To help residents of Havre de Grace and Harford County preserve eyewitness accounts of the past, I am doing an oral history workshop at the town library on Dec 6th, 2011, at 6:30 p.m. The program presents the methods for gathering and preserving history through interviews with people by recording their memories and stories. It will also discuss the digital technologies for capturing and preserving these personal narratives.
Category: Programs
Two New Programs on the War of 1812 as Part of the 200th Anniversary Speakers Bureau Series
In conjunction with the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, the Maryland Humanities Council is offering a special speakers bureau series focusing on that conflict. I am pleased to be selected to serve as one of the presenting scholars. Here are the descriptions of my two programs:
Spread the News: The War of 1812 on the Chesapeake —
In this era news could only move as fast as someone could physically carry the message. Mike Dixon will discuss how news and information was spread when war came to Maryland’s shores, with a fascinating look at press coverage of the major regional incidents of the War of 1812. This presentation concludes with a discussion about what has changed in the digital age, when news coverage is practically instantaneous.
The Stories of Everyday People in the War of 1812 —
When war came to the shores of the Chesapeake, what was it like for everyday citizens and local militiamen, as well as slaves, freedmen, women? Mike Dixon reveals unpublished stories of unrepresented peoples such as slaves and African-Americans, and the narratives of everyday people who aren’t talked about in the history books.
National Humanities Magazine Mentions Talks I Do for Maryland Humanities
The March/April 2011 edition of Humanities, the magazine of the National Endowment of the Humanities, included a poster/photo of me that was produced by the library system for a reading promotion a few years ago. The magazine used it to mention the talks I do for the Maryland Humanities Council. The poster was for a reading promotions initiative sponsored by the American Library Association and it was snapped about the time I retired as a trustee and past president of the library system.
Helping Open Smithsonian Exhibit in Garrett County With Talk on Mason Dixon Line
For the arrival of the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street exhibit at the Spruce Forest Artisan Village in Garrett County, I was invited
to do the opening lecture on the Mason-Dixon Line: The Stories Behind a Geographic Boundary. Managed in Maryland by the state Humanities Council, the project brings rural America prestigious, professionally curated
Smithsonian Exhibits to communities across the nation. It was
a nice evening in Grantsville talking to a great group of people about the
history of the famous line and how it became a symbolic fence. It was also enjoyable to visit this Garrett County destination spot, where there are many fine artisans. This is the third-time I’ve worked with the Smithsonian traveling exhibits. The first occasion was when Key Ingredients made its way through Maryland. Here’s a piece I wrote in August 2007 for the Smithsonian Blog, Road Reports Across America.
