February 9th at 12:20p: Corinne Field Kicks Off the APHI Spring 2022 Seminar Series

Happy New Year! The BU American Political history seminar series will resume this semester, over Zoom, at 12:20 PM.

Our first seminar will convene February 9, 2022 at 12:20. Professor Corinne Field (University of Virginia) will present a draft chapter from her book-in-progress:

Her current book project, tentatively titled Grand Old Women: How Abolitionist and Feminists Transformed Aging in America, offers a collective biography of women who redefined aging in nineteenth-century America. This was not their initial plan. Sojourner Truth, Lucretia Mott, Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Frances Harper were architects of abolition and women’s rights, but in order to build those movements, they had to grow old in public. Unlike men, whose influence and authority could grow unproblematically over the decades, powerful women faced widespread cultural contempt for old women and old maids. These women publicly embraced oldness and created new possibilities for how women could age. The “grand old women” of the nineteenth century insisted that mature women should not recede into the background or try to look young, but instead step forward as national leaders who were undeniably and gloriously aged beyond youth. They emphasized their status as old maids and old women.

The chapter we will discuss is entitled, “‘The Oldest Lecturer in the World!’: Sojourner Truth, Racial Justice, and the Political Significance of Longevity in Nineteenth-Century America.”

Please be aware that BU continues to require the wearing of masks at all times when indoors on the BU campus. Masks must cover the chin, mouth, and nose and fit securely. The details of the university’s policies can be found here: https://www.bu.edu/back2bu/work-life-faculty-staff/bu-community-health-safety/face-coverings/

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