As promised, here is a summary of the Summer Conversational Series presented between July 16 and the 20th. The theme this year is “‘Noble Companions and Immortable Labors'” the Alcotts, Thoreaus, and the Quest for Social Justice.”
I was only able to attend two sessions, on Tuesday and Wednesday. At the end of this post is a link to my notes from the presentations. Unfortunately my evil tablet did not properly save my notes from Wednesday so I only have notes from the first presentation of that day. I tried to summarize the other two and provided links for further information.
Jan Turnquist, Executive Director of Orchard House, could not be with us this year as she is in Ireland acting as consultant to the new BBC Little Women series. Education Director Lis Adams did a wonderful job of running the series and introduced the speakers.
On Tuesday the presentations included:
Cathlin Davis “From Story to Action: Social Justice in Louisa May Alcott’s Fiction”
Dr. Davis is the leading expert on Louisa’s juvenile tales. She led us through a series of stories that outlined Louisa’s approach to social justice, an approach which is just as timely today as illustrated through an organization she highlighted, The Heifer Project.
Gabrielle Donnelly “Bread, Roses, and One-Liners:
Jokes and Feminism from Louisa May Alcott to Tina Fey”
Ms. Donnelly’s presentation was thought-provoking as well as humerous as she linked together feminism and humor (just as Louisa did; she cited an example of Jo March in Little Women). What made the presentation particularly interesting was the fact that one of the attendees is a standup comedienne who performed for many years in Las Vegas with headlines such as Wayne Newton. She provided many colorful stories.
Gabrielle based on her presentation on a song called “Bread and Roses” (she asked me to sing the song and I gladly complied). Here is a video of the song from the movie, “Pride:”
Michelle Blees and Jane Sciacca “The Alcotts at Hillside: Their Beliefs and Actions”
Michelle and Jane are tour guides for the Minuteman National Park Service at The Wayside (known as Hillside when the Alcotts lived there). They gave a fascinating account of the history of The Wayside with its storied authors, and its link to the National Underground Railroad. These are photos of the displays — just click on the thumbnail to see the larger photo.
On Wednesday the presentations included:
Jason Giannetti “Concord’s Transcendental Conscientious Objector”
Mr. Gianetti discussed the activism of famous Transcendentalists such as Henry David Thoreau and Bronson Alcott. He called on us to be today’s Transcendental Conscientious Objectors which sparked a lengthy, spirited conversation which Bronson would have approved of wholeheartedly.
NOTE: the following two presentations are the ones where my notes were sadly lost. I did include a summary in the notes available at the end of this post.
Kristina West “Growing Tomorrow: A Transcendental Education”
Dr. West hails from London and lives right across the way from the original location of Alcott House in Ham. She described the teaching techniques of Henry David Thoreau and Bronson Alcott which so endeared them to children. She then highlighted Louisa’s contribution.
Jennifer Schünemann “Save the Mother, Save the Child:
The Pandemic Exploitation of Women and Its Effect on the World.”
Ms. Schünemann heads the New England chapter of Durga Tree International, an organization working tirelessly to help victims of human trafficking. This presentation was quite sobering but Ms. Schünemann was able to provide hope and answers beginning with how we behave as consumers, making sure we are more conscious of who actually makes our products and how they are treated. My notes contain website information so you can find out more and even become involved. This is a program I would highly recommend.
Here are my notes from the series that you can download. Summer Conversational Series 2017 Tuesday
As always, such a joy to attend! I’ve made many wonderful friends through this series and agree wholeheartedly that each year it is like going to summer camp!
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Thank you for your overview. I was already particularly sorry to miss Gabrielle and some laughs, and now I’m sorry to have missed hearing you sing “Bread and Roses.” That day must have been something.
It was and we missed you a lot! Glad to hear you are able to write each day.
Thanks so much for posting these notes, Susan!–such a treat for those of us unable to be there. (One small correction in the notes to Cathlin’s talk, though–your notes say “Story published a year before the Perkins School for the Blind opened — was there a connection? A fundraising appeal? Published in 1886” The Perkins School for the Blind took the Perkins name in 1839 and had already been operating (on a shoestring budget) since 1832 under the direction of Samuel Gridley Howe–so the school was as old as Louisa!)
I should have clarified — I think it was to do with a certain wing of the school. Thanks for the clarification.
Thank you so much for the wrap up and notes! 🙂 I would have loved to have heard you sing too, and talked in person.
Ditto to talking in person!
Aw! Looks like a lot of fun. Thanks for sharing all you can about it, Susan.
It was a lot of fun.
What wonderful presentations. Thank you!