2012 marks the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. In honor of this event, we offer a list of War of 1812 events, exhibits, and news items. This list is by no means complete, but will hopefully offer a number of entry points into the bicentennial celebrations.
Maryland
Running now until April 13, 2012 is the War of 1812 Portrait Exhibit at the Maryland House of Delegates in Annapolis, Maryland. The exhibit features portraits rendered by Ann Monro Wood.
The Maryland Historical Society’s ongoing exhibit, With Broad Stripes and Bright Stars includes the original manuscript of the Star Spangled Banner, which has been incorporated into a new exhibit on Baltimore’s role in the War of 1812. Another exhibit, In Full Glory Reflected: Maryland During the War of 1812, opens June 10, 2012.
On April 15th, the Maryland Historical Society presents Silver & Gold for War of 1812 Officers, an installment of the Francis Scott Key Lecture Series (PDF). Ann Wagner, Associate Curator of Decorative Arts at Winterthur Museum will speak at 6:00 p.m at the Society.
Other upcoming speakers in the Francis Scott Key series include, Edward C. Papenfuse, Ph.D., Maryland State Archivist and Commissioner of Land Patents at the Maryland State Archives, and Carol Stoltis, Project Associate Curator, Center for American Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art. Dr. Papenfuse, Ph.D., will present his lecture Mapping Baltimore During the Era of the War of 1812 begins at 6:00 p.m. on October 4, 2012. Stoltis’ lecture, A Pacifist and the Defenders: Rembrandt Peale and His Portraits of Baltimore’s Heroes of the War of 1812, will be held November 1A, at 6:00 p.m.
From June 13-19, 2012, Baltimore will host The Star-Spangled Sailabration. An international parade of ships will sail into the Inner Harbor to launch the U.S. Bicentennial commemoration of the War of 1812. The ships will start passing by Fort McHenry on June 12.
Currently on view at Philadelphia’s Independence Seaport Museum is Home of the Brave: The War of 1812 in Art, Story & Song. The exhibit runs through December 31, 2012:
Comprised of objects from the collection of Independence Seaport Museum, as well as loans from the Dietrich American Foundation and other private collectors, the exhibition explores the naval aspect of the War of 1812 through the lenses of art, material and popular culture, as well as first-hand accounts of participants and on-lookers.
New York Humanities Council Events:
On April 14, 2012, at 2:00 p.m. Tom Shanahan will present a lecture, 1812: Uncle Sam’s First War at the New York State Library in Albany, New York.
Raya Lee offers a lecture, War of 1812: Fury, Frenzy and Honor at the Wood Library in Canadaigua, New York on April 18, 2012 at 6:30 p.m.
On April 19th, Dave Ruch offers a lecture/concert entitled The War of 1812: Songs and Stories from New York and Beyond. The event will be held at the Sardinia Meeting House in Sardinia, New York, starting at 7:00 p.m.
On April 23rd, at 6:00 p.m., Alfred Ronzoni will present From Battleground to Empire State: New York and the War of 1812 at York College, the City University of New York.
Robert W. Arnold III will present 1812: New York’s War, New York’s Impetus on April 25 at 7:00 p.m. at Herkimer County Community College.
From July 20, 2012 – July 21, 2012, the Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site will host President Monroe Looks Back on the War of 1812. First-person interpreter Dennis Bigelow will portray Mr. Monroe in this unique event. http://www.nyhumanities.org/events/event.php?event_id=5066
Please note that a number of the New York Humanities Council events will be held in multiple locations in the next six months. Please see their events calendar for details.
From June 15, 2012 – January 27, 2013, the Smithsonian will host 1812: A Nation Emerges in the Portrait Gallery:
This exhibition tells the story of the war that one historian called, “the second American Revolution.” Through portraits and objects, it explores key people who influenced the turn of events, including President James Madison and Dolley Madison, General Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, and the powerful Indian leader Tecumseh. The exhibition also follows the stories of soldiers, slaves, financiers, industrialists, artists, architects, Native Americans, and women. The victory at New Orleans became a national holiday and added to a growing sense of American nationalism. The epic battles and the aftermath known as “the era of good feelings” are central elements of this story, linked by the biographies of the extraordinary and colorful leaders whose lives shaped its direction.
The New York Humanities Council is accepting War of 1812 Mini Grants from now until September 20, 2012. Grants of up to $3,000 are available to present humanities-based public programs exploring the legacy of the War of 1812 in New York State. Eligibility requirements and application procedures are available online.
Last summer, an archaeological dig at the Plattsburgh Air Force Base uncovered military artifacts which indicated that the site was a winter encampment for soldiers during the War of 1812. Uniform buttons bearing the number 15 were uncovered, indicating that the U.S. Army’s 15th Regiment had occupied the site. More excavations are planned at the site this summer.
The National Park Service at the National Heritage Area in Baltimore, Maryland has developed a War of 1812 traveling exhibit. The exhibit is free and available to museums, libraries, and historical sites.
On the web:
Maryland War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission
Maryland Humanities Council War of 1812 Bicentennial: For information on special events, organizations, and media and archives collections.
The Official War of 1812 Bicentennial: a binational site with an events calendar covering events in Canada and the United States.
The National Endowment for the Humanities announced today $21 million in grants for 215 humanities projects.
This funding will support a wide variety of projects, including research fellowships and awards for scholars, the preservation of humanities collections at smaller institutions, traveling exhibitions, and humanities initiatives at historically black colleges, institutions with high Hispanic enrollment, and tribal colleges and universities. Grants awarded today will also support training for museum and archive staff to preserve and enhance access to their collections, while NEH Challenge Grants provide support for long-term humanities activities. NEH announced awards in three special grant programs: Bridging Cultures Through Film, Bridging Cultures at Community Colleges, and Bridging Cultures Implementation Grants for Public Programs.
Mid-Atlantic Regional grant recipients:
Delaware: 2 awards, $595,000
University of Delaware, Preservation Education and Training, Project Director: Debra Norris. Project title: Graduate Education in the Conservation of Historic and Decorative Arts, Objects, Furniture, Textiles, & Photographs.
Winterthur, Winterthur Museum, Challenge Grant, Project Director: Lois Price. Project title: Endowing the Director of Conservation Position at Winterthur.
Washington D.C.: 9 awards, $1,242,439
Association of American Colleges and Universities, Bridging Cultures Community College RFP, Project Director: Caryn McTighe Musil. Project title: Difference, Community, and Democratic Thinking: and NEH Bridging Cultures Prjoect.
American University, Fellowships for University Teachers, Project Director: Richard Sha. Project title: Imagining the Imagination: Science and British Romanticism, 1750-1832.
George Washington University, Fellowships for University Teachers, Project Director: Gayle Wald. Project title: A History of “Soul”, the First Nationally Televised Program to Showcase the Black Power Movement.
Heritage Preservation, Preservation Education and Training, Project Director: Lori Foley. Project title: Alliance for Response: A National Program on Cultural Heritage and Disaster Management.
American Historical Association, Bridging Cultures Community College RFP, Project Director: Robert Townsend. Project title: American History, Atlantic and Pacific, An NEH Bridging Cultures Project.
Office of the Secretary, Office of Public Records, Preservation Assistance Grants, Project Director: Clarence Davis. Project title: Preservation Assessment and Purchase of Monitoring Equipment and Storage Materials to Preserve Archival Collections.
Foundation of American Institute for Conservation, Preservation Education and Training, Project Director: Eric Pourchot. Project title: Professional Development for Conservators: Providing Preservation and Access for the Humanities.
Unstaffed Independent Scholars, Fellowships for College Teachers and Independent Scholars: 1. Project Director: Jules Witcover. Project title: Evolution of the Vice Presidency in Politics and Governance. 2. Project Director: John Perpner. Project title: Political and Social Activism in African American Concert Dance: Eleo Pomare and the Black Arts Movement.
Maryland: 2 awards, $55,885
Bowie State University, Preservation Assistance Grants, Project Director: Katherine Hayes. Project title: Preservation Assessment of University’s Archives and Special Collections.
University of Maryland, College Park, Fellowships for University Teachers, Project Director: Robert Levine. Project Title: The Lives of Frederick Douglass.
New Jersey: 6 awards, $564,929
Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts, NEH on the Road, Project Director: Nancy Maguire. Project title: NEH on the Road: Wild Land.
Drew University, Fellowships for College Teachers and Independent Scholars, Project Director: Edward Baring. Project title: The Spread of Phenomenology in Europe During the 20th Century.
Community College Humanities Association, Bridging Cultures Community College RFP, Project Director: David Berry. Project title: Advancing the Humanities at Community Colleges: An NEH: Bridging Cultures Project.
NJ Institute of Technology, Fellowships for College Teachers and Independent Scholars, Project Director: Zeynep Celik. Project title: The History of 20th Century Controversies Over the Possession of Antiquities.
Princeton University, Fellowships for University Teachers, Project Director: Christian Wildberg. Project title: A New Text and Translation of the Hermetic Corpus, a Collection of Greek Theological and Philosophical Texts.
Montclair State University, Bridging Cultures Through Film, Project Director: Fawzia Afzal-Khan. Project title: Female Singers and Muslim Tradition in Pakistan from 1947 to the Present.
New York: 27 awards, $2,777,882
Albany Institute of History and Art, Preservation Assistance Grants, Project Director: Tammis Groft. Project title: Preservation Assessment for Archival Collections.
SUNY Research Foundation, Albany Preservation Assistance Grants, Project Director: Karen Brown. Project title: Digital Preservation Readiness Assessment to Preserve Special Collections and Archives.
Bard College, Challenge Grant, Project Director: Roger Berkowitz. Project title: Endow Junior Fellowships, Humanities Lecturer, and Humanities Programs of The Hannah Arendt Center at Bard College.
Western New York Public Broadcasting, Bridging Cultures Through Film, Project Director: David Rotterman. Project title: The Railway that Built a Nation.
CUNY Research Foundation, Queens College, Fellowships for University Teachers, Project Director: Karen Strassler. Project title: Media and Political Communication in Post-Suharto Indonesia.
Hastings Center, Challenge Grants, Project Director: Erik Parens. Project title: The Hastings Center Humanities Research Initiative.
Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Fellowships for College Teachers and Independent Scholars, Project Director: Anthony Cerulli. Project title: The Study of Gurukula: South Indian Traditional Medical Education and Its Classical Texts.
Columbia University, Fellowships for University Teachers, Project Director: Mary Pollard Murray. Project Title: The Prison as a Site of Literary Community and Writing in Early Modern England.
Barnard College, Fellowships for College Teachers and Independent Scholars, Project Director: Jonathan Rieder. Project title: A Reinterpretation of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”.
New York University, Preservation Education and Training, Project Director: Hannelore Roemich. Project Title: Conservation Training for Preservation and Access.
Mount Vernon Hotel Museum and Garden, Preservation Assistance Grants, Project Director: Mary Anne Caton. Project Title: Purchase of Environmental Monitoring Equipment to Preserve Collections of the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum.
AFS Intercultural Programs, Inc., Preservation Assistance Grants, Project Director: Carlos Porro. Project Title: Preservation Assessment and Storage Materials to Preserve Archival Collections.
Century Association Archives Foundation, Preservation Assistance Grants, Project Director: Russell Flinchum. Project Title: Staff Training and Environmental Monitoring Equipment to Preserve Archival Collections.
City College of New York, Awards for Faculty, 1. Project Director: Emily Greble. Project Title: Islam and the European Nation-State: Balkan Muslims between Mosque and State, 1908-1949. 2. Project Director: Gregory Downs Project Title: The Ends of the War: American Reconstruction and the Problems of Occupations.
Women Make Movies, Inc., Bridging Cultures Through Film, Project Director: Riva Freifeld. Project Title: Buffalo Bill and the Influence of the American West on European Culture.
Leo Baeck Institute, Inc., Preservation Assistance Grants, Project Director: Renate Evers. Project Title: Purchasing Preservation Materials to Preserve a Rare Book Collection.
New York University, Preservation Education and Training, Project Director: Howard Besser. Project Title: Graduate Education for Moving Image Specialists.
City Lore: NY Center for Urban Folk Culture, Bridging Cultures Implementation Grants, Project Director: Steven Zeitlin. Project Title: Poetic Voices of the Muslim World.
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, Preservation Assistance Grants, Project Director: Roberta Elliott. Project Title: Preservation Storage Materials to Rehouse the Photographic Archive.
Teachers College, Columbia University, Challenge Grants, Project Director: Anand Marri. Project Title: History Education for All: A Proposal to Establish a Center for History Education at Teachers College at Columbia University.
Rochester Institute of Technology, Preservation Education and Training, Project Director: James Reilly. Project Title: Sustainable Preservation Practices for Managing Storage Environments.
University of Rochester, Fellowships for University Teachers, Project Director: Janet Berlo. Project Title: Fakes, Replicas, and Other Vexed Identities in Native American Art History.
John Jermain Memorial Library, Preservation Assistance Grants, Project Director: Jessica Frankel. Project Title: Preserving Collections Related to Early Rural Life on Long Island, New York.
Town of Southampton, Preservation Assistance Grants, Project Director: Sundy Schermeyer. Project Title: Develop Disaster Preparedness and Response Plan and Staff Training to Preserve Archives
Long Island Museum of American Art, History and Carriages, Preservation Assistance Grants, Project Director: William Ayres. Project Title: Purchase of Storage Furniture and Preservation Materials to Preserve Historic and Textile Collections.
Woodstock Artists Association, Inc., Preservation Assistance Grants, Project Director: Josephine Bloodgood. Project Title: Preservation Assessment to Preserve Art Collections.
Pennsylvania: 8 awards, $318,531
B.F. Jones Memorial Library, Preservation Assistance Grants, Project Director: Linda Helms. Project Title: Preservation Assessment to Preserve Archival Collection.
Franklin and Marshall College, Fellowships for College Teachers and Independent Scholars, Project Director: Bennett Helm. Project Title: Defining Moral Communities: Respect, Dignity, and the Reactive Attitudes.
Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, Humanities Initiatives: HBCUs, Project Director: Marilyn Button. Project Title: Lincoln University of Pennsylvania’s Global Heritage and Legacy.
Millersville University, Fellowships for College Teachers and Independent Scholars, Project Director: Tanya Kevorkian. Project Title: The Musical Experience in German Baroque Towns.
Chatham College, Preservation Assistance Grants, Project Director: Rachel Rohrbaugh. Project Title: Purchase Storage Furniture to Preserve the University’s Archives Collection.
University of Pittsburgh , Fellowships for University Teachers, Project Director: Ronald Zboray. Project Title: The Bullet in the Book: Uses of Print Media during the Civil War.
Swarthmore College, Preservation Assistance Grants, Project Director: Amy McColl. Project Title: Preservation and Disaster-Preparedness Assessment to Preserve the Library’s Special Collections.
Pennsylvania State University, Fellowships for College Teachers and Independent Scholars, Project Director: Gonzalo Rubio. Project Title: The Earliest Semitic Literature: Ebla and Early Dynastic Mesopotamia.
For project descriptions and for winners outside our region, please visit the NEH website.
(From neh.gov)
Future-casting. There’s an activity often met with trepidation by historians. While history might inform the present, it isn’t a tool for predicting the future. Or is it? At a conference last month, held by the UMass-Amherst Public History program on the occasion of their 25th anniversary, one presenter urged public historians to embrace their role in forecasting the future.
At first blush, it’s hard to imagine what this role might look like. But if we think specifically about museums, all of the necessary tools are in place. Museums are spaces where we gather information about the past, with art and artifacts and interpretation, and put that information squarely in the context of the present. We ask our visitors to share their ideas about how the past and the present connect. It is only natural that we throw suppositions about the future into that mix.
The National Building Museum in Washington, DC is doing exactly that. Last fall, they launched the Intelligent Cities project, with support from Time Magazine and IBM. They’ve jumped headfirst into some future-casting about our homes and our communities.
With the Intelligent Citiesinitiative, the museum is hoping to discover something about how we live in cities now as a way to explore where we want to be in the future. The museum has been gathering community input on their website, through polls and online video submissions, about how people make decisions about where they live. The website is organized around six major topics, moving outward in size from “The Home” all the way to “The Country.”
"The Space-Time-Money Continuum, by curator Susan Piedmont-Palladino (National Building Museum)."
Accompanying infographics transmit the changing nature of cities in sharp, fresh ways. The new “Intelligent City” might take better account of fuel in choosing transport methods, or child obesity in choosing how far to live from the nearest elementary school.
Part of the innovative nature of this project comes from the museum’s belief that all of us have something to offer on this topic. National Building Museum president and executive director Chase W. Rynd says, “Technology and access to information has reached a point where non-professionals can generate data and think deeply about where they live. Through Intelligent Cities, we have the means to share their viewpoints with experts in the design and building industries so that there is a true give and take between constituencies.” The eventual result of the project will be an exhibition in 2013, but as an interim step an Intelligent Cities book will be published this fall. The volume will include essays from experts in the fields of technology and design, as well as observations culled from the website and a recent public forum.
At the conference last month, we thought about what the field of public history will look like in 2036. Three major themes emerged: a stronger commitment to sharing, or a throwing off entirely, professional authority; the integration of sustainability into our mission and activities; and a deeper interest in the work history can do in the world. The Intelligent Cities initiative is an example of how those trends can come together in one project.
For the first time, more than half of the world’s population lives in cities. Historians have something to contribute to this topic, of course. Cities have alternatively been thought of as centers of ideas and hotbeds of crime – both the best and the worst that civilization has to offer. How have cities grown and changed over time? How do we want the cities of tomorrow to function? I’m pleased that the National Building Museum is leading the charge to discuss what this urban future might look like, getting input from as many corners as possible. History has work to do.
National Building Museum
401 F Street, NQ
Washington, DC 20001
