Read All About It: The 2010 National Heritage Museum Symposium

Did you miss our first symposium in April 2010?  Or maybe you were with us, but wish you had taken better notes that day?  Never fear, the proceedings from the National Heritage Museum's 2010 symposium, "New Perspectives on American Freemasonry and Fraternalism," were recently published as volume 2, number 1 of the Journal for Research into Freemasonry and Fraternalism.  This special issue was guest-edited by Aimee E. Newell, Ph.D., the Museum's Director of Collections, and includes five of the papers presented at the symposium, the keynote address, "Worlds of Brothers," by Jessica Harland-Jacobs, as well as several book reviews and other material.  The table of contents for the issue is accessible online.

As the first academic journal dedicated to scholarly contributions in the field of Freemasonry and fraternalism, the JRFF is intended to create a bridge between different traditions of scholarship.  For more information, and to order copies of the journal, visit its website!

 

Final Days to Register! New Perspectives on American Freemasonry and Fraternalism Symposium Friday, April 9, 2010

On April 9, 2010, the Museum will present a symposium, New Perspectives on American Freemasonry and Fraternalism, which will explore new research on American fraternal groups from the past through the present day.

The keynote speaker is professor and author Jessica Harland-Jacobs of the University of Florida. She will speak on how using world history methodologies furthers understanding of fraternalism as a historical phenomenon.

Other presenters from the United States, Canada, and Britain include:

• Ami Pflugrad-Jackisch, University of Michigan, "Brothers of a Vow: Secret Fraternal Orders in Antebellum Virginia"
• Hannah M. Lane, Mount Allison University, "Freemasonry and Identity/ies in 19th-Century New Brunswick and Eastern Maine"
• Nicholas Bell, Curator, Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, "An Ark of the New Republic"
• David Bjelajac, George Washington University, "Freemasonry, Thomas Cole (1801-1848) and the Fraternal Ethos of American Art"
• Kristofer Allerfeldt, Exeter University, "Nationalism, Masons, Klansmen and Kansas in the 1920s"
• Adam G. Kendall, Henry W. Coil Library and Museum, “Klad in White Hoods and Aprons: American
  Fraternal Identities, Freemasonry, and the Ku Klux Klan in California, 1921-1928”

Registration Is Still Open
There are three ways to register. First, download the form from our website.

• Complete form and mail with payment to: Claudia Roche, National Heritage Museum, 33 Marrett Road, Lexington, MA 02421

• Complete form and fax to 781-861-9846

• Call 781-861-4142 to register by phone

• Registration is $50; $45 for Museum members—to become a member, visit our web site.

• Registration includes program, morning coffee, lunch, closing reception, and access to the Museum’s galleries and Library and Archives

• Refund requests received by April 1, 2010 will be honored, minus a $10 handling fee. No refunds after April 1, 2010.

Sponsorship:
The symposium is funded in part by the Supreme Council, 33°, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, United States of America.

Photo Caption:
Masonic embematic painting, 1840–1850. Possibly New York. Collection of the National Heritage Museum, Special Acquisitions Fund, 90.20. Photo by David Bohl.

Change to Symposium Program on April 9, 2010

We recently had a change to the program for our Symposium on April 9, 2010, "New Perspectives on American Freemasonry and Fraternalism."  Adam G. Kendall of the Henry W. Coil Library and Museum at the Grand Lodge of California will now be presenting.  Read on for up-to-date information about the day.

The symposium will explore new research on American fraternal groups from the past through the present.  The keynote speaker is professor and author Jessica Harland-Jacobs of the University of Florida.  She will speak on how using world history methodologies furthers understanding of fraternalism as a historical phenomenon.  Other presenters from the United States, Canada and Britain include:

• Ami Pflugrad-Jackisch, University of Michigan, "Brothers of a Vow: Secret Fraternal Orders in Antebellum Virginia"
• Hannah M. Lane, Mount Allison University, "Freemasonry and Identity/ies in 19th-Century New Brunswick and Eastern Maine"
• Nicholas Bell, Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, "An Ark of the New Republic"
• David Bjelajac, George Washington University, "Freemasonry, Thomas Cole (1801-1848) and the Fraternal Ethos of American Art"
• Kristofer Allerfeldt, Exeter University, "Nationalism, Masons, Klansmen and Kansas in the 1920s"
• Adam G. Kendall, Henry W. Coil Library and Museum, "Klad in White Hoods and Aprons: American Fraternal Identities, Freemasonry and the Ku Klux Klan in California, 1921-1928"

Registration is open; the deadline to register is March 24, 2010.  Please visit the Museum's website to register and for more information.

 

Symposium Keynote Speaker Jessica Harland-Jacobs to Bring New Perspective to the History of American Freemasonry and Fraternalism

On Friday, April 9, 2010, the National Heritage Museum will host an academic symposium, “New Perspectives on American Freemasonry and Fraternalism,” presenting the newest research on American fraternal groups from the past to the present day. As the repository of one of the largest collections of American Masonic and fraternal objects, books and manuscripts in the United States, the Museum is proud to foster innovative research on American fraternalism.

 

Our keynote speaker will be Jessica Harland-Jacobs, Associate Professor of History at the University of Florida and author of Builders of Empire: Freemasonry and British Imperialism, 1717-1927. Ms. Harland-Jacobs has chosen to speak on “Worlds of Brothers”, emphasizing how many fraternities, and Freemasonry especially, are conceived and operate as global institutions. While fraternalism has, by and large, been investigated from the perspective of the nation state, the talk will demonstrate how framing the history of modern-era Freemasonry on a world scale pays great dividends for our understanding of the phenomenon. In fact, as the speaker will explain, taking a global perspective can benefit contemporary American brotherhoods.

 

In addition to the keynote speaker, six scholars have been selected to present their research at the symposium. Look for an upcoming blog post that will describe the full program. Mark your calendars for a day of new discoveries and unexpected conclusions about how we interpret the history of American society and culture.

Photo courtesy of Jessica Harland-Jacobs.