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Free online lectures: Explore a world of ideas

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Boston Athenaeum

The Boston Athenaeum, one of the oldest and most distinguished independent libraries in the United States, was founded in 1807 by members of the Anthology Society, a group of fourteen Boston gentlemen who had joined together in 1805 to edit The Monthly Anthology and Boston Review. Their purpose was to form "an establishment similar to that of the Athenaeum and Lyceum of Liverpool in Great Britain; combining the advantages of a public library [and] containing the great works of learning and science in all languages." The library and Art Gallery, established in 1827, were soon flourishing, and grew rapidly, both by purchase of books and art and by frequent gifts. For nearly half a century the Athenaeum was the unchallenged center of intellectual life in Boston, and by 1851 had become one of the five largest libraries in the United States. Today its collections comprise over half a million volumes, with particular strengths in Boston history, New England state and local history, biography, English and American literature, and the fine and decorative arts. The Athenaeum supports a dynamic art gallery, and sponsors a lively variety of events such as lectures and concerts. It also serves as a stimulating center for discussions among scholars, bibliophiles, and a variety of community interest groups.break

http://www.bostonathenaeum.org

  • Making a Case for Comic Fiction

    Tue, Feb 3, 2004
    Mameve Medwed, Tom Perrotta, and Stephen McCauley explain and defend comic fiction.
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  • Literacy and Picturacy

    Thu, Jan 8, 2004
    When literacy is the universal standard of cultural achievement in both nations and individuals, the ability to read a picture is so little recognized that we do not even have a name for it. On the contrary, the opposition between pictures and words commonly separates literate from illiterate, the educated elite from the barbarous idolators of the image. With examples ranging from the prehistoric cave paintings of Lascaux to the disturbing contemporary photographs of Sally Mann, James Heffernan seeks to complicate the cultural polarity by showing that pictures demand to be read quite as much as printed pages do, that we cannot "recognize" their meaning until and unless we learn to interpret their signs, which largely depend on the cultural conventions within which they are framed. But learning to read pictures also means listening to the questions they raise and the challenges they pose to authority of the word.
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  • American West: Lewis and Clark Expedition

    Thu, Mar 18, 2004
    Clay S. Jenkinson employs the Chautauquan methodology of a stand-up, unscripted monologue in his first-person portrayal of Meriwether Lewis. His educational, humorous, and delightful monologue is followed by an in-character question and answer session with the audience, and ends with Jenkinson sharing his own insights into the character of Captain Lewis and the expedition. The Federalist called the Louisiana Purchase "the wildest chimera of a moonstruck mind"; Thomas Jefferson referred to it as a "two ocean continental empire for liberty"; and Meriwether Lewis, captain of the famous Lewis and Clark Expedition, thought it was the opportunity of a lifetime to be the first citizen of the United States to step foot on the unexplored wilderness of the American West.
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  • Boston Sites and Insights: A Guide to Historical Landmarks

    Tue, May 18, 2004
    Susan Wilson's monthly column on Boston history, "Sites and Insights," first appeared in the *Boston Globe* in 1987. "The intent of the columns," Wilson writes, "was to observe Boston's rich past in a way that was both accessible to the general public and enlightening to serious students of history, and to encourage both Bostonians and Boston visitors to discover, or rediscover, the history around them." Her columns, and her passion for local history and lore, resulted in the book *Boston Sites & Insights: An Essential Guide to Historic Landmarks In and Around Boston*. Now, ten years after its initial publication, Wilson offers a completely updated and revised edition of her insider's guide to fifty historic Boston treasures. *Boston Sites & Insights* includes all "the essentials," but, unlike other guidebooks, Wilson's work digs deep into the history of the individual landmarks, from the Park Street Station, to the African Meeting House and the famously misunderstood Bunker Hill, to reveal the lesser-known stories and facts that make them unique and important pieces of Boston's past. Susan Wilson is a photographer, writer, and educator who resides in Cambridge and has long held a special affection for Boston history. The recipient of a BA and MA in history from Tufts University, Susan taught history at both the secondary school and college levels before moving into a career in journalism. Her work has regularly appeared in the *Boston Globe*, and she has most recently been busy writing books on Boston history.
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  • Esmeralda Santiago: The Turkish Lover

    Thu, Oct 21, 2004
    Esmeralda Santiago discusses her new book, *The Turkish Lover*, in which she describes finally breaking out of a monumental struggle with her powerful mother, only to come under the thrall of "the Turk" and discover that romantic passion, too, can become a prison. Esmeralda's journey of self-liberation and self-discovery is a daring one, candidly and zestfully recounted, and that leads, most improbably, to her triumphant graduation from Harvard University.
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  • Colossus of New York: City in 13 Parts

    Thu, Oct 14, 2004
    Colson Whitehead re-creates the exuberance, the chaos, the promise, and heartbreak of New York. *The Colossus of New York* captures the city's inner and outer landscapes in a series of vignettes, meditations, and personal memories. Conveying the feelings and thoughts of longtime residents and of newcomers who dream of making the city their home, of those who have conquered its challenges, and of those who struggle against its cruelties, *Colossus* is a portrait of life in the big city.
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  • Seen But Not Heard: Images of Children in American Art

    Tue, Nov 30, 2004
    In conjunction with the Fall 2004 exhibition "Seen But Not Heard: Images of Children from the Collection of the Boston Athenaeum", David Dearinger surveys the manner in which children were depicted in 19th and early 20th century American art. Artists such as Winslow Homer, Lily Martin Spencer, George Caleb Bingham, J. G. Brown, Mary Cassatt, and Robert Henri are discussed in this illustrated lecture.
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  • French Negotiating Behavior: Dealing with La Grande Nation

    Tue, Dec 7, 2004
    Lecturing from his book French Negotiating Behavior, Charles Cogan explores the cultural and historical factors that have shaped the French approach and then dissects their key elements. He postulates that French negotiators often seem more interested in asserting their country's "universal" mission than in reaching an agreement, and he uses three recent case studies to illustrate this uniquely French mélange. Cogan also offers practical suggestions for making negotiations more cooperative and productive.
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  • Wodehouse: A Life

    Tue, Dec 14, 2004
    Author and editor Robert McCrumb discusses the life and works of P.G. Wodehouse, which he chronicled in detail in his biography Wodehouse: A Life. **Robert McCrum**, now literary editor of London's Observer, was the editor-in-chief of the publishing firm Faber & Faber in London for nearly 20 years. He has written six highly acclaimed novels and is the co-author of the bestselling The Story of the English. McCrum lives in London.
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  • Inside a Stem Cell Laboratory

    Thu, Jan 6, 2005
    Ann Parson, author of the recently published *The Proteus Effect: Stem Cells and Their Promise for Medicine*, shares some basic information about stem cells and what the future holds for medicines based on them. She is joined by four postdoctoral fellows who work in one of Boston's and the country's leading stem cell research laboratories, that of George Daley, a Harvard Medical School and Boston Children's Hospital hematologist and oncologist. Each scientist describes the research project he or she is tackling and how, if successful, their work could lead to significant improvements in current medical practices. With the stem cells of humans finally isolated, researchers are entering a new era of harnessing cells to treat a variety of disorders.
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