These Speakers Bureau events are hosted by non-profits across Vermont. All are open to the public. Vermont organizations can book talks through our Speakers Bureau catalog, which offers thought-provoking presentations by scholars on diverse humanities topics.
Upcoming Speakers Bureau Events
Live Event
February 8
Finding Jesse: A Fugitive from Slavery in Vermont
7:00pm | Shelburne Town Hall
“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.
The Most Costly Journey: Latin American Migrant Workers, Health Care, and Collaborative Non-Fiction Comics
6:00pm | Warren Public Library
In this presentation, Andy Kolovos from the Vermont Folklife Center and Julia Grand Doucet from the Open Door Clinic provide an overview of the goals of the El Viaje Más Caro Project.
Join award-winning cartoonist and educator Marek Bennett as he presents some of the many comics documenting human migrations and struggles throughout the ages, and lead a hands-on demo to show how YOU can cartoon the stories of your own family, neighborhood, and wider world.
This presentation examines the many meanings of maple sugaring. Maple is enormously important to Vermont’s economy, ecology, and heritage. Champlain College professor Michael Lange will discuss sugaring ethnographically, based on over five years of research among sugarmakers all over the state, to learn from them what sugaring really means to Vermont.
The Stono Rebellion has been called the most important slave revolt in North American history. In this lecture, Damian Costello examines the events and the deep African roots of the 1739 uprising in South Carolina. Costello will also trace the sangamento tradition in the U.S. and throughout the Americas, and discuss how the Kongolese message of liberty can inform present-day efforts to overcome the lingering effects of our colonial inheritance.
From the Parlor to the Polling Place: Stories and Songs from the Suffragists
2:00pm | Montpelier Senior Activity Center
Singer and historian Linda Radtke, in period garb and a “Votes for Women” sash, celebrates the centennial of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which gave the right to vote to white women.
From the Parlor to the Polling Place: Stories and Songs from the Suffragists
2:00pm | Manchester Community Library
Singer and historian Linda Radtke, in period garb and a “Votes for Women” sash, celebrates the centennial of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which gave the right to vote to white women.
This presentation examines the many meanings of maple sugaring. Maple is enormously important to Vermont’s economy, ecology, and heritage. Champlain College professor Michael Lange will discuss sugaring ethnographically, based on over five years of research among sugarmakers all over the state, to learn from them what sugaring really means to Vermont.
2:00pm | Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Bennington
The First Amendment prevents Congress from passing any laws that abridge the freedom of speech. But what does that actually mean? Professor Meg Mott considers the history of speech laws in the United States, how states and municipalities have tried to curb offensive speech, and how the Supreme Court has ruled on those efforts.
Through Whitman’s poetry and letters, actor Stephen Collins helps us experience the poet’s growth into a mature artist who is at peace about “himself, God and death.”
“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.