Musician Bob Marley holding a guitar and pointing skyward during a concert.
Live Event

Rebel Music: Afro-Caribbean Music and Political Thought

Middlebury College professor Kemi Fuentes-George traces the development of pan-African political theory in the early 20th century and discusses how Afro Caribbean “rebel music” helped these ideas challenge established assumptions about nonwhite people and global relations. 

An animal-decorated youth wheelchair sits on a beach at low tide
Digital Event

A History of Disability

Disability, as part of the human condition, has always been with us. But considering disability to be negative is a new concept, shaped by recent history. Professor of philosophy, author, and disability activist Patrick Standen unravels the complicated, fascinating, and controversial history of the concept of disability.

Black and white cartoon drawing of a farmer in rubber boots with cows in a Vermont barn yard
Live Event

The Most Costly Journey Community Book Discussion

Come join in an interesting and informative community book discussion of The Most Costly Journey, a Vermont Reads book drawn by New England cartoonists.

Workers sitting outside a Hannaford's Supermarket with signs about Migrant Justice
Live Event

An Interactive Speaking Event with Migrant Justice on Action for the Migrant Population

In this interactive speaking event Vermont’s leading non-profit group fighting for farmworkers rights, Migrant Justice, will discuss the Milk With Dignity campaign. Migrant Justice will be giving an informational talk about the campaign while providing attendees functional tools and call to actions for supporting the rights of Vermont’s migrant farmworker population.

Workers sitting outside a Hannaford's Supermarket with signs about Migrant Justice
Live Event

The Most Costly Journey Book Read + Migrant Justice’s “Milk with Dignity Campaign”

Voices of Inclusion in Essex and Westford (VIEW), Migrant Justice, Phoenix Books, and Essex Free Library present this opportunity to gather in community and discuss The Most Costly Journey. We will discuss the book and receive a presentation from members of Migrant Justice as part of their Milk with Dignity Campaign to learn more about the rampant abuses that workers face on dairy farms and the powerful organizing they are doing to improve conditions and protect their rights.

Image of Jesse
Live Event

Finding Jesse: A Fugitive from Slavery in Vermont

“Finding Jesse: A Fugitive from Slavery in Vermont” traces Jesse’s life from enslavement in North Carolina to freedom in Vermont. His story is told through letters in the collection at Rokeby Museum and documents at the North Carolina State Archives. The illustrated talk brings the narrative of one slave out of anonymity and explores his life and pursuit of freedom.

Fast food worker with fried chicken on shelves
Live Event

We Are All Fast Food Workers Now

Labor historian Annelise Orleck provides a close look at globalization and its costs from the perspective of low-wage workers themselves—berry pickers, fast food servers, garment workers, cashiers, hotel housekeepers, home health care aides, and even adjunct professors—who are fighting for respect, safety, and a living wage.

River in Yosemite National Park
Live Event

Civil War, Emancipation, Reconstruction and America’s National Parks

Central Park and Yosemite Valley became public parks during the tumultuous years before and during the Civil War. UVM historian and former National Park Service superintendent Rolf Diamant explains how anti-slavery activism, war, and the remaking of the federal government gave rise to the American public park and the very concept of national parks.

A vintage cycling magazine ad in sepia
Live Event

When the Bicycle Came to Vermont

UVM professor Luis Vivanco explores the fascinating early history of the bicycle in Vermont, an invention that generated widespread curiosity when it arrived here in the 1880s. Over the next decade, enthusiasm exploded statewide as bicycles became safer, women took to the wheel, roads improved, and retailers developed novel advertising techniques to draw in buyers.

Young woman in green jacket pointing in the woods while holding binoculars
Live Event

Birding Her-story: The Lost Legacy of Women in Ornithology

“Bird Diva” Bridget Butler believes that there’s a bit of bias in the birding world when it comes to females. In this presentation, she examines new scientific studies on female birds, shares stories of the “Mothers of Ornithology,” and reflects on current research about gender and birding.

a protester holds a rainblow flag that says we the people on a NYC street
Live Event

Dare Not Speak: Autocrats and the Campaign to Silence LGBTQI+ Communities

Michael Bosia, a leading scholar on global trans- and homophobia, argues that manufactured “LGBTQI+ peril” helps obscure growing social inequality and the policy failures of politicians who have turned their backs on democratic accountability. In this talk, Bosia focuses on laws and rhetoric that target LGBTQI+ youth, teachers, and allies as part of a global anti-democratic effort.

image of the city of Berlin drawn by Jason Lutes
Live Event

Building Berlin: the Genesis of a Graphic Novel

The graphic novel Berlin by Jason Lutes depicts life during the rise of fascism in post-WWI Germany. Lutes discusses his development as a cartoonist—with inspiration from William Faulkner to Dungeons & Dragons, Wim Wenders to Star Wars—that culminated in the creation of a book The Guardian called “a modern classic.”

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