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.

 

National Heritage Museum Announces Program for April Symposium

National Heritage Museum Symposium

Friday, April 9, 2010
New Perspectives on American Freemasonry and Fraternalism
Lexington, Massachusetts

This symposium seeks to present the newest research on American fraternal groups from the past through the present day.  By 1900, over 250 American fraternal groups existed, numbering six million members.  The study of their activities and influence in the United States, past and present, offers the potential for new interpretations of American society and culture.

A keynote paper by Jessica Harland-Jacobs, Associate Professor of History at the University of Florida, and author of Builders of Empire: Freemasonry and British Imperialism, 1717-1927, will open the day.   Titled “Worlds of Brothers,” Harland-Jacobs’ paper will survey and assess the scholarship on American fraternalism and Freemasonry.  Drawing on examples from the 1700s, 1800s and 1900s, she will demonstrate that applying world history methodologies pays great dividends for our understanding of fraternalism as a historical phenomenon.  Harland-Jacobs will conclude with some thoughts on how global perspectives can benefit contemporary American brotherhoods.

Six scholars from the United States, Canada, and Britain will fill the day’s program:
• Damien Amblard, doctoral student, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, “French Counter-Enlightenment Intellectuals and American Antimasonry: A Transatlantic Approach, 1789-1800”
• Hannah M. Lane, Assistant Professor, 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, Professor of Art History, George Washington University, “Freemasonry, Thomas Cole (1801-1848) and the Fraternal Ethos of American Art”
• Ami Pflugrad-Jackisch, Assistant Professor of History, University of Michigan – Flint, “Brothers of a Vow: Secret Fraternal Orders in Antebellum Virginia”
• Kristofer Allerfeldt, Exeter University, “Nationalism, Masons, Klansmen and Kansas in the 1920s”

The symposium is funded in part by the Supreme Council, 33°, N. M. J., U.S.A. Registration is $50 ($45 for museum members) and includes morning refreshments, lunch and a closing reception.  To register, complete the Registration Form (which can be downloaded at the National Heritage Museum website) and fax to 781-861-9846 or mail to Claudia Roche, National Heritage Museum, 33 Marrett Road, Lexington, MA 02421; registration deadline is MARCH 24, 2010.  For more information, contact Claudia Roche at croche[at]monh.org or 781-861-6559, x 4142. 

ACCOMMODATIONS:
A block of hotel rooms has been reserved at Staybridge Suites, 11 Old Concord Road, Burlington, MA, at the discounted rate of $99/studio suite and $109/one-bedroom suite (taxes not included).  To make a reservation, please call 781-221-2233 and mention the National Heritage Museum Symposium.  DEADLINE for the discounted rate is MARCH 8, 2010.  Limited shuttlebus service will be available between the hotel and the Museum.

Masonic Checkerboard, ca. 1890, National Heritage Museum, Special Acquisitions Fund, 91.033.  Photograph by David Bohl.

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.