Past Events

Art provides a powerful expression for resistance both in word and image, and Peter Sacks uses both to great effect in his latest works. Sacks, an expatriate of South Africa is currently presenting his first solo museum exhibition at the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University. “RESISTANCE” is a collection of 88 portraits of individuals who have resisted political, racial or cultural oppression over the past two centuries ranging from Frederick Douglass, Rachel Carson and Nelson Mandela to Emmeline Pankhurst, Sitting Bull and Volodymyr Zelensky. Sacks, who began as a poet and still teaches at Harvard University produced all the portraits in the past two years, a prolific output for someone who did not pick up a paintbrush until he was 48 years of age. Drawing from his anti-apartheid activism and multicultural experiences, Sacks creates an inspiring cast of writers, artists, philosophers and activists from around the world, who all resisted oppression in various ways. Each portrait consists of a face embedded in a tactile composition of fabric, paint, personal items and text. The exhibit is immersive; alongside the visuals, there is an audio collage of voices of numerous contemporary literary, social, political and cultural figures. “Many of these figures have inspired me over a lifetime, in ways at once intimate and public. Many of the portrayed individuals became each other’s powerful guides and sources of courage. I hope they will do the same for viewers and conjure a community among them.” Peter Sacks: Resistance pays tribute to generations of resisters using the power of art to transmit their legacies to future generations. This is a collaboration with the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis Museum. The Rose Art Museum exhibit runs until December 30, 2022 and admission is free.

The JWST, launched far from Earth in December 2021, is the most sophisticated telescope ever created. It will reveal stars, galaxies and other objects in the very early universe. Scientists are still amazed that such a complex project –25 years in the making– succeeded. Astronomer Silas Laycock describes the technical achievement and the incredible images the telescope has produced so far. The JWST reveals features of the early universe, the birth and death of galaxies, planets that may support life, and much more.

As part of the U.S. pivot to Asia, the United States has been in dialogue with Japan, Australia, and India in an effort to contain China. This strengthening of ties, known as the Quad alliance, comes at a time when the relationship between the U.S. and China is becoming increasingly more fraught, particularly in light of recent events, such as joint naval exercises in the South Pacific by Quad countries, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's recent trip to Taiwan. Given these complex factors, how effective will the actions of the Quad alliance be in countering China? Join us for this installation of our Great Decisions series, when we host Kevin Rudd, President of the Asia Society and former Primer Minister of Australia.

Through time, clothing has defined us: everyday garments have transformed our lives, our societies, and our planet; our fancier dress and new fashions have conveyed meaning and conferred status. Now, two new captivating social histories convey the essence and aspiration of our clothing, past and present. Worn provides a sweeping history of garments and the stuff they are of made – Linen, Cotton, Silk, Synthetics, Wool. Skirts traces the shifting roles of women over the twentieth century through the era’s most iconic and influential dresses. If ever you’ve wondered about the origins of Little Black Dress or the ancestral and ethical methods for making what we wear, you will enjoy hearing from authors Sofi Thanhauser and Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell, their illustrated presentations and dialogue with fashion and textiles curator Petra Slinkard. Dr. Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell is an award-winning fashion historian and curator. She is the author of Fashion Victims: Dress at the Court of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette; Worn on This Day: The Clothes That Made History; The Way We Wed; and Red, White, and Blue on the Runway. Her writing has appeared in, among other publications, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Politico; and she has appeared on NPR and the Biography Channel. Sofi Thanhauser teaches in the writing department at Pratt Institute. She has received fellowships from the Fulbright Program, MacDowell, and Ucross Foundation. Her writing has appeared in Vox. Her writing has appeared in Vox, The Guardian, and other publications. Petra Slinkard is the Director of Curatorial Affairs and The Nancy B. Putnam Curator of Fashion and Textiles at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA. She oversees the museum’s Fashion and Design gallery and most recently served as the coordinating curator for the exhibition Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love, which opened June 25, 2022.

Local journalism is in crisis. Community newspapers are folding and those that remain struggle to devote resources to reporting on local issues. Meanwhile political polarization is growing and local issues are increasingly viewed through the lens of national politics and partisanship. This year’s Masterman Speaker Series will examine the relationship between the decline of local news and the rise of polarization, as well as the effect this decline has had on government accountability and democracy more generally. The discussion will also consider models for strengthening and reimagining local journalism in the years ahead. With : * Joshua P. Darr, associate professor of political communication in the Manship School of Mass Communication and Department of Political Science at Louisiana State University * Renée Loth, opinion columnist for The Boston Globe * Charles St. Amand, Vice-President of the New England Society of News Editors’ Board of Governors * Dan Kennedy, Professor in the School of Journalism at Northeastern University (moderator) ### About the Masterman Speaker Series Some of the most polarizing and provocative issues of our time involve matters rooted in the First Amendment. Edward I. Masterman, JD ‘50, LLD ‘90 and his wife Sydell, established the Masterman Speaker Series on the First Amendment and the Fourth Estate to provide a forum for robust debate and exchange of ideas on freedom of the press and its attendant responsibilities. The Speaker Series brings together representatives from government, the legal profession, and the press for the purposes of informing, educating, and engaging those who care deeply about these issues.

Revolutionary Spaces, GBH News, GBH Forum Network, and Suffolk University are coming together to present an exciting panel discussion on what it takes to motivate young people to vote in contemporary America. Moderated by GBH News correspondent Peter Kadzis, this special afternoon program will feature a subject matter policy expert, a voting rights advocate, a political campaign strategist, and a minority youth activist group representative. With audience participation, the panel will take on issues relating to political persuasion, mobilization, and the power of generational change. Among the enduring questions to be addressed are: how is my voice heard; who speaks for me; and what is my recourse if I am silenced or marginalized. The program will thus aim to explore the who, what, where, when, how, and why of voting among young people in America today.

The Leventhal Map and Education Center hosts a panel of invited guests for a roundtable discussion on narratives of environmental justice. The roundtable will discuss how investigating historical and present-day patterns of urban inequality, and documenting these patterns through narrative and visual works, bring an important perspective to bear on efforts for climate justice organizing.

Thomas Paine’s call to revolution reverberated throughout the Atlantic world in 1776. Intended to rally more than America’s founding fathers, the entreaty was carried to the Netherlands where Patriot militias rose up in 1787 to reclaim their rights, was echoed in the French Declaration of the Rights of Man, ignited insurrections against slavery throughout the Caribbean, and emboldened Black Loyalist settlers in Sierra Leone to claim their right to property and self-government. This lecture will explore how these reverberations of American claims to their revolutionary rights influence our understanding of liberty and equality from the eighteenth century to the present. Watch live [on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/events/842536866924047/) or return here for the published archival video.

The Jonathan Samen Hot Buttons, Cool Conversations Discussion Series gets off to an exciting start. Michael Twitty is the James Beard award-winning author and culinary historian of The Cooking Gene and the recently released Koshersoul: The Faith & Food Identity of an African American Jew. He has baked challah with Jewish cooking maestro Joan Nathan and guided Padma Lakshmi of "Top Chef" fame on southern cooking. As a Black, Jewish, gay man, Twitty embodies many identities. Food is where he brings his whole self. Michael Twitty is in conversation with Robin Washington, an acclaimed veteran journalist and The Forward's Editor-at-Large.

Buoyed by the potential for women to win key statewide offices, leaders of a diverse group of women’s organizations will gather in person for a Town Hall event to continue the conversation about political culture and public policy — and to answer this important question: What do we need our state government to do to create a more equitable Commonwealth? GBH host Callie Crossley will lead what is sure to be a riveting conversation. Featuring: * Celia Johnston Blue, President and CEO, MA Women of Color Coalition * Sasha Goodfriend, Executive Director of MassNOW * Diana Hwang, Founder and Executive Director of the Asian American Women’s Political Initiative * Melissa Ferretti, Chair, Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe * Dr. Laurie Nsiah-Jefferson, Director of the UMass-Boston Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy * Eneida M. Roman, Esq., Chair, Amplify Latinx This event is the second of a two-part conversation started on June 27 with moderator and GBH News reporter, Saraya Wintersmith. The video of Momentum Part 1 is available to watch on https://forum-network.org/ This in-person event starts at 6PM. Door open at 5:30PM. Parking: 15 Guest Street - bring your ticket with you to get it validated at the front desk Masks and registration are required for this in-person event. Sponsored by