For the first of three free virtual lectures, the Wellesley Historical Society presents an online talk by Nat Sheidley called Open History, Enter Democracy, on Wednesday, March 3, 2021 at 7pm.
About the Talk
In 2020, Revolutionary Spaces launched as a new public history organization on Boston’s Freedom Trail. This talk introduces the two nationally significant historic sites we care for—Boston’s Old State House and Old South Meeting House—and argues that uniting them in a single visitor experience creates a new cultural resource unlike any other, where our nation’s most urgent questions first took shape and where the work of answering them can continue today. Using recent efforts to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Boston Massacre as a lens, we will explore the challenges of connecting past and present in a way that is relevant to all.
About Nathaniel Sheidley
Nathaniel Sheidley is the first President and CEO of Revolutionary Spaces, a new cultural organization dedicated to connecting people to the history and continuing practice of democracy through an encounter with two of the nation’s most important Revolutionary sites. Previously Nat taught at Wellesley College and served as the Bostonian Society’s Director of Public History. He has curated and provided creative direction for numerous exhibitions and programs, including Blood on the Snow, an immersive, site-specific work of theater that dramatizes the pivotal aftermath of the Boston Massacre in the very room where the events took place. Nat’s work is guided by a deeply held belief that public history at its best can do more than tell us about the past; it can also deepen our understanding of the present and equip us to build a more just and equitable future.
Advanced Registration Required via Zoom. Click here to register.
More information on this and future lectures.
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