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Revolutionary Spaces

**Revolutionary Spaces ** connects people to the history and continuing practice of democracy through the intertwined stories of two of the nation’s most iconic sites—Boston’s Old South Meeting House and Old State House. We foster a free and open exchange of ideas, explore history, create gathering places, and preserve and steward historic buildings.

https://www.bostonhistory.org

Talking Teapots: What Treasures Tell Us About History

Thu, Nov 6, 2003

Nancy Carlisle, Curator of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA)'s traveling exhibition "Cherished Possessions", tells tales of treasures from the 17th to the late 20th century and how they reflect the larger historical themes of revolution, immigration, industrialization and reform. What can a teapot belonging to Boston Massacre martyr Crispus Attucks or pottery vases made by immigrant women in Boston's North End tell us about the history of New England?

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Our Daily Bread: Tales of How Treasures Were Saved

Thu, Nov 13, 2003

"Cherished Possessions" exhibition manager Ken Turino recounts several fascinating stories, including that of a Dorchester family who saved two pieces of bread allegedly dating to the 17th century and a bedcover made by the mother and grandmother of Samuel Adams and passed down through generations of women. Turino shares the stories of how the 200 objects in the "Cherished Possessions" exhibition were saved and managed to survive to the present day, which are often as interesting as the objects themselves.

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Revolutionary Spaces
Bits to Beeswax: The Conservation of Treasures

Thu, Nov 20, 2003

Michaela Neiro assistant conservator for the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA), explains how the creative use of materials, such as clay and beeswax, as well as computer technology, help conservators save cherished objects. SPNEA has the largest assemblage of New England art and artifacts in its collection, a total of nearly 100,000 items. The care and conservation of these objects is an astonishingly meticulous and important job.

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Revolutionary Spaces
230 Years Later: The Boston Tea Party Revisited

Thu, Dec 11, 2003

Local historian, author and tour guide Charlie Bahne takes us back to 1773 when the talk of the town was tea. Learn about the actual value of tea not only in monetary ways, but the importance tea played in everyday civilians lives. On the 230th anniversary of the famous event, Mr. Bahne explore these topics and more in the building that served as the dramatic backdrop of the infamous Boston Tea Party meeting.

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Scandal on the Stage: Banned Theater in Boston

Thu, May 1, 2003

This program includes vignettes of censored plays in Boston, beginning with the Puritan censorship of Morton's Maypole and climaxing with the 1929 banning of Eugene O'Neill's Freudian theatrical experiment, Strange Interlude. A panel discusses the performances, the historical ideas of censorship, and what forms censorship takes today.

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Native Americans and the Boston Harbor Islands

Wed, May 7, 2003

Currently the home of a waste water treatment plant, many do not know Deer Island's history as an internment camp for Native Americans (many of whom died) in the 1675 war known (in Anglicized terms) as King Phillip's war. Multiple perspectives (Anglicized and Native American) are still being revealed about the dark pages of Deer Island's history. This and other topics particular to Native American history and the Boston Harbor Islands are discussed with a diverse panel moderated by cultural anthropologist for the National Park Service (Northeast Region) George Price. Panelists include Edith Andrews, Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), Jim Peters, Executive Director, MA Commission on Indian Affairs, and member of the Wampanoag Mashpee, and Pat Garwood, Tribal Council, Nipmuc Nation.

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Debating Reparations for Slavery

Thu, Oct 10, 2002

Glenn C. Loury of Boston University and Melissa Nobles of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology debate the pros and cons of slavery reparations. How do you put a price on 300 years of injustice? The legacy of slavery in the United States continues to shape life and society for all Americans. The controversial arguments surrounding slavery reparations is proof that this country is still struggling with how to address and overcome the repercussions of slavery. Does this country owe a financial debt to the descendants of black slaves? Who should pay and receive reparations? How much is owed? Instead of repairing damage, might such payments polarize communities and create new racial tensions?

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Relations Between Japan and Korea

Tue, Apr 29, 2003

Ambassador Teruske Terada, president of The Foreign Press Center, Japan, and former Japanese ambassador to Republic of Korea, speaks about the challenges facing Japan, South Korea and the US in this increasingly complex global landscape. For centuries Koreans and Japanese have considered themselves distant neighbors at best, bitter foes at worst, but the escalating tensions between the US and North Korea and rising anti-American sentiment in South Korea have placed new pressures on Japan-Korea relations that could have wide-ranging implications for economic and political stability throughout northeast Asia for decades to come.

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Dieting For Sins: New England Food Reformers

Thu, Mar 6, 2003

Barbara Haber, author and curator of books at Harvard University's Schlesinger Library, looks at food reformist movements, including the 1889 New England Kitchen movement, during her discussion of New England culinary history.

Food and Wellness

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Revolutionary Spaces
From Apple Pie to Pad Thai

Thu, Mar 13, 2003

Linda Bassett speaks about New England's "Gold Coast" (Massachusetts' North Shore) and how the influx of immigrants into the area shaped the eating habits of its residents. Learn about the impact of traditional Jewish, Portuguese, Greek, and African-American dishes on New England dining rooms.

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Revolutionary Spaces