A monument depicting Massasoit welcoming the Pilgrims was installed in Plymouth, MA in 1921 to mark the 300th anniversary of the landing of the English. Historian Jean O’Brien considers if the monument prompts us to reckon with the structural violence of settler colonialism, or further entrenches celebratory narratives of national origins.
This event is presented virtually in partnership with the Brownell Library.
Jean M. O’Brien (citizen, White Earth Ojibwe Nation) is Regents Professor, Distinguished McKnight University Professor, and Northrop Professor of History at the University of Minnesota. She is a co-founder and past president of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association. She has published seven books, mostly recently, Allotment Stories: Indigenous Land Relations Under Settler Siege (edited with Daniel Heath Justice, University of Minnesota Press, 2022). O’Brien is an elected member of the Society of American Historians and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
As the first woman governor for the State of Vermont, the ambassador to Switzerland for President Clinton, and the holder of other prestigious positions, Madeleine Kunin has inspired women and girls to discover their own voices as leaders. Governor Kunin speaks about her life in politics and read to us from her newest book of poetry, “Red Kite, Blue Sky.”
How do television cop shows shape our understanding of police, race, and crime in America? Focusing on the television series “The Wire,” Middlebury professor Jason Mittell challenges our understanding of this television genre in the era of the Black Lives Matter movement.
How did British housewives experience the Second World War and contribute to the war effort? Saint Michael’s history professor Dr. Jennifer Purcell tells the stories of seven housewives from across Britain.
Why did Vermont lawmakers resist women voting in the 19th and 20th centuries? Through the stories of three Vermont suffragists, Marilyn Blackwell outlines the shifting debate over women’s full citizenship in from the 1850s until 1920.
Since the dawn of human civilization, people have gazed into the heavens, trying to find meaning and connection to their lives. Monuments like Stonehenge and the Great Pyramid attest to the significance of the stars, which still offer important lessons for us today.
Inspired by the Mary Oliver poem, “Wild Geese,” Saint Michael’s College professor Adrie Kusserow wrote “Mary Oliver for Corona Times,” stating, You do not have to use this isolation to make your marriage better/your body slimmer, your children more creative. She discusses Oliver’s poem and explores ways in which the pandemic has sparked creative work.
Drawing from the Sheldon Museum collections, archivist Eva Garcelon-Hart presents the story of two extraordinary women, Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake, who were accepted in early 19th-century rural Vermont as a married couple.
Yiddish is imprinted in American English in terms like chutzpah, kosher, bagel, and schmooze. And the work of Sholem Aleichem, Anzia Yezierska, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Grace Paley, and Irving Howe shows the deep impact of Jewish immigration on the United States. Amherst College professor Ilan Stavans surveys the journey.
In the wake of the pandemic, libraries have had to both evaluate and rapidly respond to the changing world. Librarian Jessamyn West helps us to understand the role of the library in these unusual times.
UVM professor Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst describes religious literacy—knowing what religion is, how religions work, and who religious people might be—as a social justice issue. Morgenstein Fuerst explores who is allowed to be religiously illiterate, who has to be religiously literate, and how to learn more about religion.
Despite his reputation for madness, Vincent Van Gogh was a compassionate and faith-filled man. Art historian Carol Berry explains how Van Gogh depicted the sacredness of life in ways that touched and comforted people around the world.
UVM Pharmacology professor Dr. Karen Lounsbury reviews the history of cannabis and the medicinal products derived from it, as well as the benefits, risks, and the therapeutic potential of medical cannabis.
Our seasonal “Words in the Woods” program allows Vermonters and visitors to enjoy our state’s natural beauty while listening to and reading literature in the outdoors.
Humanities Camps are filled with reading and writing projects, field trips, and outdoor activities.
We won a 2020 Schwartz Prize for best public humanities programming in the U.S. for Vermont Reads 2019: “March: Book One.”
We supported the Chandler Center for the Arts’ Global Connections Youth Outreach program, which highlights artists from around the world.
Our free public events help bring the power of the humanities to communities across Vermont.
