Forum Network

Free online lectures: Explore a world of ideas

Funding provided by:

American Ancestors

American Ancestors and New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) is America’s founding genealogical organization and the most respected name in family history. Established in 1845, they are the nation’s leading comprehensive resource for family history research and the largest Society of its kind in the world. The group provides family history services through their staff, original scholarship, data-rich website, educational opportunities and its research center to help family historians of all levels explore their past and understand their families’ unique place in history.

http://www.americanancestors.org

Carville's Cure: Leprosy, Stigma, and the Fight for Justice

Thu, Sep 10, 2020

Acclaimed broadcast journalist Pam Fessler writes about the largely forgotten history of leprosy in the United States – its impact on patients and their families, doctors, and, particularly, the swampy bayou town of Carville, Louisiana, where a “leprosarium” was established in 1894. Carville evolved into a nexus for research and “treatment” that came at a huge personal cost to liberty as patients were stripped of their names, their rights, and their dignity. Understood today to be one of the least infectious diseases in the world, leprosy, now called Hansen’s disease, instilled a pandemic-sized level of fear and reaction from public health authorities well into the 20th century. Fessler discusses her chronicle of how America treated, contained, and demonized its sufferers before wiser heads prevailed. This event is presented by American Ancestors/NEHGS together with the Boston Public Library and the State Library of Massachusetts as part of the American Stories, Inspiration Today author series.

Forum Network

Partner:

American Ancestors
Susan Eisenhower on "How Ike Led"

Thu, Aug 20, 2020

Susan Eisenhower joins Boston Public Library President David Leonard, along with Margaret Talcott of American Ancestors NEHGS, to discuss a new book about President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his leadership. From D-Day to Little Rock, from the Korean War to Cold War crises, from the Red Scare to the Missile Gap controversies, few people have made decisions as momentous and varied as President Eisenhower. His granddaughter, Susan Eisenhower, sheds light on his principles and decision making in her new book, "How Ike Led: The Principles Behind Eisenhower's Biggest Decisions.” This conversation is presented in partnership between the Boston Public Library's Arc of History: Contested Perspectives series and the American Inspiration author series hosted by the American Ancestors/New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS).

Forum Network

American Inspiration Author Series

Partner:

American Ancestors
Gretchen Sorin: Driving While Black

Tue, Aug 11, 2020

Author Gretchen Sorin and Kinshasha Holman Conwill, Deputy Director of the The National Museum of African American History and Culture discuss Sorin's new book and upcoming PBS documentary by Ric Burns, "Driving While Black: African American Travel and the Road to Civil Rights." Learn how the automobile fundamentally changed African American life. Through much of our country’s history, mobility has been limited for African Americans: first, by slavery; then, in the 20th Century, by the racism of some whites who denied their black countrymen the right to travel freely on trains and buses. Driving While Black reveals how the car—the ultimate symbol of independence and possibility—allowed black families to evade the many dangers presented by an entrenched racist society. Interweaving stories of her own family history, Gretchen Sorin opens up an entirely new view onto one of the most important issues of our time. Gretchen Sorin is distinguished professor and director of the Cooperstown Graduate Program of the State University of New York. This event is presented by American Ancestors/NEHGS, Boston Public Library and the Museum of African American History as part of the American Stories, Inspiration Today author series.

Forum Network

Partner:

American Ancestors
Honor Moore with Our Revolution

Mon, Jun 8, 2020

Hear from the celebrated author Honor Moore (_The Bishop’s Daughter, The White Blackbird_) about her new biography-memoir, the story of her mother and herself, their relationship and changing lives as 20th-Century women. With the sweep of an epic novel, Moore introduces readers to Jenny McKean Moore, her charismatic and brilliant mother who was born into privilege on Boston’s North Shore, and whose life shifted dramatically as she engaged in the 1960s peace and social justice. Claire Messud, the author of _The Burning Girl_ and _The Emperor’s Children_, moderates. This virtual author event is presented by [American Ancestors and NEHGS](http://forum-network.org/partner/American-Ancestors/) together with the [Boston Public Library](http://forum-network.org/partner/boston-public-library/) and the State Library of Massachusetts.

Forum Network

Partner:

American Ancestors
Stephen Puleo: Voyage of Mercy

Thu, May 14, 2020

Hear from Stephen Puleo, one of Boston’s best-loved historians, about his new book, Voyage of Mercy: The USS Jamestown, the Irish Famine, and the Remarkable Story of America's First Humanitarian Mission, which casts light on the special relationship between Ireland and the United States, going back to 1847. Puleo is a historian, college teacher, public speaker, and the author of seven books including Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919. Jean Maguire, Library Director at American Ancestors and New England Historic Genealogical Society, will moderate. This talk is part of the virtual author event series [American Stories, Inspiration Today](https://forum-network.org/series/american-stories-inspiration-today/) .

Forum Network

Partner:

American Ancestors
Libby Copeland: How DNA Testing is Upending Who We Are

Wed, May 20, 2020

Award-winning Journalist Libby Copeland will discuss her book, _The Lost Family: How DNA Testing is Upending Who We Are_, which explores the science of DNA while tracing the story of one woman – her unusual results and relentless, methodical drive for answers about her background. Listen to this thoroughly modern genetic detective story, a deeply reported look at the rise of home genetic testing, and the seismic shock it has had on individual lives irrevocably changed by home DNA tests. Moderated by Amy Dockser Marcus, a staff reporter for _The Wall Street Journal_ covering health and science. This talk is part of the virtual author event series American Stories, Inspiration Today.

Forum Network

Partner:

American Ancestors
Adam Hochschild: Rebel Cinderella

Fri, Mar 6, 2020

From the best-selling author of “Spain in Our Hearts” Adam Hochschild comes the forgotten story of one of the most charismatic radical leaders of the last century. Rose Pastor arrived in New York City in 1903, a Jewish refugee from Russia. She found a partner in James Graham Phelps Stokes, scion of one of the legendary 400 families of New York high society, and together joined the burgeoning Socialist Party. Over the next dozen years, they moved among the liveliest group of activists and dreamers this country has ever seen, including Emma Goldman, Big Bill Haywood, Eugene V. Debs, John Reed, Margaret Sanger, Jack London and W.E.B. Du Bois. Adam Hochschild is the author of 10 books, including “King Leopold’s Ghost” and “To End All Wars,” both finalists for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and “Bury the Chains,” a finalist for the National Book Award and winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and PEN USA Literary Award.

Forum Network

American Inspiration Author Series

Partner:

American Ancestors
Honoring the Career of NPR Broadcaster Scott Simon

Thu, Jan 30, 2020

Renowned American journalist Scott Simon is recognized by the New England Historic Genealogical Society at the Lenox Hotel in conversation with Margaret M. Talcott, curator of the American Inspiration author series. Simon has reported from all fifty states, five continents and ten wars. Photo Wikicommons

Forum Network

Partner:

American Ancestors
Gail Collins: Adventures of Older Women in American History

Fri, Oct 18, 2019

The New York Times columnist visits Boston to talk about with her new book looking at women and aging in America. With razor-sharp, insightful social commentary, she takes us from colonial times to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, from Sojourner Truth to Mae West.

Gail Collins takes us through America’s History - from the colonies, when a woman was considered marriageable if "Civil, and under 50 years of Age," through a long stretch when they were quietly retired to a rocking chair once they had passed their reproductive years, to 68-year-old Hillary Clinton accepting the Democratic presidential nomination. Collins chronicles the lives of our country's most fascinating women, from Sojourner Truth to Mae West to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, as well as many whose names are less well-known but whose impact on American society is still felt today. Don't miss her razor-sharp, insightful social commentary. Gail is interviewd by Margaret Talcott, curator of the American Inspiration author series.

Forum Network

American Inspiration Author Series

Partner:

American Ancestors