Monday, January 23, 2023

February Second Sunday Speaker Series at Franklin Historical Museum features Dean College Professor Rob Lawson

Updated 2/11/23 - Due to a death in the Lawson family, the event scheduled for Sunday, Feb 8, 2023 has been canceled and will be rescheduled. We extend our condolences to the Lawson family for their loss.


History is everywhere around us—we all know that. However, we often focus on that which is most easily seen: a monument, an historic site, a holiday marking an historical anniversary. Inspired to find social connections and foster historical curiosity during the COVID-19 pandemic, two editors at the New England Journal of History (who happen to also be Dean College professors) developed a citizen-historian video series entitled History in Your Backyard. The goal was to get people looking for—and sharing—the history in our communities. 
R. A. Lawson
R. A. Lawson

Dean College and the Town of Franklin offer plenty of opportunities to explore local history. Some of it is well known, such as the story of Horace Mann, or the edifice of Dean Hall that reminds us of another important Franklin native, Oliver Dean. But what else can be found? It turns out there are sparkling gems of history at Dean still waiting to be mined and polished. Join Prof. R. A. Lawson as we dig for the hidden jewels of Dean’s past and learn about the treasures of history hidden in our “backyard.” Sponsored by Humanities in Action at Dean College.  

Join us Sunday February 12. Doors open at 1:00 PM, presentation starts at 1:15 PM. We are ADA accessible and admission is always Free!
 
Bio:
R. A. Lawson is an historian of American culture with wide-ranging interests in the arts, both performative and material. Dr. Lawson earned his Ph.D. in History at Vanderbilt University in 2003 after taking a bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University. His signature work is Jim Crow’s Counterculture: The Blues and Black Southerners, 1890- 1945, which won the Gulf South Historical Association’s Thomason Prize for book of the year in 2011. Dr. Lawson has won the Hicks-Kennedy Award for service to the New England History Teachers Association for his role as associate editor of the New England Journal of History. He recently earned the Excellence in Teaching Award from the National Society of Leadership and Success for his work at Dean College, where he has been on the faculty since 2003. In addition to being a co-founder of the History in Your Backyard series, Dr. Lawson also serves as co-producer and writer for The Boatbuilders, a documentary series celebrating the history and state of the art of boatbuilding in New England.  


video series -> History in Your Backyard
video series -> History in Your Backyard

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