public Library, Porter Square Books, and GBH Forum Network Cost: FREE
In the fall of 1789, Washington, only six months into his presidency, set out on the first of four road trips as he attempted to unite what were in essence thirteen independent states into a single nation. In the fall of 2018, Philbrick, his wife Melissa, and their dog Dora set out on their own series of road trips as they retraced Washington’s route. At historic houses and landmarks from Savannah, Georgia, to Kittery Point, Maine, Philbrick met reenactors, tour guides, and other keepers of history’s flame. Travels with George paints a picture of eighteenth-century America and shows how Washington’s all-consuming belief in the Union helped to forge a nation.
American Inspiration Author Event Writing History: An Extended Q&A with Nathaniel Philbrick Live Broadcast: Thursday, September 23; 7:30–8:15 PM (EDT)
Moderators: Ryan J. Woods with Catherine Allgor, President of the Massachusetts Historical Society In partnership with Massachusetts Historical Society and Porter Square Books Cost: $50, includes copy of signed and personalized book
Following his public book talk (separate registration required), Nathaniel Philbrick will engage in further conversation and Q&A. He’ll answer your questions about his inspirations, research, and process behind writing Travels with George and his other works of American history. Moderator Ryan J. Woods will be joined by Catherine Allgor, President of the Massachusetts Historical Society, to facilitate this special Zoom meeting.
