Discuss

One of a series of engravings on “The foure faculties of the minde,” 17th century England. Image: Wellcome Collection

One of a series of engravings on “The foure faculties of the minde,” 17th century England. Image: Wellcome Collection

The best way to know people of the past is through their own words.

Those words tell us of their sorrows, their joys, their hopes. We hear their fear as a child falls ill of smallpox or tribes stripped of land and hunting grounds begin to starve. We read of a woman’s hope for a community where she might find God. We hear the arguments in court between husband and wife, or between an enslaved person and former master. 

This principle of returning to people’s own words underpins our reading group. It’s a book group with a twist: there’s no formal membership, and we read original sources. Of course, we read works by historians, too. But our touchstone is always the firsthand testimony of people in the past.

The format is simple. Like any book group, a presenter talks for about 15-20 minutes. Then, based on both readings and presentation, everyone joins in a lively conversation (held on Zoom, for the moment).

No expertise is required, just a willingness to read, inquire, and converse.

“Having indigenous people tell their history directly is so important.”

audience review, “The Tribes and Their Relationship to Massachusetts”

Illustration from an advice book on childhood illnesses. Image: Wellcome Collection

Illustration from an advice book on childhood illnesses. Image: Wellcome Collection

Past discussions include:

  • “A pestilential Pox”: Covid-19 vs. Smallpox, led by Sidney Levitsky M.D., Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconness 

  • Heroic Souls of 17th Century Cambridge, led by Lori Rogers-Stokes, independent scholar and author

  • “They being stolne”: Conflicting Views of Slavery in Early Massachusetts and the British Empire, led by Holly Brewer, University of Maryland

  • “What newes?” Communication in Early New England, led by Katherine Grandjean, professor of history, Wellesley College

  • “A Stock of Slaves”: Indian Slavery in 17th Century New England, led by Margaret Newell, Ohio State University

  • John Gyles’ Odd Adventure: A Different Captivity Narrative, led by Abby Chandler, University of Massachusetts, Lowell

“IT WAS SUPERB FROM BEGINNING TO END.”

participant, reading group on New England slavery